Reckon True Stories is a celebration of new and classic nonfiction – the essays, journalism, and memoirs that inspire us, that change the world, and help us connect with each other.
Join hosts and acclaimed authors Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Kiese Laymon (Heavy, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, Long Division) for in-depth discussions about the stories we tell and how they impact our culture.
Produced by Ursa Story Company, in partnership with Reckon.
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Reckon True Stories is a celebration of new and classic nonfiction – the essays, journalism, and memoirs that inspire us, that change the world, and help us connect with each other.
Join hosts and acclaimed authors Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Kiese Laymon (Heavy, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, Long Division) for in-depth discussions about the stories we tell and how they impact our culture.
Produced by Ursa Story Company, in partnership with Reckon.
‘The Work You Do, The Person You Are,’ by Toni Morrison
Reckon True Stories
35 minutes
1 year ago
‘The Work You Do, The Person You Are,’ by Toni Morrison
Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon dig into a classic essay by Toni Morrison, “The Work You Do, the Person You Are,” published in The New Yorker in May 2017. They talk about labor and self-identity — how our feelings of worth can become so closely tied to the work we do, in ways that can become unhealthy, both in the corporate world and in the art we create.
Kiese Laymon: “Without labor and work, I don’t know who I am. And I think that’s terrifying.”
Reading List: Authors, Stories, and Books Mentioned
“The Work You Do, the Person You Are” Toni Morrison (The New Yorker, 2017)
Daddy Was a Number Runner (Louise Meriwether, 1970)
“On Writing and the Business of Writing” (Carmen Maria Machado, 2022)
Playing in the Dark (Toni Morrison, 1992)
"The Cask of Amontillado" (Edgar Allan Poe, 1846)
More from Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon:
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (Deesha Philyaw)
Heavy (Kiese Laymon)
Long Division (Kiese Laymon)
How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America: Essays (Kiese Laymon)
City Summer, Country Summer (Kiese Laymon & Alexis Franklin)
Ursa Short Fiction podcast (Deesha Philyaw & Dawnie Walton)
Produced by Ursa Story Company in partnership with Reckon.
Hosted by Deesha Philyaw & Kiese Laymon
Show Producers: Dawnie Walton & Mark Armstrong
Associate Producer: Marina Leigh
Episode Editor: Kelly Araja
Reckon Editor In Chief: R.L. Nave
Reckon Deputy Editor: Michelle Zenarosa
Audience Director: Katie Johnston
Creative Strategist: Abbey Crain
Sr. Social Producer: Sid Espinosa
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Reckon True Stories
Reckon True Stories is a celebration of new and classic nonfiction – the essays, journalism, and memoirs that inspire us, that change the world, and help us connect with each other.
Join hosts and acclaimed authors Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Kiese Laymon (Heavy, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, Long Division) for in-depth discussions about the stories we tell and how they impact our culture.
Produced by Ursa Story Company, in partnership with Reckon.
