|
When Sandra Belton grew up in
what was then a segregated Beckley, she and her
friends packed the library on Saturdays because
it was one of the few places black kids were
treated equal to whites. Much as she loved the
library, she missed seeing books about black
kids books she now writes to solid national
reviews. Warm, insightful conversation with a
thoughtful, entertaining person.
Program highlights: ...neighbors
reminiscing on a porch about the time Duke
Ellington had to stay in West Virginia homes
because hotels wouldn't allow black guests ...
entertaining scenes featuring the young heroines
of Belton's Ernestine and Amanda series ...
insightful glimpses of the segregated 1950's
Personal: Born 1939 and raised in
Beckley. Married James Sidney Hammond. One son.
Now lives in Chicago.
Publications: From Miss Ida's Porch, Four
Winds Press/Macmillan, 1993; May-naise
Sandwiches and Sunshine Tea, Four Winds
Press/Macmillan, 1994; Ernestine and Amanda,
Simon & Schuster, 1996; Ernestine & Amanda:
Summer Camp, Ready or Not!, Simon & Schuster,
1997; Ernestine & Amanda: Members of the C.L.U.B.,
Simon & Schuster, 1997; Ernestine & Amanda:
Mysteries on Monroe Street, Simon & Schuster
1998; McKendree, Greenwillow/Harper Collins,
2000; Pictures for Miss Josie, Greenwillow/HarperCollns
& Amistad/HarperCollins, available April, 2003.
Forthcoming from Greenwillow/HarperCollins will
be Beauty, Her Basket, and The Tallest Tree:
Remembering Paul Robeson.
Education and Career: Howard University,
BA, 1960 (English, Sociology, German). Boston
Conservatory of Music, attended 1962. George
Washington University, MA, 1967 (Elementary
Education). Elementary teacher, District of
Columbia Public Schools; reading teacher, City
Colleges of Chicago; developer of educational
materials, including print, audio, video, and
software, holding positions from associate
editor to executive editor/editorial manager at
Scott Foresman, Encyclopedia Britannica
Educational Corporation, and Rand McNally.
Awards: Young People's Literature Award
from Friends of American Writers 1994, finalist
Children's Books of Distinction Award 1994 (From
Miss Ida's Porch); Notable Children's Trade
Books in the Field of Social Studies 1995 (May-naise
Sandwiches and Sunshine Tea) and 2001 (McKendree);
Bank Street College of Education Best Children's
Books of 2000 (McKendree)
Reviewers' Comments:
"-[From Miss Ida's Porch is]
outstanding in its depth of emotion and
evocative depiction of poignant historical
moments." (Elizabeth Hanson in School Library
Journal).
-"Belton writes very well ... beautifully
capturing the voices of her characters..."
(Booklist)
-"Sandra Belton is a writer of, among other
things, historical novels set in mid-twentieth
century America. Her Ernestine and Amanda series
(four books to date) focuses on two girls
growing up in a solidly middle-class
African-American community in the 1950s.
Belton's light and loving touch in depicting the
titular characters' often adversarial
relationship provides the emotional core of her
books. That light and loving touch is in strong
evidence in her latest work, McKendree. (The
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, big
picture choice for October 2000 issue)
-"...[McKendree] is a tale of tangled summer
romance, an element which transcends predictabi
lity as it unfolds entertainingly through the
multiple perspectives of the characters--what
distinguishes this book is its honest
exploration of prejudice as it existed within a
culture--and perhaps still does." (Kirkus
Reviews, May 2000, starred review)
-"{Belton's} love for the characters and for the
time and place of her period setting is
infectious, as is her celebration of memory and
the richness of the past it recalls."
(Booklist)
Excerpts from In Their Own
Country:
"As a writer, I basically have two goals. One is
to write what I know. And what I know is growing
up in America as an African-American in Beckley,
West Virginia ...
My second goal is to write, with a loving eye,
on all children. No matter what the story that
has to be told, or the issue that has to be
dealt with, it can be dealt with within the
spectrum of love that understanding of the
reality of the human condition. And a basic
knowledge that we are all human. And in that, we
share something together. I would hope that my
books what I write, can wrap their arms around
all children."
***
Kate: I've heard some
writers say that, when it's going well, you
aren't exactly in control.
Sandra: Absolutely. When I'm in control,
it's less powerful. When I release control, the
writing is much better. It's very clear. Even I
can see that.
One of the best examples I have to date has been
what happened when I was working on the first
Ernestine and Amanda book. I was at the place
where Amanda finds out that her parents are
about to get separated. And I was really trying
to think OK, what is Amanda feeling now? And I
was twirling around in my chair trying to figure
it out. And suddenly I turned around to the
computer, and my hands typed a word: Mawin.
Kate: Mawin was the name Amanda had
called her sister Madelyn when she was little.
And Madelyn was going to tell her their parents
were separated. Soon as Sandra got that little
clue, she began writing rapidly.
Sandra: Soon as I started writing, it
started coming. And I felt chills in my body. I
realized they were like tiny, freezing feet. I
felt the tiny freezing feet, and I knew that's
what Amanda was feeling, and this is how Amanda
is describing it. I really could feel it.
See also:
amazon.com, The Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books, Literature Resource Center, School
Library Journal,
Mountainlit.com
Program music
performed by:
Timothy Courts |
