Honorée Fanonne Jeffers has canceled her planned appearance at the National Book Festival, saying that she is afraid to go to Washington, D.C., “given all that’s happening.”
Jeffers is the author of several books of poetry, including Red Clay Suite, The Glory Gets, and The Age of Phillis, the latter of which won the NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work and was longlisted for a National Book Award. She made her fiction debut in 2021 with the novel The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award, was a finalist for a Kirkus Prize, and was nominated for a National Book Award; in a starred review, a critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “If this isn’t the Great American Novel, it's a mighty attempt at achieving one.”
Jeffers had been scheduled to take part in the National Book Festival on September 6 to discuss her latest book, the collection Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays & Writing with Imani Perry (Black in Blues).
But on Instagram, Jeffers said she would no longer appear, saying, “as an African American, I’m just afraid to be in that city.” Earlier this month, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to patrol the district, claiming that crime in the city was out of control.
“I wish I had more courage—but my cancellation is in no way a reflection of those who do have the courage to attend or on the wonderful organizers of the National Book Festival!” Jeffers wrote. “I’m just a person who suffers from anxiety and I have to be a better shepherd of my personal health.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
