Jacqueline Woodson (born February 12, 1963) is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for '' Miracle's Boys'', and her

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People * Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver * David Newbery (born 1943), British economist * Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot * Francis Newbery (disambiguation), ...

-winning titles '' Brown Girl Dreaming'', '' After Tupac and D Foster'', ''

Feathers Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier e ...

,'' and '' Show Way''. After serving as the Young People's Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017, she was named the

National Ambassador for Young People's Literature National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is a literary honor presented bi-annually by the Library of Congress to an author or illustrator who is a U.S. citizen and who has made a substantial contribution to young people's literature. The p ...

, by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the '' de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

, for 2018–19. She was named a

MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to ...

in 2020.

Early years

Jacqueline Woodson was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and ...

, and lived in Nelsonville, Ohio, before her family moved south. During her early years she lived in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway bet ...

, before moving to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, beh ...

at about the age of seven. She also states where she lives in her autobiography, '' Brown Girl Dreaming''. As a child, Woodson enjoyed telling stories and always knew she wanted to be a writer. Her favorite books when she was young were Hans Christian Andersen's "

The Little Match Girl "The Little Match Girl" ( da, Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne, meaning "The little girl with the sulphur-sticks", i.e. matches) is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story, about a dying child's dre ...

" and Mildred D. Taylor's '' Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry''.

Writing career

After college, Woodson went to work for Kirchoff/Wohlberg, a children's packaging company. She helped to write the California standardized reading tests and caught the attention of Liza Pulitzer-Voges, a children's book agent at the same company. Although the partnership did not work out, it did get Woodson's first manuscript out of a drawer. She then enrolled in Bunny Gable's children's book writing class at

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers ...

, where Bebe Willoughby, an editor at Delacorte, heard a reading from ''Last Summer with Maizon'' and requested the manuscript. Delacorte bought the manuscript, but Willoughby left the company before editing it and so Wendy Lamb took over and saw Woodson's first.Brown, Jennifer M
"From outsider to insider"
(interview), ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''. 249.6 (February 11, 2002): p. 156. Literature Resource Center. Gale. HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY. June 13, 2009.

Inspirations

Woodson's youth was split between

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and

. In her interview with Jennifer M. Brown she remembered: "The South was so lush and so slow-moving and so much about community. The city was thriving and fast-moving and electric. Brooklyn was so much more diverse: on the block where I grew up, there were

German people , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, people from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

, people from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, African-Americans from the South, Caribbean-Americans, Asians." When asked to name her literary influences in an interview with

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

Hazel Rochman, Woodson responded: "Two major writers for me are

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; d ...

and Virginia Hamilton. It blew me away to find out Virginia Hamilton was a sister like me. Later, Nikki Giovanni had a similar effect on me. I feel that I learned how to write from Baldwin. He was onto some future stuff, writing about race and gender long before people were comfortable with those dialogues. He would cross class lines all over the place, and each of his characters was remarkably believable. I still pull him down from my shelf when I feel stuck." Other early influences included

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

's '' The Bluest Eye'' and '' Sula'', and the work of Rosa Guy, as well as her high-school English teacher, Mr. Miller. Louise Meriwether was also named.

Style

As an author, Woodson's known for the detailed physical landscapes she writes into each of her books. She places boundaries everywhere—social, economic, physical, sexual, racial—then has her characters break through both the physical and psychological boundaries to create a strong and emotional story. She is also known for her optimism. She has said that she dislikes books that do not offer hope. She has offered the novel '' Sounder'' as an example of a "bleak" and "hopeless" novel. On the other hand, she enjoyed '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn''. Even though the family was exceptionally poor, the characters experienced "moments of hope and sheer beauty". She uses this philosophy in her own writing, saying: "If you love the people you create, you can see the hope there." As a writer she consciously writes for a younger audience. There are authors who write about adolescence or from a youth's point of view, but their work is intended for adult audiences. Woodson writes about childhood and adolescence with an audience of youth in mind. In an interview on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

(NPR) she said, "I'm writing about adolescents for adolescents. And I think the main difference is when you're writing to a particular age group, especially a younger age group, you're — the writing can't be as implicit. You're more in the moment. They don't have the adult experience from which to look back. So you're in the moment of being an adolescent ... and the immediacy and the urgency is very much on the page, because that's what it feels like to be an adolescent. Everything is so important, so big, so traumatic. And all of that has to be in place for them.""Interview: Jeffrey Eugenides, Jonathan Lethem and Jacqueline Woodson discuss the writer's view of adolescence". ''Talk of the Nation'' (August 19, 2004): Literature Resource Center. Gale. HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY. June 13, 2009.

Teaching

Woodson has, in turn, influenced many other writers, including An Na, who credits her as being her first writing teacher. She also teaches teens at the

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

's summer writing camp where she co-edits the annual anthology of their combined work. She was also a visiting fellow at the American Library in Paris in spring of 2017.

Themes

Some reviewers have labeled Woodson's writings as "issue-related", but she believes that her books address universal questions. She has tackled subjects that were not commonly discussed when her books were published, including interracial couples,

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period be ...

and

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...

