Ann Nolan Clark, born Anna Marie Nolan (December 5, 1896 – December 13, 1995), was an American writer who won the 1953
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...
.
Biography
Born in
Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas, often known simply as Vegas, is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities (one a city and the other a town), both were named Las Vegas: West Las Vegas ("Old Town" ...
in 1896, Clark graduated from New Mexico
Normal School (now
New Mexico Highlands University) in Las Vegas at age 21, and married Thomas Patrick Clark on August 6, 1919. She gave birth to an only son, Thomas Patrick, Jr., who later died as a pilot in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
She began her career teaching English at what is now the Highlands University. However, in the early 1920s, she transferred to a job teaching children how to read for the
Tesuque pueblo people
The Pueblo peoples are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Among the currently inhabited Pueblos, Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi are some of the ...
, which lasted for 25 years. Clark found that the underfunded Tesuque School couldn't afford any substantial instructional material. In the process of teaching the children about literature, she incorporated their voices and stories to write ''In My Mother's House'', and other books for the 1st to 4th grade
one-room schoolhouse. She wrote about this process, and about her travels to many parts of Central and South America, in her nonfiction book, ''Journey to the People''.
Between 1940 and 1951, the United States
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...
published 15 of her books, all relating to her experiences with the Tesuque pueblo people. Her book ''In My Mother's House'', illustrated by Pueblo artist
Velino Herrera, was named a
Caldecott Honor
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...
book in 1942.
In 1945, the
Institute for Inter-American Affairs sent Clark to live and travel for five years in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
,
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, and
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.
Those experiences led her to write books such as ''Magic Money'', ''Looking-for-Something'', and ''
Secret of the Andes'', which won the 1953
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...
. In the 1940s she also wrote books for the
Haskell Foundation and the
Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University (Haskell or HINU) is a public tribal land-grant university in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1884 as a residential boarding school for Native American children, the school has developed into a univ ...
at Lawrence, KS; one of them " The Slim Butte Raccoon" was illustrated by
Andrew Standing Soldier.
She also won the Catholic Library Association's 1963
Regina Medal, and the
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...
' 1962 Distinguished Service Award. Clark died in 1995 in Arizona, after writing 31 books which took a glance at Native American culture, mostly through the eyes of its children.
[Smith, Jeanette (2000)]
Ann Nolan Clark Featured in NMSU Library Presentation.
/ref>
Mr. Clark's birth family was well known in the early 20th century in her hometown of Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas, often known simply as Vegas, is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities (one a city and the other a town), both were named Las Vegas: West Las Vegas ("Old Town" ...
, and their home, the Nolan House, is on the National Register of Historic Places as one of the first quarry stone houses there.
Writings
* Secret of the Andes
See also
* American literature
American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...
References
External links
Ann Nolan Clark Manuscripts AC 043
Fray Angélico Chávez History Library, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
via Utah State University
Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...
.
Ann Nolan Clark papers, 1962-1979 MS 309
Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries, Tucson, Arizona.
Personal reflection of Ann Nolan Clark's secretary Theda Rushing MSS-799-SC
Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico Libraries, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Ann Nolan Clark Papers
Special Collections at the University of Southern Mississippi (de Grummond Children's Literature Collection)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ann Nolan
1896 births
1995 deaths
Place of death missing
20th-century American historians
Schoolteachers from New Mexico
American travel writers
American women travel writers
Newbery Medal winners
People from Las Vegas, New Mexico
New Mexico Highlands University alumni
Native American studies
American women historians
20th-century American women writers
20th-century American short story writers
20th-century American educators
20th-century American women educators