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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2000)
(The ÿlortlanù © bseruer--------- _______ in Print Jefferson’s Children The Story of One American Family By Shannon Lanier and Jane Feldman Random House; 2000 W hen S han n o n L an ier w as in f irs t g ra d e , he sto o d u p on P re s id e n t’s D ay and an n o u n ced to h is c la s s th a t T h o m a s J e f f e r s o n w as h is a n c e s to r . S h a n n o n ’s te a c h e r to ld him to sit dow n an d stop tellin g lies. N o o n e b e lie v e d him . W hy d id n ’t th ey ? B ecause S hannon L an ier is b lack , and the story o f his fam ily - that they had sprung fro m th e u n io n o f T h o m a s Reaching Back By Linda Waters Ethnic Books; 2000 What do you do when you are a woman with everything going for you, a career, a handsome man in your life, money, freedom etc., and you suddenly inherit the responsi bility o f an ill parent? Renda Sionarro’s life mirrors two worlds. She is a talented, beautiful fashion-model-tumed-fashion-de- signer in New York City, miles away from Magnolia, Louisiana, where she is sim ply know n as M rs. Evelyn’s daughter. Her daddy’s death forces the savvy business woman to pack her bags and head south to face her demons o f the past and help her mother adjust to life only to find herself being pulled back to the life she fought hard to escape. Her m other’s sudden ill ness forces Renda to incorporate career, love, and family and reach back for a part o f the life she left behind. November 01, 2000 Focus J e f f e r s o n a n d h is A f r ic a n A m erican slave S ally H em ings - had been passed along from lips to ears dow n th ro u g h the g en eratio n s w ith o u t b e n e fit o f o ffic ia l h isto ric a l d o c u m e n ta tion. N ow 21 years o ld, Shannon is tellin g all o f A m erica about his fam ily in J e ffe rso n 's C h il dren: The S to ry o f O ne A m e ri can F am ily. S hannon and his c o a u th o r, p h o to g ra p h e r Jan e F eldm an, tra v e le d a cro ss the co u n try for tw elve m onths to m eet and talk w ith m em bers o f S h a n n o n ’s fam ily. T o g eth er they have c reated a book w hich gives e lo q u en t te s tim ony in pho to g rap h s and in terview s, that Thom as Jefferson had not one but tw o fam ilies: the first w ith his w ife M artha a n d th e s e c o n d w ith S a lly H em ings. Page 5 The Hatbox Baby iy Carrie Brown . Algonquin Books; 2000 This time. Brown takes is into the heart o f the 1933 ?hicago W orld’s Fair - a dace w h ere b a rk e rs, ¡awkers, dancing women, Iwarfs, marvels o f nature, ’arisian cafes, colorful ex- libits, peep shows, and ire m a tu re in fa n ts are :ommonplace.. .premature jabies? Dr. Leo Hoffman - a famous (and to some infa- nous) doctor and pioneer in neonatology finances his research by overseeing the very popular Infantorium, an exhibit o f live, prema ture babies displayed in in cubators . By the end o f the summer and the fair, Dr. Hoffman, along with Caroline Day, the beautiful Fan dancer whose performances take place next door to the Infantorium, and her dwarflike cousin and protector St. Louis Percy all come to have a stake in one special, very fragile baby’s future. Inspired by the real life and work o f an early neonatologist (who displayed infants throughout Europe and the United States, including Coney Island), Carrie Brown takes us int e strange world of the lair - filled with freaks, marvels, mysteries, and miracles. The Hatbox Baby is a nchlv imagined story, celebrating love’<= transforming newer and An Eighth o f August By Dawn Turner Trice Crown Publishers; 2000 linda Waters Reaching Back A Novel ! Narrated by a chorus o f voices, An Eighth o f August begins with the Sunday church services o f the 1986 celebration, a year after a terrible tragedy rocked the people o f this close-knit community. The festival proved the backdrop for a vividly moving story that weaves together the lives and voices o f the residents o f Halley’s Land ing. We hear from strong- willed Flossie Jo Penticott and her estranged daughter. Sweet Alma, whose relationship has been tom apart by an unimag inable sorrow; Flossie’s scat terb rain ed siste r-in -la w Thelma and her salt-of-the- earth husband, Herbert, who remains spirit, and large home provide refuge for the weary; and May Ruth, an eccentric older white woman who fits in like any other family member. As we grow to know and love these characters, we wit ness how this Emancipation Festival will offer up its own particular brand of freedom and herald a change in each o f their lives. Like Gloria Naylor, Dawn Tumer Trice draws us into a remark able world in An Eighth o f August and invites us to spend time with a group o f extraordinary individuals who linger long after the story is complete.
