Charmaine Wilkerson: Good Dirt

Charmaine Wilkerson talks to Carol Fitzgerald about her latest novel, GOOD DIRT, which is a Bookreporter Bets On selection. She explains how the character of Ebby Freeman came to her, and from there the idea of the clay jar that has been in the family for generations. Charmaine shares the research she conducted about the work of slaves in the South who created pottery with clay, tracing how an item like this could have made its way from the South to Connecticut with slaves who worked on sailing vessels. And she muses that what happened to Ebby would have implications on the rest of her life. As she did in her New York Times bestseller, BLACK CAKE, Charmaine invites readers to look at traditions and ideas that they may not have heard about previously while at the same time telling the story of a family. Our Latest “Bookreporter Talks To” Interviews: Marie Benedict: https://youtu.be/-GF-3ZU4a1M Joseph Finder: https://youtu.be/HIUUcBQeRWE Scott Turow: https://youtu.be/tkbQ7yUU8GE Michelle Horton: https://youtu.be/gQOWAirkZjE Tracey Lange: https://youtu.be/HCrR8j5CqT0 Lisa Genova: https://youtu.be/Bqo8ZBE52PU Fiona Davis: https://youtu.be/mazErQJJznY Our Latest “Bookaccino Live” Book Group Events: Lisa Wingate: https://youtu.be/X4RKP3mT4Rc Ashley Elston: https://youtu.be/nQgw214dyjs Ariel Lawhon: https://youtu.be/rowGE3T2rfE Amanda Peters: https://youtu.be/sWX2Mxw5fT Shelley Read: https://youtu.be/3KdG1kIfcgc William Kent Krueger: https://youtu.be/IsIQJn3vYNI Ann Napolitano: https://youtu.be/VNYNugzjVbo Kate Morton: https://youtu.be/P8nwLRTAaFg Sign up for newsletters from Bookreporter and Reading Group Guides here: https://tbrnetwork.com/newsletters/ FOLLOW US on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookreporter Website: https://www.bookreporter.com Art Credit: Tom Fitzgerald Edited by Jordan Redd Productions