Honoree Fanonne Jeffers: “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” (Part 2)

Honoree Fanonne Jeffers discusses writing about the full range of a community, its sexuality and gender, in her first fiction novel, “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois.” She says her imperfect and morally reprehensible characters portray life as it is. Which they do. All things that can happen in life can happen in a novel, and this is a supreme example. You don’t immediately arrive at a particular destination, you travel a road to get there; this is a novel written without lying about, making excuses for, or blaming, its characters who need to be forgiven.

This episode originally aired on September 9, 2021.

Excerpt from The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers.

Mama steps back. She’s still smiling.

I say, “Ooh wee!”

Excerpted from “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers. Copyright © 2021 by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.