There were stories about slavery and the days following slavery. There were stories about family and friends. In the late s, this young man ran away from Alabama to buy land and settle in Mississippi; the land he purchased more than years ago is still owned by the Taylor family.
In the s, Taylor attended newly integrated schools in Toledo; she graduated from Scott High School in and from the University of Toledo in After graduation from college, she joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Ethiopia. After she graduated from the University of Colorado, Taylor settled in Los Angeles to pursue her writing career.
The Land is the ninth book in her award-winning saga about the Logan family. All of Mildred D. From as far back as I can remember, I had heard stories about my great-grandfather, who bought the family land in Mississippi. Born the children of an African-Indian woman and a white plantation owner during slavery, my great-grandfather and his sister were brought up by both their parents.
Their father had three sons by a white wife, and he acknowledged all of his children. He taught his children to read and write and he ordered his white sons to share their school learning with them. The Logan family saga, then, is essentially family history for Taylor. The saga begins with Paul-Edward Logan in The Land leaving his family in Georgia in the s and eventually settling in Mississippi where he buys the land that will become the homestead for all the future Logans.
The third book of the saga, Mississippi Bridge , is the only book in the Logan stories not narrated by a member of the Logan family. A white boy, Jeremy Simms, reports a tragedy that he and the Logan children witness in Her last novel planned for the saga, Logan , will take the Logan family from their home in Mississippi to their new home in Ohio.
Taylor is currently working on this novel, the final episode in the Logan family saga. Article first posted December There were many stories I wanted to tell, and the Song of the Trees became the first book based on a story told by my family. The Logan family, of course, represents my own family and the children of Song of the Trees were based on my father and his brothers and sisters.
BBS: How did that single book evolve into a series? I planned for all these books to be novels. There were several stories, however, that I could not fit in the novel category after Roll of Thunder and those books became The Friendship and Mississippi Bridge. The Gold Cadillac , although not officially labeled a Logan book, is based on my family after much of the family moved north, and is told from the point-of-view of my own generation.
That story became The Well. That book became The Land. Why the sub-genre switch? Since I have never written for any age group, I simply write the stories, I have left categorizing the books to my publisher.
I wanted to show a family united in love and self-respect, and parents, strong and sensitive. Mildred Taylor: I believe that is because just like our nation, the African-American family continues to evolve and that we as individuals are as diverse as our nation. Mildred Taylor: I do not write for any age group. I simply write down the stories. I discussed that with my editors, but they felt the book would be lost in the adult market. Since the main characters were children, the book was published in the youth market.
That my books have been marketed to — and mostly accepted by — young adults and children has been a great blessing to me as a writer. I find that young people are very open to learning about the past and appreciating even when their parents and other adults sometimes do not, and in some cases, do not even want the history told. I have received letters from young people saying that by reading books like mine, they now can understand why there was a Civil Rights Movement.
They understand better now why there is a special day in celebration of that movement and Dr. Martin Luther King. That my stories have affected young people in such a way brings me great joy and satisfaction. It is most rewarding. BBS: You know, better than most, that writing for children is no easier than writing any other form of literature.
So, what has been your least favorite thing about it? Mildred Taylor: In my writing, I have always attempted to tell the truth. In order for certain reprint rights to be sold, I sometimes have been requested by those wanting to reprint my work to delete all objectionable language. My publishser and I have refused to do that. There have been calls to ban my books because of the words I use and the incidents I portray.
They understood the honesty of the hisotry, which was still then in the making. They understood the necessity for the truth. Recently, however, there has been a backlash of parents, minority parents included, and educators who do not want children to read books such as mine. But how can readers understand the true history of the past or the need for a civil rights movement unless they have begun to understand the pain of those who suffered through slavery, discrimination, and segregation?
How can readers feel the pain if I pretty up the way things were? What I least like to do is write down words that hurt.
I cringe at the thought of any child being hurt by my words, but as much as it hurts me to write words of pain, I know that they must be written, for they are truthful words about the time I write. They are painful to me to write and they are painful to those who read them, but they are needed for the full understanding of what life was like for African-Americans before the Civil Rights Movement.
I remember what it was like. I remember the pain of what life was like and I want others to recognize that pain in order for all generations to appreciate why there was a Civil Rights Movement and to appreciate the great freedom of rights and opportunities we enjoy today. How do you feel about that title — being among the forefront of authors who broke the literary glass ceiling with your portrayals? Mildred Taylor: Being considered a vanguard author is to me a great honor.
They were about family and loyalty and friendship and values they wished were more a part of their world today. Mildred Taylor: I do not read books directed specifically for young adults or children, so I am not current concerning emerging writers in the field. BBS: What can we look forward to from you? Are there any more Logan-based books planned? Literary Tributes. On Translation. Pandemic Dispatches. Sound It Out. The Once Over. Travels in Literature.
Words for Thought. Add the WLT Weekly in a reader. Skip to main content. Home Blog Book Reviews. April 9, Dianne Johnson-Feelings. Mildred D. Roll of Thunder. American Civil Rights Movement. Recommended for You. WLT Weekly Categories. News and Events. Join the mailing list. Follow Us. Recent Posts. Artists of different styles often collaborate in the creation of their work. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Taylor ,. Jerry Pinkney Illustrator. Michael Hays Illustrator. Series by Mildred D.
Logans 8 books by Mildred D. Related News. But for Lydia Perez and Read more Jacqueline Woodson seems to have been born to be a writer. Even as a young child, she would write constantly. Quotes by Mildred D. Taylor, The Land. But it's up to you to decide what them things are.
0コメント