Morgan Jerkins
Morgan Jerkins | |
---|---|
Born | 1992 (age 31–32) United States |
Occupation | Writer, editor |
Language | English |
Education | Princeton University (BA), Bennington College (MFA) |
Subject | Race, society, African American history, culture |
Notable works | This Will Be My Undoing (2018) |
Relatives | Fred Jerkins III (uncle), Rodney Jerkins (uncle) |
Website | |
www |
Morgan Jerkins (born 1992)
Early life and education
Jerkins was raised by her mother and grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood in New Jersey.[5][6] She has an older sister, and is the niece of music producers Fred Jerkins III and Rodney Jerkins.[7] She has Creole ancestry.[8] She began writing at the age of 14 as an outlet for her experiences with bullying in school.[5]
Jerkins received her bachelor's degree from Princeton University.[5] She planned to move to New York after graduation, but had difficulty finding a job in the publishing industry despite her degree in comparative literature, for which she said she learned five languages.[9] She attended the Bennington College Writing Seminars for her MFA.[10]
Career
Books
Jerkins' first book This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America was published on January 30, 2018, by Perennial/HarperCollins.[11] The book is a nonfiction collection of essays including topics such as experiencing bullying as a child, feminism, dating, and attending Princeton as a Black student.[5] The cover was inspired by one of the covers for Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God.[5]
The book received mainly positive critical reception.
Her second book, Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots was published in August 2020 under HarperCollins.[3] It is a memoir of Jerkins' journey through several Southern states to answer long-held questions about her family's history.[3][16] Kirkus Reviews described it as a "revelatory exploration of the meaning of blackness."[3]
Other work
Jerkins publishes nonfiction essays and is an editor. She was a senior editor for Zora, a culture website for women of color published by Medium.[17] In January 2020, Jerkins led the assembly of The Zora Canon, a list of 100 great works by Black women writers.[18] The list includes books published pre-Emancipation such as Our Nig (1859), up to those released in 2019.[18] She left the position in February 2021,[19] and was named senior culture editor of The Undefeated in March 2021.[20]
In 2021, Morgan Jerkins appeared on Storybound alongside the band French Cassettes.[21]
Personal life
Jerkins is a Christian.[1] She resides in Harlem, New York.[8]
Works
- This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America (2018). ISBN 9780062666161[22]
- Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots (2020).
- Caul Baby: A Novel (2021). ISBN 9780062873088[25]
References
- ^ a b c "The Nerve: In This Will Be My Undoing, Debut Author Morgan Jerkins Isn't Afraid to Go There". The Glow Up. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ "About ZORA". About ZORA. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ a b c d WANDERING IN STRANGE LANDS | Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ a b "Review: Morgan Jerkins 'This Will Be My Undoing' is a vital essay collection for the current political moment". Los Angeles Times. 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ a b c d e Bryant, Taylor (30 January 2018). "Morgan Jerkins On Feeling Validated, The Women's March & Intersectional Feminism". Nylon. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ Saiba, Samhitha (2019-10-11). ""Check your circle": A Conversation with Morgan Jerkins". The Adroit Journal. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ "Morgan Jerkins: How Brandy's 'Never Say Never' Changed Everything for My Musical Family Billboard". Billboard. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ a b Blay, Zeba (28 July 2020). "Morgan Jerkins On Her New Book, Writing Through Fear, And The Power Of Black Memory". Huffington Post. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ "Morgan Jerkins Is Putting In the Work". Electric Literature. 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ Bense, Kiley (2018-07-19). "The Word Process: An Interview with Morgan Jerkins". Columbia Journal. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ THIS WILL BE MY UNDOING | Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ "Book Marks reviews of This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jerkins". Book Marks. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ Gay, Roxane (2018-01-31). "Morgan Jerkins' New Book Explores Being a Black Woman in America". ELLE. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ Mtshali, Khanya Khondlo (24 July 2018). "The Black Girl Looks at Other Black Girls: On "This Will Be My Undoing" by Morgan Jerkins". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots by Morgan Jerkins. Harper, $27.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-287304-0". www.publishersweekly.com. May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ a b "5 African American memoirs that belong on your shelf". NBC News. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ "Nadxieli Nieto joins Flatiron as editor at large; Morgan Jerkins on social distancing and touch". www.bookforum.com. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ a b "The Zora Canon: Essential Books By African American Women". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ Jerkins, Morgan (2021-02-26). "Some news: Today is my last day at @ZORAmag". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
- ^ "Bestselling Author Morgan Jerkins Joins The Undefeated as Senior Editor for Culture". ESPN Press Room U.S. 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
- ^ "Announcing Season 4 of the Storybound Podcast". 4 June 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- OCLC 1021046735.)
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - OCLC 1112203774.
- ^ Briefly reviewed in the September 21, 2020 issue of The New Yorker, p.67.
- ^ "Caul Baby". HarperCollins. Retrieved January 16, 2021.