MacArthur Award Winners 2017. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation hide caption

Jesmyn Ward poses for a portrait near DeLisle Bayou in DeLisle, Miss. Ward, 40, has chosen to return to DeLisle and raise her children there, despite her profound ambivalence about what the town represents. Emily Kask for NPR hide caption

Beyoncé, in a scene from the video for "Formation." Beyoncé via YouTube hide caption

Jesmyn Ward won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction for her book Salvage the Bones. Tina Fineberg/AP hide caption

Lance Armstrong talks to the media after the 2011 Xterra Nationals triathlon in Utah. Jim Urquhart/AP hide caption