Women Artists Who Dared to Create From A Room Of Their Own

I want to  dedicate this post to all women, irregardless of whether they’ve been written up in the pages of history books. Women, by their mere existence, create history that is unforeseen and untold every single day that they live and breathe~ so for all women, let me say, Happy Women’s History Month!

The novelist, Virginia Woolf wrote in her famous essay, A Room  of One’s Own, “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” Viewed in a broader sense, the essay could reference any author’s need for poetic license and the personal liberty to create their art.

The artists I’ve chosen to honor for Women’s History Month, in essence, created from a room of their own. The “room” for the most part were of their own choosing, but sadly, one  young girl had no say in the literal sense.  Nonetheless, these women (and many more) craved out an impressive body of creative works that became a historical legacy.

Maya Angelou had me at I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. She was brutally raped as a little girl and only shared this secret with her brother, Bailey. When her uncles found out, the molester was killed. Maya did not speak for 5 years, blaming herself for the molester’s murder.

A 13-year-old Jewish victim of the Holocaust… Anne Frank went into hiding from the Germans with her family and another family for two years in a small annex above the office where her father once worked. It’s reported that Anne, her mom and sister died in the concentration camps and only her father would survive to publish her diary, written while in hiding. 

Anne wrote in her diary that she wished her writings to live on in life. How prophetic her words were.

Nikki Giovanni has often been called a “Revolutionary” poet. All I know is her writing are often based on fact and it is those poems that touches the sensibilities of a nation of readers, including myself. A prolific writer, activist and highly guarded educator, Ms. Giovanni is currently a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech.

My very favorite of her many works includes: Those Who Ride The Night Winds, poems about the mass murders of young black boys in Atlanta totaling more than 29 young children killed. Ms. Giovanni poems, in my opinion, are a loving eulogy to the memory of those children.  If you haven’t read any of Nikki Giovanni’s work, you are missing out on one of our greatest literary contributors.

I read Pearl S. Buck’s, The Good Earth in High School. The book introduced me to another culture and people with a different way of living. Although American, Ms. Buck lived in China for a while and associated with Chinese culture and tradition. I was impressed by the humanity of The Good Earth as it relates to a country’s change affecting regular people.

Ms. Buck died in 1973, but her Pulitzer prize novel lives on. 

In another life, I opt to come back as Lorraine Hansberry! Not only was she the first African-American woman playwright, she was the first woman of color to have a play produced on Broadway! A Raisin in the Sun was inspired by Poet Langston Hughes poem, Harlem that asks, ” What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the Sun?”

Ms. Hansberry’s play would later inspire Nina Simone’s song, “To Be Young, Gifted and Black!” You know what they say, “The Play’s The Thing.” Lorraine Hansberry was the “ish” and sadly, gone too soon… The playwright died of pancreatic cancer in 1965. Sheer Brilliance!

Here’s a special clip for y’all 🙂

And:

Toni Morrison’s-The Bluest Eye,Tar Baby, Song of Solomon, Beloved and Sula.

Zora Neale Hurston’s  “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” 

When Alice Walker was a little girl, she was playing in the backyard with her brothers, one of whom accidentally hit her in the eye with one of the pellets from his BB gun ( I remember those. My brothers got them for Christmas) . That accident never stopped Alice from living her dreams. One of the biggest dream in history was:

I’ve had several books from these historical women on my bookshelf,  in what I can only describe as a stationary library for many years and felt that I could never part with any of these great works, but, alas, I have and I don’t regret passing them along (donations) to new readers and creatives and curious children who just might dare to dream 🙂

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. I know that the works of these and other women history making artists are sitting on your bookshelf, vying for a little Women History Month love shout… Please share a few of your fave with us.

Writer’s quote for today:

“Only I hold the pen that will write the story of my life.” Tia Kelly

Introducing Chicago Author and Journalist, Karen Ford

Clara,

“Thank you for your assistance in helping writers reach an audience and for your willingness to introduce me to your audience. ”  k

Happy Mother’s Day come Sunday to all moms of the world! In response to sentiments from my guest author today, I found the greatest authentic quote on my LinkedIn page:

“You don’t need a reason to help people.”  Zora Neale Hurston.  Come get acquainted with Chicago author and journalist, Karen Ford as she provides insights from her  book, Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman. Make sure to pick up a copy in support.

