Eugenia W. Collier (born April 6, 1928) is an American writer and critic best known for her 1969 short story " Marigolds", which won the

Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetr ...

Prize for Fiction award. She was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

. Collier's collection, ''Breeder and Other Stories'', was released in 1993. She has also published a play, ''Ricky'', based on her short story of the same name. Other texts that Collier has written or contributed to include ''Impressions in Asphalt: Images of Urban America'' (1999); ''A Bridge to Saying It Well'' (1970); ''Sweet Potato Pie'' (1972); ''

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...

: Black Genius'' (1991); ''Afro-American Writing: An Anthology of Prose and Poetry'' (1992); and ''Modern Black Poets: A Collection of Critical Essays'' (1973). Her work has appeared in ''

Negro Digest The ''Negro Digest'', later renamed ''Black World'', was a magazine for the African-American market. Founded in November 1942 by publisher John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company, ''Negro Digest'' was first published locally in Chicago, Illi ...

'', ''

Black World Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

'', ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

'', ''Phylon'', ''

College Language Association Journal A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

'', and ''

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''. Collier's "Marigolds" is one of the most widely anthologized short stories in high school English textbooks. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the story describes the moment that the 14-year-old narrator, Lizabeth, comes of age. It is the moment she is first able to feel the pain of another human being, and Collier's narrative argues that innocence and compassion cannot exist in the same person. It is widely used as a catalyst book for the coming of age unit in high school English classes. The former English Chair at

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

, Collier has also taught at Coppin State College (now University), the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

, and

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Fou ...

. She graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' from

in 1948, and was awarded an M.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

two years later. In 1976, she earned a PhD from the University of Maryland. . Since retiring in 1996, Collier continues to live in

, and occasionally visits classes to discuss creative writing and her stories.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Eugenia 1928 births Living people Howard University alumni Morgan State University faculty Coppin State University faculty American lesbian writers University of Maryland, College Park faculty Howard University faculty Southern Illinois University faculty Columbia University alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers African-American dramatists and playwrights American women dramatists and playwrights Writers from Baltimore American women academics 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women