Pictured with Mr. Watkins and Ms. Jones are seniors Dallas Lockridge, Mattie Sienknecht, Haille Dinger, and Jaylen Church
Baylor was one of a dozen area high schools that partnered with the Chattanooga State Community College Humanities department for a city-wide read of nationally-acclaimed author Tayari Jones' novel, Silver Sparrow, this spring. Ms. Jones visited the campus Monday, speaking to members of Chris Watkins' English class who had read the novel.
Ms. Jones is also the author of Leaving Atlanta, The Untelling, and An American Marriage. Her writing has appeared in Tin House, The Believer, The New York Times, and Callaloo. A member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, she has also been a recipient of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, Lifetime Achievement Award in Fine Arts from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, United States Artist Fellowship, NEA Fellowship and Radcliffe Institute Bunting Fellowship.
Silver Sparrow was named a #1 Indie Next Pick by booksellers in 2011, and the NEA added it to its Big Read Library of classics in 2016. Ms. Jones is a graduate of Spelman College, University of Iowa, and Arizona State University. She is currently an associate professor in the MFA program at Rutgers-Newark University.