Women of an indiscriminate age are seen as faceless, sexless shapes with almost no value save being wives, mothers, caregivers or comic punch lines. But it’s even worse for Black women. There is no place for us in film or television. (It’s ironic that the only middle-aged Black woman prevalent in film today is actually portrayed by a man.) With the exception of traditional gospel music, we’re not part of the music industry. We’re not broadcast or print reporters or columnists. Other than Maya Angelou, Terry McMillan and Toni Morrison, we’re not widely read. So we remain voiceless.

The other side is that the average Black person in America is voiceless as well. When a subject pertaining to Black people comes up, media people reach out to Dr. Cornell West or Rev. Jesse Jackson or Rev. Al Sharpton. Not to denigrate these gentlemen but they do not speak for me or the millions of Americans like me. We are not a monolithic people and I, for one, take great offense at being treated as such.

When a tornado strikes a small town or when someone shoots up a school, reporters talk to the victims. They speak with the people involved. They don’t call their stock individuals who speak for the White folks involved. Why should it be any different for Black people?

Bio:

Karen Ford is the author of Thoughts of a Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman (Total Recall Press 2014) and the blog, Caviar & Grits (www.caviar&grits.com). Ford serves 3rd Vice President of the National Writers Union, UAW 1981, the only trade union for freelance writers. The union is comprised of over 1400 writers in every genre.As a freelance journalist for over 20 years, Ford has written for a number of local, national and international publications including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Parent magazine, the Citizen Newspapers, Screen Magazine and Lutheran Woman Today. Her corporate clients have included the University of Illinois, the Chicago Labor Education Project, the Illinois Business Development Authority and the Women in Business Yellow Pages. She has written political ad copy for several local and county candidates and co-authored the book Get That Cutie in Commercials.Karen Ford received her BA with a focus in political science and her MS in public service management from DePaul University. She has a certificate in union organizing from the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute and a certificate in teaching community college from the Encore Organization of Harold Washington College. Ford is married with four children and loves to read, dance, cook and travel in her spare time. She lives with her husband in Chicago.

Thoughts of A Fried Chicken Watermelon Woman  is Available on Alibris.com, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and BooksAMillion.com.

Author Contact info:
Karen Ford
773-509-5058

 

 

 

Book Review: Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

A tweet from Ms. Terry McMillan advising another person to definitely pick up a copy of Tayari Jones 3rd novel, Silver Sparrow, has spurred me on to get this review out for my readers:)

The story is set in 1980’s Atlanta & centers around a Southern family caught up in the drama of lies, loves and emotional breakthroughs, due, entirely to decisions grownups make. At the age of 5, Dana Lynn is excited to show the picture she’d drawn at school  for her teacher to James Witherspoon, her father.  Her fathers’ reaction to seeing the two sets of families in young Dana’s drawings, however, only baffles the young girl. She, after all, knows about Chaurisse, his other daughter and her sister, so what’s the problem?

 She soon learns the ugly words used to describe her family’s existence. Dana’s father is a bigamist and young Dana Lynn is the “secret”. The author’s clever pairing of the sisters encounters- planned entirely by Dana and unbeknownst to Chaurisse, the fathers’  “legitimate” daughter,moves the characters along in a gripping series of events that will have the reader wondering what’s going to happen next.

The story is told through the eyes of both sisters, which makes for an interesting perspective on how children handle crisis. It also begs to ask the question? How far should adults go in keeping secrets as a means to protect their children? Tayari Jones Silver Sparrow has been compared to a Toni Morrison‘s The Bluest Eye. A professor at Columbia University, Farah Jasmine Griffin said in an interview profile of the author’s work “Scholars are starting to recognize that Southern Writers are also global writers” 

After reading Ms. Jones latest book, I’d have to agree:)  Tayari Jones blogs at Tayari Jones.Com

Clara54would like to thank Algoquin Books for providing a copy of Silver Sparrow for review…