Annotate With Sara

The beauty of Jesmyn Ward’s hyphenated phrases.

Oprah’s 103rd Book Club pick is Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward. I just finished the Week 1 reading, which is Chapters 1 and 2, and I’m getting ready for November 4th’s discussion by going over my annotations.

Craft wise, a pattern of beautiful two-word pairs, serving as unique and complex adjectives, have stood out. They’re highly visible because they’re hyphenated.

5 reasons why these hyphenated descriptions captivated me.

1. The combinations are inherently poetic and eerie (see list below).
2. The structure feels epic and Homeric. The first one Jesymn Ward writes is “lightning-burnt tree” which reminded me of the “wine-dark sea” epithet from the Odyssey.
3. These word pairs have an observable rhythm. I hear myself read them in a singsong heartbeat measure.
4. The little line that makes a hyphen evokes the important imagery for the theme of connection/bondage. So far, the physical imagery is threads—, ribbons—, and ropes—.
5. The way hyphenated phrases are frequently used feels deliberate and trademarked to Jesmyn Ward’s voice. I’m excited to annotate them!

ANNOTATING FOR CRAFT

How to Annotate These Word Phrases

If the first two chapters indicate a pattern, there will be a lot more hyphenated phrases in Let Us Descend. So, I am not going to use tabs to annotate this. It would be too clunky, and I doubt I have enough tabs of a single color to cover the whole book! Instead, I am going to handwrite an index, just for these hyphenated word pairs, inside the book.

Make an Index, Step 1:

• I like to find a blank space between the cover and epigraph pages where I can write directly on the page, place a sticky note, or washi-tape a pretty piece of paper there to write on.

Step 2

• When I read a hyphenated phrase, I highlight it with a unique color and scribble an asterisk in the margin. I could also underline it with a unique color. After marking the words, I flip to the title page and write down the page number on my post it. I’ll have a neat, comprehensive list for the whole book by the time I’m done reading.

YOUR TURN TO ANNOTATE

A Complete List of Hyphenated Phrases from Chapters 1 and 2.

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25 total so far!