In 2011, the National Book Foundation awarded book awards in poetry and fiction to
Nikky Finney and Jesmyn Ward, respectively. I go back to that moment in 2011
because it is and was a rare occasion when not one, but two black women received
one of the premier prizes for writers. Furthermore, it was the first time that
I—a young black man tuned in to watch what became an interesting moment in
history.