The best thing about the National Book Critics Circle Awards ceremony in New York last month wasn't the speeches, though they were great: It was the happiness.
When Louise Erdrich's name was called as the fiction winner, fellow writer Ann Patchett — also a finalist in that category — nearly leaped over the back of Erdrich's chair to embrace her. When Carol Anderson's name was announced as the winner in criticism, Anderson's surprise was effervescent. She let out a gasp and then clapped a hand over her mouth. On stage, she pressed her hand to her heart before she spoke.
And as Ishion Hutchinson approached the podium, he beamed bashfully and said that he was filled with "biblical astonishment" to receive the award for poetry. He accepted it in the memory of his grandmother, May Hutchinson, who had always deeply encouraged his writing.
Sitting down in front with the rest of the NBCC board, I was in a great spot to see all of this — I could see Erdrich begin to tremble when her name was called and then clasp her hands to compose herself. I could see Matthew Desmond's wife, Tessa, thrill with joy when his name was called for the nonfiction prize.
These books that were honored are important and fascinating, books that will last. Desmond's "Evicted" is immersive journalism at its finest, recounting the lives of people in inner-city Milwaukee who cannot get a stable grip on life because their poverty means a constant revolving door of housing.
Anderson's book, "White Rage," lays out the history of civil rights in this country, a history in which every advance of blacks has been met with violent resistance from whites.
The speeches from these writers were inspiring, a combination of gratitude and a call to action. ("I want to thank, above all, my parents," Anderson said, "who came from nothing but gave me the fight.")
Ghana-born, American-reared Yaa Gyasi, winner of the John Leonard prize for best first book, thanked her parents, "Kwaku and Sophia Gyasi, who came to this country with little more than the clothes on their backs and the children in their arms. In a time where it feels like every day immigrants and refugees are being met with new affronts to their humanity, I am even more grateful for the sacrifices that my parents made."
