Sherley Anne Williams

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Sherley Anne Williams
Born(1944-08-25)August 25, 1944
Bakersfield, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 6, 1999(1999-07-06) (aged 54)
San Diego, California, U.S.
OccupationPoet, novelist, professor, vocalist, playwright and social critic
Notable worksDessa Rose (1986); Working Cotton (1992)

Sherley Anne Williams (August 25, 1944 – July 6, 1999) was an American poet, novelist, professor, vocalist,

African-American
community.

Biography

Sherley Anne Williams was born in Bakersfield, California, to Lena Leila Marie Siler and Jessee Winston Williams, who were migrant farm workers.[1] She was the oldest of three sisters: Ruby, Lois, and Jesmarie. The family suffered from poverty and struggled to make ends meet most their lives. The kids would often have to help out with farming in order to get by.[1]

She was raised in the projects on the east side of Bakersfield and picked cotton and fruit with her parents and three sisters in the fields and orchards of Fresno, California. Williams was eight when her father died of tuberculosis and was 16 years old when her mother died from a heart attack.[2] Early on, Williams had been introduced to reading and fell in love with it, but that was quickly discouraged by her mother. She then went on to Fresno Middle school and had an eighth grade science teacher recognize her potential and encouraged her to take college prep courses.[1] In 1968, Williams gave birth to her son John Malcom, becoming a single mother; following this her career began taking off and she moved to Providence Rhode, Island.[1]

Williams graduated from

Fulbright scholar in 1984, and a served as a visiting professor at USC, Stanford, and Sweet Briar College.[3][4] In 1987, Williams was the Distinguished Professor of the Year by the UCSD Alumni Association.[5]

In 1998, Williams was awarded the African American Literature and Culture Society's Stephen Henderson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature and Poetry.[6]

Williams published two collections of poetry: The Peacock Poems (1975), which was nominated for a

National Black Theater Festival in 1991 and at the Chicago International Theater Festival in 1992.[11]

Williams wrote two picture books, Working Cotton (1992), which won the Caldecott Award of the American Library Association and a Coretta Scott King book award, and Girls Together (1997).[1] For television, Williams wrote the programs Ours to Make (1973) and The Sherley Williams Special (1977).[12] Williams published the groundbreaking critical study of African-American writing Give Birth to Brightness: A Thematic Study of Neo-Black Literature in 1972. She was also selected to write the introduction for Zora Neale Hurston's 1991 edition of Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Williams was also known for her music, which mainly consisted of

self-published her debut single titled "Some One Sweet Angel Chile", which was re-released by Blues Economique Records in 1984. The music for "Some One Sweet Angel Chile" was composed by Bertram Turetzky
.

In the early 1990s Williams reconnected with Bertram Turetzky for some

vocalist for her contributions to Turetzky's album. Three of the songs featured on the album were previously-written poems by Williams recorded in musical format: "One-Sided Bed Blues", "Big Red And His Brother", and "The Wishon Line".[13][14] The album was recorded at Studio 101 in Solana Beach, California, during the summer of 1992, and released by Nine Winds
Records in 1993.

Williams died of cancer on July 6, 1999, in San Diego, at the age of 54.[11]

Published works

Fiction

Poetry

  • The Peacock Poems (1975) (as Shirley Williams)
  • Some One Sweet Angel Chile (1982)

Non-fiction

  • Giving Birth to Brightness: A Thematic Study in Neo-Black Literature (1972)
  • "Meditations on History." In Mary Helen Washington, ed, Midnight Birds: Stories by Contemporary Black women Writers. New York: Anchor Books, 1980, 195–248.
  • "Two Words on Music: Black Community." In Gina Dent, ed, Black Popular Culture: A Project by Michele Wallace. Seattle, WA: Bay Press, 1992, 164–72.
  • "The Blues Roots of Contemporary Afro-American Poetry." In Dexter Fisher and Robert B. Stepto, eds, Afro-American Literature: The Reconstruction of Instruction. New York: Modern Language Association, 1978, 72–87.
  • "Cultural and Interpersonal Aspects of Black Male/Female Relationships: Comment on the Curb." Black Scholar, 10, 1979: 49–57.
  • "The Lion's History: The Ghetto Writes B(l)ack." Soundings 76. 2–3 (1993): 248.
  • "Some Implications of Womanist Theory." In Angelyn Mitchell, ed, Within the Circle: An Anthology of African American Literary Criticism from the Harlem Renaissance to the Present. Durham: Duke University Press, 1994: 515–521.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Amerman, Don. "Williams, Sherley Anne (1944–1999)". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Understanding the Impossible: Poet and Professor Sherley Anne Williams, Who Once Picked Cotton in Fresno, Has Become a Surprise Best-Selling Novelist". Los Angeles Times. December 7, 1986. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Phelgyal, Jangchup (April 13, 2000). "Sherley Williams – from Fresno to La Jolla". San Diego Reader. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Sherley Williams". literature.ucsd.edu. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  5. ^ Marcus, Lisa. "Williams, Sherley Anne". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "Awards Recipients". African American Literature and Culture Society. December 21, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Honoring Sherley Anne Williams". Wesleyan University Press. June 17, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  8. ^ "Sherley Williams; Migrant Worker Became Woman of Letters". Los Angeles Times. July 11, 1999. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  9. ^ "Films now going into production: ..." Los Angeles Times. July 31, 1988. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  10. ^ Busby, Margaret (ed.). Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by…. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Library Thing.
  11. ^ a b "Sherley Anne Williams, 54, Novelist, Poet and Professor". The New York Times. July 14, 1999. p. A 21. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  12. ^ Swanson, Abigail (December 13, 2011). "Sherley Anne Williams (1944-1999)". BlackPast. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  13. ^ " Sherley Anne Williams - Discography" Sherley Anne Williams (1993). Discogs p.1 www.discogs.com. Retrieved 25-01-2016
  14. ^ " Bertram Turetzky – Compositions And Improvisations Tracklisting" Bertram Turetzky(1993). Discogs p.1 www.discogs.com. Retrieved January 25, 2016.

Further reading

External links