Today we’d like to introduce you to Alice Faye Duncan.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am an only child. Both of my parents taught school and were voracious readers. My father was so enamored with books that when we moved to our new home in 1974, he built a bookcase in each room. As an only child, I spent much of my time reading and writing stories and poems like those I encountered in books from Paul Laurence Dunbar, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou. The idea that I could pursue poetry and books as a profession happened in the 6th grade. American poet Etheridge Knight visited my school. Gwendolyn Brooks was his literary mother., so I was fascinated instantly. Etheridge Knight stood at the front of my 6th-grade class looking like an uncle, neighbor, church member. Until meeting him, I assumed all the writers in my textbooks were dead. But there he was, reading his poems about ancestry, the evils of war, and the beauty of Black people. My profession was sealed from that moment. I decided then that I would write poems and publish books as my professional calling in the world.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I received a two-book deal when I was 24 years old. It was a thrilling achievement. Thirty years have passed. Etheridge Knight failed to say that writing for most creatives will not be a lucrative pursuit. Instead, it is a compelling and vocation that wells up from a love for humanity and the alchemy of words. Most often, it takes several years for books to flourish and support a writer. Across these thirty years, I have served as a National Board Educator and school librarian. Working with young people inspires my ideas. I wrote MEMPHIS, MARTIN AND THE MOUNTAINTOP because there was not one book for children on the market that explained the weight and reason for Dr. King’s assassination. Students knew where he died. They did not know why he died. My book fills the gap. My two recent books are EVICTED–THE STRUGGLE FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE and OPAL LEE AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FREE–THE TRUE STORY OF THE GRANDMOTHER OF JUNETEENTH. EVICTED is the first book for children that highlights the lives of Black sharecroppers who inspired John Lewis and SNCC to tackle voting rights in the rural South. OPAL LEE is the history of Juneteenth and it is the life story of the Black Grandmother who inspired Congress and the Senate to make Juneteenth a National Holiday during the summer of 2021. My books for children have always been important and necessary, but in this new season with the onslaught of a movement to ban Black History books, my long list of titles are proving to be urgent and popular with parents who believe it is paramount that children know America’s past as we all proceed to move forward.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I write picture books for children that explore important but forgotten moments in American History. If we don’t record the tragedy and triumphs of our past, there are people in the world who will say that slavery or the Holocaust never happened. My books are written in lyrical prose and poetry because rhythm and rhyme allow young readers to receive histories and herstories in a way that enlightens and inspires. My books discuss activists like Dr. King, Coretta Scott King, Grandmother Opal Lee, Poet Gwendolyn Brooks and revolutionary sharecroppers and activists like John and Viola McFerren, Harpman and Minnie Jamerson and Early B. Williams. I also write stories about the joy of Black Life. HONEY BABY SUGAR CHILD is a mother’s love song to her Black baby. JUST LIKE A MAMA is the celebration of parents and children knitted are not connected by blood but knitted in love. Beyond the tragedies and triumphs of Black History is the sustaining power and joy of Black Love.
What does success mean to you?
My mother defines success this way. It is having ample resources that allow you to live your life and give support to others. My mother is 85 years old. And for all of my life, she has spoken these words. “Lord, I want enough so I can live and give.” My mother’s words have been the foundation to my creative pursuits. I write books because that is my divine calling. But I also get up each day ready to work. Writing is work. I write to keep the lights burning and to earn coins that allow benevolence to bless my life. I am a little person rooting for all the little people to win. I also believe in supporting local businesses and non-profits who do the work for justice. In Atlanta, the two local bookstores that carry my books children include the King Center Bookstore on Auburn Avenue and the Agnes Scott College Bookstore in Decatur. It is of the greatest importance that we make money flow through local bookstores. Why? Local dollars employ local workers and help the city grow.
Local Atlanta artists and editors are very much a part of my success.
R. Gregory Christie is the illustrator for MEMPHIS, MARTIN AND THE MOUNTAINTOP. This book was awarded a Coretta Scott King Honor Medal for Christie’s illustrations.
Award-Winning Artist Charly Palmer is the illustrator for my new book–EVICTED–THE STRUGGLE FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
NYT Writer and editor Denene Millner is the editor of my children’s book–JUST LIKE A MAMA.
Contact Info:
- Email: AFDuncan@aol.com
- Website: www.alicefayeduncan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/alicefayewrites/
- Twitter: @AliceFa41743636
Image Credits:
The publicity photograph with me in the orange blouse should be attributed to the photographer–Tarrice Love. The photographs of me signing books and speaking at the King Center should be attributed to the King Center.