. She often does this with sympathetic characters put into realistic situations. Woodson states that her interests lie in exploring many different perspectives through her writings, not in forcing her views onto others. Woodson has several themes that appear in many of her novels. She explores issues of gender, class and race as well as family and history. She is known for using these common themes in ground-breaking ways.Rochman, Hazel. "Jacqueline Woodson", ''Booklist''. 101.11 (February 1, 2005), p. 968. Literature Resource Center. Gale. HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY. June 13, 2009. While many of her characters are given labels that make them "invisible" to society, Woodson is most often writing about their search for self rather than a search for equality or social justice.

Gender

Only ''The Notebooks of Melanin Sun'', ''Miracle's Boys'' and ''Locomotion'' are written from a male perspective. The rest of Woodson's works feature female narrators. However, her 2009 small story "Trev", published in '' How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity'', features a

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through t ...

male narrator.

African-American society and history

In her 2003 novel, ''Coming on Home Soon'', she explores both race and gender within the historical context of World War II. ''The Other Side'' is a poetic look at race through two young girls, one black and one white, who sit on either side of the fence that separates their worlds. In November 2014, Daniel Handler, the master of ceremonies at the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Na ...

s, made a joke about

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 variet ...

s when Woodson received an award. In a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Op-Ed published shortly thereafter, "The Pain of the Watermelon Joke," Woodson explained that "in making light of that deep and troubled history" with his joke, Daniel Handler had come from a place of ignorance. She underscored the need for her mission to "give people a sense of this country's brilliant and brutal history, so no one ever thinks they can walk onto a stage one evening and laugh at another's too often painful past." ''Red at the Bone'' (2019), a novel, weaves together stories of three generations of one Black family, including the trauma resulting from the

Tulsa Race Massacre The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long massacre that took place between May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deput ...

and the September 11 attacks.

Economic status

'' The Dear One'' is notable for dealing with the differences between rich and poor within the black community.

Sexual identity

''The House You Pass on the Way'' is a novel that touches on gay identity through the main characters of Staggerlee. In ''The Dear One'' Woodson introduces a strongly committed lesbian relationship between Marion and Bernadette. She then contrasts it to the broken straight family that results in a teenager from Harlem named Rebecca moving in with them and their 12-year-old daughter, Feni.

Critical response

''Last Summer with Maizon'', Woodson's first book, was praised by critics for creating positive female characters and the touching portrayal of the close eleven-year-old friends. Reviewers also commented on its convincing sense of place and vivid character relationships. The next two books in the trilogy, ''Maizon at Blue Hill'' and ''Between Madison and Palmetto'', were also well received for their realistic characters and strong writing style. The issues of self-esteem and identity are addressed throughout the three books. A few reviewers felt that there was a slight lack of focus as the trilogy touched lightly and quickly on too many different problems in too few pages. Announcing her as recipient of the ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award in 2006, the citation of the panel of librarians chair stated: "Woodson's books are powerful, groundbreaking and very personal explorations of the many ways in which identity and friendship transcend the limits of stereotype." In October 2020, Woodson won a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to ...

, commonly known as a "Genius Grant." The MacArthur Foundation recognized her for "redefining children’s and young adult literature in works that reflect the complexity and diversity of the world we live in while stretching young readers’ intellectual abilities and capacity for empathy." Her books "evoke the hopefulness and power of human connection even as they tackle difficult issues." She has stated that she plans to use the grant money to expand Baldwin for the Arts, the residency program for people of color she founded.

Censorship

Some of the topics covered in Woodson's books raise flags for many censors. Homosexuality, child abuse, harsh language and other content have led to issues with censorship. In an interview on NPR Woodson said that she uses very few curse words in her books and that the issues adults have with her subject matter say more about what they are uncomfortable with than it does what their students should be thinking about. She suggests that people look at the various outside influences teens have access to today, then compare that to the subject matter in her books.

Personal life

Woodson lives in Park Slope,

, with her partner Juliet Widoff, a physician. The couple have two children, a daughter named Toshi Georgianna and a son named Jackson-Leroi.

Awards and honors

*1995 Coretta Scott King Honor for ''I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This'' *1996 Coretta Scott King Honor for ''From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun'' *2001 Coretta Scott King Award for "Miracle's Boys" * ALA Best Book for Young Adults in 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005 *2004 Coretta Scott King Honor for "Locomotion" *2005

YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers for ''Behind You'' *2006 Margaret A. Edwards Award *2006

for '' Show Way'' *2008

for ''

'' *2009

for ''After Tupac and D Foster'' *2009

Josette Frank Award The Josette Frank Award is an American children's literary award for fiction given annually by the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New Yor ...

for ''After Tupac and D Foster'' *2009 Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards for ''Peace Locomotion'' *2009 Keystone to Reading Book Award for ''Peace Locomotion'' *2013 Coretta Scott King Honor for ''Each Kindness'' *2014

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". The ...

