Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Edward P. Jones' Tales of 'Aunt Hagar's Children'

Edward P. Jones' portrait of Washington, D.C., is a mix of the real and the supernatural. It's a place where grandparents struggle to raise grandkids. And it's where the devil -- wearing a purple tie and two-toned shoes -- swims across the river.

Jones, a D.C. native, won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Known World, a tale of black slave owners in the antebellum South.

His latest published work is a collection of short stories called All Aunt Hagar's Children. His hometown is more than the setting for these stories ... it reads more like a major character.

"It just so happens that I was born and raised in Washington," Jones says. "Had I been born in Chicago, or San Antonio, the streets and places would have figured into whatever I wrote. Just so happens that it's Washington, D.C."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

NPR National Correspondent Debbie Elliott can be heard telling stories from her native South. She covers the latest news and politics, and is attuned to the region's rich culture and history.