Louise Meriwether, Writer

Louise Meriwether

Louise Meriwether, (b. 1923), short fiction writer, essayist, novelist, writer of children's literature, and black activist. Louise Meriwether holds an established place among literati whose writings reassess African Americans' past. Her fiction treats bygone times to revise American history and to record African Americans' tremendous achievements despite overwhelming odds.

Her first book, Daddy Was a Number Runner, a fictional account of the economic devastation of Harlem in the Great Depression, appeared in 1970 as the first novel to emerge from the Watts Writers’ Workshop. It received favorable reviews from authors James Baldwin and Paule Marshall. Daddy Was a Number Runner, is a fictional account of the historical and sociological devastation of the economic Depression on Harlem residents.
(Editors Note: Photo from Blackpast.com, Bio excerpted from Answers.com Click to read complete bio)

Daddy Was a Number Runner
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James Baldwin (Introduction), Nellie Y. McKay (Afterword),

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY (December 1, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1558614427
ISBN-13: 978-1558614420
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches

"The novel's greatest achievement lies in the sense of black life that it conveys: vitality and force behind the despair. It celebrates the positive values behind the black experience: the tenderness and love that often lie underneath the abrasive surfaces of relationships...the humor that has long been an important part of the black survival kit, and the heroism of ordinary folk...a most important novel." --Paule Marshall

Recently chosen by Essence magazine, this beloved modern classic tells the poignant story of a spirited young woman's coming of age in -Depression-era Harlem. While 12-year-old Francie Coffin's world and family threaten to fall apart, this remarkable young heroine must call upon her own wit and endurance to survive amidst the treacheries of racism and sexism, poverty and violence. "The novel's greatest achievement lies in the strong sense of black life that it conveys: the vitality and force behind the despair . . . a most -important novel."

Fragments of the Ark
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Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Pocket (February 1, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0671799487
ISBN-13: 978-0671799489
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches

Peter Mango - ship pilot, husband, slave - accomplished the impossible; he stole and delivered the gunboat Swanee to the Union Navy, bringing with a group of resolute runaways united in their flight by love, and by painful histories. Set in Charleston, South Carolina from 1861 to 1868, Louise Meriwether's rich and deeply moving novel recounts the story of Peter Mango, a slave whose daring Civil War escape from Charleston to the Union Navy brings him face-to-face with his freedom, and closer still to his own soul...

Shadow Dancing
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Paperback: 297 pages
Publisher: One World/Ballantine; 1st edition (August 1, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345425952
ISBN-13: 978-0345425959
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches

Acclaimed author of Daddy Was a Numbers Runner and the historical novel Fragments of the Ark, Louise Meriwether now gives us this resonant and revealing contemporary story about the struggle to love in the shadow of our fears. . .

A successful writer for BlackSpeak magazine, Glenda Jackson is gifted, dynamic, and respected in her field. She's determined to take control of her emotional life. While reviewing a new play at Harlem's innovative Aldridge Ensemble, she meets the enigmatic director, Mark Abbitt, the driving force behind a renaissance in black theater.

The charismatic director proves to be as complex as one of his dramas. Haunted by memories of Vietnam, blind to the manipulations of his ex-wife, Mark is determined to be a good father to his four-year-old son. If Glenda's not to be eclipsed by Mark's powerful presence, she must confront her own deep fear of intimacy to find out if love is enough to heal a damaged soul. Yet against all the odds, these two remarkable people step into each other's shadow . . .and begin to dance.

The Freedom Ship of Robert Smalls
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Library Binding
Publisher: Prentice Hall (November 1971)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0133310825
ISBN-13: 978-0133310825
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches

A brief biography of the slave who escaped to freedom with his family and other runaway slaves on a captured Confederate gunboat.

The Heart Man: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
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Publisher: Prentice-Hall (1972)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0133852296
ISBN-13: 978-0133852295
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches .

Don't Ride the Bus on Monday - The Rosa Parks Story
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Hardcover
Publisher: Prentice Hall; First Edition (US) First Printing edition (1973)