Page A8-The Chronicle, Thursda
Novel chall
GREENSBORO -- The
stereotypical images of black
women have not died in
American society, says author
Linda Brown Bragg.
Pictured as the traditional
mammy, the black woman often
is seen as stong, spiritual, the
_ _ II aI- _ A I
source 01 ail inings ? a viriuai
Rock of Gibraltar.
For the soft-spoken but firm
Or. Bragg, this stereotype does
not do justice to the humanity of
black women. Many people
forget that black women - as
strong as they are ~ have fears
and conflicts, that their hearts get
broken, too.
As one in an emerging group of
black women writers to break the
stereotypes, Dr. Bragg, a member
of the UNC-G faculty, recently
has published her first novel, one
that offers what she believes is a
more complete picture of a black
woman.
The novel, "Rainbow Roun
Mah Shoulder," tells of the
odyssey of a black woman,
Rebecca Florice Letenielle, in the
early 1900s as she discovers in
herself a power and becomes a
healer. The 135-page book was
published in early November by
Carolina Wren Press of Chapel
Hill.
"1 wanted to tell the story of a
black woman who was in the
traditional image, who was
strong, spiritual, but I wanted to
tell it when the woman was not a
saint," said Dr. Bragg, who
teaches creative writing and
Afro-American literature at the
university.
"Racism and a history of oppression
have given black women
their strength," she continued.
"Black women are strong, but
when you recognize only that,
you deny them the rights to being
a whole person. We (black
women) do tap traditional
sources of strength, but we are
also human beings who do bad
things."
In the late 1970s and the 1980s,
black women writers, Dr Bragjf?"
noted, began writing about
themselves as full human beings.
A forerunner was Toni
Morrison's book, "Sula," in
1973, followed by other such
works as Ntozake Shange's "For
Colored Girls Who Have Con
sidered Suicide/When the Rainbow
is Enuf" and Alice Walker's
"The Color Purple."
"They (these women writers)
break down the stereotype, but
they also have a story to tell,"
Dr. Bragg said. "After all, that is
what literature is about."
In her novel, Dr. Bragg focuses
her story on Rebecca Florice, a
character she modeled after a real
woman healer in Greensboro.
"This friend of mine grew up
around the real Miss Florice (a
fictional name), and she told me
stories about her," she said. "I
got really fascinated. A lot of the
book is fiction, but a lot is fact.
When Florice makes the white
man move on the bus in the
novel, that's true. I became really
by Jean Ford J |
HOLIDAY BEAUT
Holiday nights are the most glittery,
glamorous nights of the year. As the
* -
season rapiaiy approacnes, n sume
to start planning a look that lets us
sparkle the night away... beautifully.
To offset that4'little black dress!4
or to stand up to the glitter of sequins
and the sheen of luscious silks
and satin, our makeup will need its
own gem-like brilliance to be in
balance. Sophisticated colors, like
the alluring ones found in Avon's
"Firebird Silks" shade palette, will
work well with colorful evening
JM m
i
r
V
y, December 6, 1984
lenges sten
fascinated with this woman of
great strength. I wanted my
character to be a healer." ,
The novel opens in 1915 in
New Orleans, where a young,
married Rebecca Florice gradually
learns she has healing powers.
Even though Florice is from the
Bayou country of Louisiana,
where strains of Haitian voodoo
rituals exist, she chooses to channel
her special gift in the Christian
church.
441 think we all can be healers we
just might not channel the
force." Dr. Brass said. 44That is
also one of the other messages in
my book, that we all can be
healers. 1 use healing as a large
metaphor when 1 say that most
people can do it. What 1 wanted
to show was an extraordinary
person's humanity."
Florice makes her way to
North Carolina, where she has
relatives, eventually winding up
in Greensboro to work at a black
college. Going with her to
Greensboro is Florice's new and
lasting friend, Alice Wine.
"In some ways, my novel is a
very feminist book," Dr Bragg
said. "The heroine is strong,
determined, undefeated, selfaware.
She also knows she needs
friendship. It's in the tradition of
women taking care of women.
Even though she longs for a normal
kind of marriage and family,
she doesn't turn her back on her
mission."
Though her life is dedicated to
God, Florice also shows her
faults - why she isn't a "s^jnt."
_Intertwined with this woman's
goodness is her affair with a married
minister, followed by her
own attempted suicide.
