01 August 2023
On 17th August this year, Serpent’s Tail are very proud to be publishing Cheri and The Collected Works of Jo Ann Beard by the renowned American writer of the same name. Beard is an award-winning essayist who is widely acknowledged as an influential figure in the US. As recently as last year, she received the American Academy of Arts & Letters 2022 Award in Literature.
Cheri navigates the final weeks of the character’s battle with cancer and has been described as ‘Profoundly sad, poignant, and filled with the flabbergasting abundance of life … an extraordinary achievement’ by cult US author Mary Gaitskill. Beard has created a heart-wrenching novella that leaves readers with an appreciation for the brilliance of life.
This publication is paired with The Collected Works of Jo Ann Beard, a combination of Beard’s first collection The Boys of My Youth and the unforgettable pieces compiled within Festival Days, exploring the complexities of the human condition in one career-spanning collection. The compassion and wisdom with which she writes ingrains the experiences of these characters in your minds and hearts. Beard’s masterpieces of empathy are perfect for readers of Andrew O’Hagan or Claire Keegan.
With high profile fans from Francesca Segal to Geoff Dyer, Cheri and The Collected Works of Jo Ann Beard are this summer’s most unmissable literary reads.
Cheri:
Cheri has been living with cancer for many years. Now, she is dying. As she navigates the final weeks of her life, and takes charge of the manner of her death, she is flooded with childhood memories, and returns to the present with a renewed appreciation for the brilliance of life around her: the autumn has never been so beautiful, her daughters never as radiant. Brave, incredibly strong and deeply loved, Cheri makes one last nerve-wracking journey across the country with her girls and her friends, knowing relief waits welcoming as a frozen lake on the other side.
A masterpiece of fiction and memory, Cheri is a heart-breaking but glorious celebration of all the moments of beauty and pain that make an individual life, right up until its very last moments.
The Collected Works of Jo Ann Beard:
Weaving a complex tapestry drawn from interviews, anecdotes, moments from Beard’s own life, and sheer imagination, these extraordinary pieces embody the hospitality of spectacular writing: they are spaces you fall into and are reluctant to leave. From the intimate drama of everyday life – school crushes, dog clinics, divorce – to the terror and excitement of a fox lurking by a campsite or a murderer in your home, Beard flawlessly distils what it means to live deeply as we hurtle through wonder and grief, love and heartbreak.
Bringing together pieces from Beard’s first collection, The Boys of My Youth, and Festival Days, which was published two decades later, The Collected Works showcases Jo Ann Beard’s impressive breadth, quiet brilliance, and timeless prose.
