Putting the ‘I’ Back in Essay, with Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon

In the premiere episode of Reckon True Stories, co-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) come together to kick off a season where nonfiction takes the spotlight. They talk about their own journeys to writing nonfiction, the distinctions they make between their essay writing and fiction writing, as well as how they came to collaborate and work together in the publishing industry. 
Deesha and Kiese discuss writing on their own terms, revising their own ideas of what an essay is “supposed” to do or look like, and putting themselves back into the writing, while also exploring what makes for a compelling essay — calling for the writer to not lose the storytelling aspect in their nonfiction work.
Reading List: Authors, Stories, and Books Mentioned

Robert Jones Jr.


The Fire This Time (Jesmyn Ward)



Becoming (Michelle Obama)


Damon Young

Emma Carmichael


“The Girl Is Mine” (Deesha Philyaw, Literary Mama 2004)

Co-Parenting 101: Helping Your Kids Thrive in Two Households After Divorce 


Song of Solomon (Toni Morrison)



“The Charge of the Light Brigade” (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Poetry Foundation)


“Annabel Lee” (Edgar Allan Poe, Poetry Foundation)

Yusef Komunyakaa 


How to Sit (Tyrese Coleman)


“Water Come Back To You: On Trying To Write About Love” (Deesha Philyaw, Split Lip Mag 2021)


“Whiting” (Deesha Philyaw, Short Reads 2023)


“The 13 Guys You’ll Meet On A Dating App” (Deesha Philyaw, Medium 2019)


“If He Hollers Let Him Go” (Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, The Believer 2013)


“The Case for Reparations” (Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic 2014)


“I Called Out American Dirt’s Racism. I Won’t Be Silenced.” (Myriam Gurba, Vox 2020)


Creep: Accusations and Confessions (Myriam Gurba)


“On No Longer Being A Hysterical Woman” (Nafissa Thompson-Spires, The Paris Review 2020)


Oldster (Sari Botton)



“Feral” (Staci Greason, Oldster 2023)

Memoir Monday

Electric Literature


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)


Ursa Short Fiction podcast


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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices