Lorene Cary
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Lorene Cary (born 1956) is an American author, educator and
social activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...
.


Biography

Cary grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1972, she was invited to the elite St. Paul's boarding school in
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, on scholarship, entering in St. Paul's second year of co-education as one of the fewer than ten African-American female students. She spent two years at St. Paul's, graduating in 1974. She earned an undergraduate degree and her MA from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in 1978. She was awarded a Thouron Fellowship, enabling her to study at
Sussex University The University of Sussex is a public research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the South Downs National Park, and provide ...
in the United Kingdom, where she received an MA in Victorian literature. After finishing college, Cary worked in publishing for several magazines, including ''
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'', ''
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'', and ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
.'' She also worked as a freelance writer for ''
Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...
'', '' American Visions,'' '' Mirabella,'' ''Obsidian,'' and the ''
Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
.'' In 1982, Cary returned to St. Paul's as a teacher. She is currently a senior lecturer in
creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...
at the University of Pennsylvania.


Literary career

After writing a 1988 article about her experience at St. Paul's, she published a longer memoir, ''
Black Ice Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a coating of glaze ice on a surface, for example on streets or on lakes. The ice itself is not black, but visually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it and light to be ...
'', which was published in 1991 by
Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...
. Phillip Lopate, reviewing the book for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called it a "stunning memoir". The book, "bruisingly honest about class, race and sex in America", found success with the critics and was shortlisted the same year by ''The New York Times'' as "summer reading." Her first book, it was published in paperback the next year by
Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...
. In 1995, Cary published her first novel, ''The Price of a Child''. It is based on the escape of Jane Johnson, a slave from North Carolina who escaped to freedom with her two sons while briefly in Philadelphia with her master and his family. Set in 1855, the novel tells the story of Ginnie Pryor, a
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
from a Virginia plantation who is bought by the US Ambassador to Nicaragua. En route with her new owner to New York City, for their voyage to South America, she escapes via the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
and works to build a new life in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Fernanda Eberstadt, reviewing the novel in ''The New York Times'', commented that Cary "is a powerful storyteller, frankly sensual, mortally funny, gifted with an ear for the pounce and ragged inconsequentiality of real speech and an eye for the shifts and subterfuges by which ordinary people get by". In 1998, Cary published a second novel, ''Pride'', which explores the experiences of four contemporary black middle-class women. Cary's first Young Adult book, ''FREE!,'' was a collection of non-fiction accounts related to the Underground Railroad, and published by Third World Press/New City Press in 2005. Cary said she believes these 12 stories of daring escapes "allow our 21st-century minds to imagine actively the inner lives of enslaved people – and put ourselves in their places, not with shame, but compassion and respect." Cary wrote the script for the videos of ''The President's House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation,'' a 2010 exhibition in The President's House in Philadelphia. In 2011, Cary published her third novel ''If Sons, Then Heirs''. It is a contemporary story of family, race, and the challenges of reconciling the present with a persistent past. Alonzo Rayne was raised in
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
by his great-grandmother, Selma. Now he owns a construction business in Philadelphia and lives with Lillie, a single mom, and her seven-year-old son, Khalil. As the story begins, Alonzo goes to South Carolina to urge the aging Selma to sell her land, in order to pay for her long-term care. But she hasn't owned the land since King, her husband, died almost 50 years before. Selma was King's second wife, not an heir. Racist inheritance laws also left her dispossessed. Alonzo's mother contacts him, wanting to reconnect years after having abandoned him. Her marriage to a white man has turned her life around. Finally, Alonzo's investigation into his great-grandmother's land puts him on a collision course with the men who killed his great-grandfather."If Sons, Then Heirs: A Novel"
Amazon.
Says Carleen Brice, author of ''Orange Mint and Honey'' and ''Children of the Waters,'' "Every single character pops off the page in this amazing story. This masterwork of a novel made me laugh and cry out loud. Important, enjoyable, and wonderfully moving. An absolute delight."


Art Sanctuary

In 1998 Cary founded , an African-American arts and letters organization devoted to presenting regional and national talent in the literary, visual and performing arts. Art Sanctuary annually hosts an African American arts festival, during which writers discuss their work with up to 1,500–2,000 students, and another 2,000–3,000 people participate in panels, workshops, the basketball tournament, teachers' symposium, Family Pavilion, main stage, and other events.


References


External links


Lorene Cary's website"Roll Up the Light of Love"
in '' O: The Oprah Magazine'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cary, Lorene 1956 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists African-American non-fiction writers African-American novelists 20th-century American memoirists African-American memoirists African-American women memoirists American women novelists Pew Fellows in the Arts University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty Novelists from Philadelphia American women memoirists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni 21st-century American non-fiction writers American women academics 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American writers