When Dr. Bragg first considered
writing about someone
1^1 1 _ Al 1 f-?l t
moaeiea arier me real nonce,
she thought the subject could be
done as a play. But when driving
to class at UNC-G one day, she
said she realized it would work
better as a novel: Doing extensive
research into healing, Dr. Bragg
" spent'five years writing the book.
In 1983, the manuscript for
"Rainbow Roun Mah Shoulder"
won the N.C. Cultural Arts
Coalition/Carolina Wren Press
contest as the best book by a
North Carolina minority writer.
As the winner, Dr. Bragg received
a $500 cash prize and book
publication of her manuscript.
One of the contest's judges,
Dr. Jerry W. Ward Jr., chairman
of the English Department at
Tougaloo College in Mississippi,
called Dr. Bragg's novel "a
valuable contribution to contemporary
Afro-American fiction."
He added that the novel "links
the ineluctable power of lyric
prose with sustained exploration
of woman's consciousness in the
20th century, yielding rich,
sometimes surprising, insights
about 'drylongso* folk in the
Black South
"Rainbow Roun Mah
Shoulder" was Dr. Bragg's first
serious attempt at writing Fiction.
Since the age of 14, she has writY
THAT DAZZLES
finery for a dramatic, sensuou
look.
And we're lucky! Our beautifu
dark skin can have the most fui
with colors that only we can ge
away with... luxurious colors tha
are stronger, richer and brighter.
A dazzling combination of th
new jewel-tones will help make th
oi/or m r\ct imnArtant footnrr
vjvj iiiv niuai tain iwaiuiv
creating an effect of glamorou
contrasts. Vibrant cheek colo
will balance the color intensit
elsewhere on the face. And mal
ching lips and nails in an excitin
burst of color^re an indispensabl
part of any glamorous look.
Experiment with your makeup
until you find the right combinatio
for you. All shades should cooi
dinate completely, and the final el
feet will add beautiful harmony t
your holiday look. "Firebird Silks
are only available from an Avo
Representative. If you don't hav
one, call 1-800-858-8000.
Ms. Ford is Manager of Black an
Hispanic Markets for Avon Pre
ducts, Inc.
ten poetry. Her first poems were I
published in 1960 in "Beyond the
Blues," an anthology of black I
poetry edited by Rosey Poole.
In 1974, Dr. Bragg published
her first book of poems with I I
Broadside Press, "A Love Song
to Black Men." She subsequently
has been published in various
periodicals, including "Black
Scholar," "Encore," "Guilford
Please see page A9 Dr. Llr
mzT
DItcRGEMT I
I CHRISTMAS
E1B1S
50 OR 75
. oc R. GIR \
OF 35 12 sheet va
II LIGHTS pack or 30
>lored tree continuous
J.
e i>SiF!TaWmT!Ti^BiiT7TM>!Vii
rMen's
and ladies' po
n PAIR ?r court 8hoe8 in ma
d I Priest Qood At All Ftmlty Dollar Stores
>. I Through This Wssfcsnd. Quantities Limited
| On Some Items. Wo Sales To Peelers.
<?
? ??#> 1 ?.a,
E' for your sup
Ida Bragg
\ i*it >m*r
Ill *%9S
SET
6 PIECE SURE
ESgHMgSygE" 6 rugged road m
sturdy die cast n
(Sap? I
? i||$| OSS
f?'d iftfS&l ^^EACH
^^COMPARE^^^^"
|^^AT 14.97
M ATHLETICS "Vfifl
pular style JOQgers B
iny colors. PAIR
OOLLIQR PUXA IMS. CTH.
No^ClSrryitrMt
AST WINSTON SNP. OTN.
500 Ctsromont Avt
i
HANK YOU
port and vote of confidonco,
i my bid to bocomo
h County Commissioner.
4
Mose' Belton Brown
T# T7^ Tti
iVnil %m|
Jqa^H ^L JJTlj
=pi ??wwB?
' A-TEAM PLAY SETS I
Select A-Team Combat Headquarters,
Tactical Van Set or M-24 Assault Rifle. |
t 19each I
r set five winders i
acnines or hive gear sportscar performs
netal. five fantastic stunts.
?-???- ?._=r--jOr
i ASSORTED BUDDY L CARS
Buddy L Charger car or Come Back
Car gives hours of pleasure.
| LADIES' DECK SHOES I
Suede or vinyl boat style mocassins in
Velcro* or lace-up styles.
MEN'S STYLES, 9.88 |