Breena Clarke is an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

scholar and writer of fiction, including an award-winning

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

'' River, Cross My Heart'' (1999). She is the younger sister of poet, essayist, and activist Cheryl Clarke, with whom she organizes the Hobart Festival of Women Writers each summer.

Biography

Clarke was born one of four sisters and a brother in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to

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 ...

veteran James Sheridan Clarke (September 18, 1912 – January 18, 2009) and Edna Payne Clarke. She was educated at

Webster College Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri, United States. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The university has an alumni net ...

and at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. Her debut novel, '' River, Cross My Heart'', was an October 1999 Oprah Book Club selection, when the description stated: "This highly accomplished first novel resonates with ideas, impassioned lyricism, and poignant historical detail as it captures an essential part of the African-American experience in our century." The ''

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 ...

'' reviewer called it "a novel as lyric and alternately beguiling and confounding as its title. ...a haunting story", and the book spent a month on ''The New York Times'' bestseller list. Clarke's second novel, ''Stand the Storm'', was published in 2008, and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reviewer Gail Buckley said: "Breena Clarke has written another stirring work of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

that weaves the passionate, dramatic and uplifting story of the African American aspiration for true freedom into the great American tapestry." Clarke's third novel, ''Angels Make Their Hope Here'', published in 2014, also received favorable notices from such reviewers as Alan Cheuse at NPR's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''.

Bibliography

* '' River, Cross My Heart'', Back Bay Books, 1999, * ''Stand the Storm: A Novel'', 2008 * ''Angels Make Their Hope Here'', Little, Brown and Company, 2014,

Awards

* 1999: New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) award for fiction * 2000:

Alex Award The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Since 2002, the Alex Awards have been administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of th ...

from the

Young Adult Library Services Association 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 ...

References

External links

Official website.
* Jacqueline Cutler

New Jersey On-Line, August 10, 2014.
"Interview with Breena Clarke"
HerStoryNovels, June 23, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Breena Living people 21st-century American novelists Writers from Washington, D.C. Howard University alumni African-American novelists American women novelists 21st-century American women writers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American writers