, U.S. nominee *2014

in Young People's Literature for ''Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2015 Coretta Scott King Award for ''Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2015 Young People's Poet Laureate by the

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist R ...

*2015 Langston Hughes Medal *2015

for '' Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2015 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work In Youth/Teens Fiction for ''Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2015 Robert F. Sibert Honor for ''Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2017 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture at the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

, recognizes significant contribution to children's literature. *2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work In Fiction for ''Another Brooklyn'' *2018–19

for the

. *2018

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award ( sv, Litteraturpriset till Astrid Lindgrens minne) is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2 ...

*2018 Children’s Literature Legacy Award *2019 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work In Youth/Teens for ''Harbor Me'' *2019 Nomination Goodread's Choice Award Best Fiction. *2020

, winner *2020

MacArthur Fellows Program The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

Grant Award, winner

Complete works

Novels

* '' Autobiography of a Family Photo'' (1995) * '' Another Brooklyn'' (2016) * '' Red at the Bone'' (2019)

Middle grade titles

* ''Last Summer with Maizon'' (1990) * ''Maizon at Blue Hill'' (1992) * ''Between Madison and Palmetto'' (1993) * ''

'' (2007) * '' After Tupac and D Foster'' (2008) * ''Peace Locomotion'' (2009) * ''Locomotion'' (2010), verse novel * '' Brown Girl Dreaming'' (2014), verse novel *''Harbor Me'' (2018) *''Before the Ever After'' (2020)

Young adult titles

* ''The Dear One'' (1990) * '' I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This'' (1994) * ''From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun'' (1995) * ''The House You Pass on the Way'' (1997) * ''If You Come Softly'' (1998) * ''Lena'' (1999) * '' Miracle's Boys'' (2000) * ''Hush'' (2002) * ''Behind You'' (2004) * ''Beneath a Meth Moon'' (2012) * ''The Letter Q: Queer Writers' Notes to Their Younger Selves'' (2012) (Contributor)

Illustrated works

* ''Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Birthday'' (nonfiction), illus. Floyd Cooper (1990) * ''Book Chase'', illus. Steve Cieslawski (1994) * ''We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past'', illus. Diane Greenseid (1997) * ''Sweet, Sweet Memory'', illus. Floyd Cooper (2000) * '' The Other Side'', illus. E. B. Lewis (2001) * ''Visiting Day'', illus. James Ransome (2002) * ''Our Gracie Aunt'', illus. Jon J. Muth (2002) * ''Coming on Home Soon'', illus. E. B. Lewis (2003) * '' Show Way'', illus. Hudson Talbott (2006) * ''Pecan Pie Baby'', illus. Sophie Blackall (2010) * ''Each Kindness'', illus. E. B. Lewis (2012) *''This Is the Rope,'' illus. James Ransome (2013) * '' The Day You Begin'', illus. Rafael López (2018) * '' The Year We Learned to Fly'', illus. Rafael López (2022) * The World Belonged To Us, illus by Leo Espinoza (2022)

Adaptations

Film

Filmmaker

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

and others made ''Miracle's Boys'' into a

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. " Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries forma ...

, airing in 2005."Miracle's Boys , TV Mini-Series (2005– )"
at IMDb.

Audio recordings

*''I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This'',

Recorded Books Recorded Books is an audiobook imprint of RBMedia, a publishing company with operations in countries globally. Recorded Books was formerly an independent audiobook company before being purchased and re-organized under RBMedia, where it is now an ...

, 1999 *''Lena'', Recorded Books, 1999 *''Miracle's Boys'', Listening Library, 2001 *''Locomotion'', Recorded Books, 2003 * ''Show Way'', Weston Woods, 2012 * ''Brown Girl Dreaming'', Penguin Audio, 2014 * ''If You Come Softly'', Listening Library, 2018 * ''Harbor Me'', Listening Library, 2018 * ''The Day You Begin'', Listening Library, 2018 * ''Visiting Day'', Listening Library, 2018 * ''Before Her'', part of "The One" series, Brilliance Publishing, 2019 * ''Red at the Bone'', Penguin Audio, 2019

References

External links

*
Jacqueline Woodson
at glbtq.com * '' If You Come Softly'' at

Wikiquote Wikiquote is part of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation using MediaWiki software. Based on an idea by Daniel Alston and implemented by Brion Vibber, the project's objective is to produce collaboratively a vast refe ...

Jacqueline Woodson Papers
at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF ...

Jacqueline Woodson
at

Authorities — with 43 catalog records * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodson, Jacqueline 1963 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers African-American children's writers African-American women writers African-American novelists American children's writers American women children's writers American women novelists American writers of young adult literature Children's poets LGBT African Americans American LGBT novelists LGBT people from Ohio Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature winners Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction winners American lesbian writers MacArthur Fellows MacDowell Colony fellows Margaret A. Edwards Award winners National Book Award winners Newbery Honor winners Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from North Carolina Novelists from Ohio People from Nelsonville, Ohio Women writers of young adult literature Writers from Brooklyn Writers from Columbus, Ohio 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American writers