Notes on Art as a Translator of Experience in Edward P. Jones’s Storytelling: “The Girl Who Raised Pigeons” and “In the Blink of God’s Eye”

These notes are reflections on Edward P. Jones’s storytelling, with a focus on two short-stories, “The Girl Who Raised Pigeons” (Lost in the City) and “In the Blink of God’s Eye” (All Aunt Hagar’s Children). In these stories, Jones presents the African American urban experience, highlighting the importance of community. Nonetheless, his characters’ deep sense of abandonment comes through in his art, which translates experience—allowing a compensatory feeling of community.