Jerry Ward, Distinguished Honorary Professor (2015-2017) at Central China Normal University, is the author ofTHE KATRINA PAPERS: A Journal of Trauma and Recovery(2008) and co-editor of theCambridge History of African American Literature(2011). Ward spent 32 years as the Lawrence Durgin Professor of Literature at Tougaloo College and 10 years as Professor of English at Dillard University. Recognized as one of the leading experts on Richard Wright, he is a founding member of the Richard Wright Circle and co-editedThe Richard Wright Encyclopedia(2008). He lives in New Orleans and has numerous publications both in the USA and in China