Joyce Carol Thomas
Joyce Carol Thomas was an influential American author, born on May 25, 1938, in Ponca City, Oklahoma. She was the fifth of nine children and grew up in a family that supplemented their income through seasonal work, including cotton and fruit picking. Thomas was deeply influenced by the African American cultural stories shared by her mother and other storytellers during her childhood, which inspired her to start writing poetry and plays at a young age. She pursued higher education, earning a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a master's degree at Stanford University.
Thomas is best known for her impactful novels, particularly "Marked by Fire," which debuted in 1982 and explores themes of trauma and resilience through the life of its protagonist, Abyssinia. This novel was later adapted into a musical, "Abyssinia," and is part of a larger narrative arc that includes "Bright Shadow" and "Water Girl." In addition to her novels, Thomas published several acclaimed children's poetry collections, receiving multiple awards, such as the Coretta Scott King Award. Throughout her career, she garnered recognition for her contributions to literature, including the 2001 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Joyce Carol Thomas passed away on August 13, 2016, leaving behind a rich legacy of storytelling that honors her cultural roots and personal experiences.
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Joyce Carol Thomas
- Born: May 25, 1938
- Birthplace: Ponca City, Oklahoma
- Died: August 13, 2016
- Place of death: Stanford, California
Biography
Joyce Carol Thomas was born Joyce Carol Haynes on May 25, 1938, in Ponca City, Oklahoma. She was the fifth of nine children and the oldest girl. In the summers, Thomas, her siblings, and her parents picked cotton to supplement her father's income as a barber. When she was ten years old, her family moved from Ponca City to Tracy, California, where they continued to earn extra money as seasonal fruit pickers. While growing up, Thomas heard stories about African American culture from her mother, aunts, and local storytellers. To these stories she added her imagination, writing poetry and plays while still a young girl.
Thomas attended several colleges in California before receiving her bachelor’s degree in Spanish from San José State College (now University) in 1966. She then attended Stanford University, receiving her master’s degree in 1967. She was married three times and had one daughter from her first marriage, two sons from her second marriage, and one son from her third marriage.
After publishing several plays and books of poetry in the 1970s, Thomas published her first novel in 1982. Marked by Fire, set in the cotton fields of Oklahoma in 1951, tells the story of Patience Jackson and her baby, Abyssinia. When a fire crackles and bursts, an ember marks the baby’s cheek. Though Abyssinia has many gifts, among them a promising singing voice, her life is emotionally scarred early on when she is raped by a church member. The story tells of her healing from this tragedy. A musical adaptation of Marked by Fire, titled Abyssinia and written by Ted Kociolek and James Racheff, premiered Off-Broadway at the CSC Repertory Theatre in 1987.
Abyssinia’s story continues in Bright Shadow (1983) as she heads to college and enters a romantic relationship with Carl Lee Jefferson, a relationship her family discourages. Abyssinia faces pain and difficulties, but she continues to see the beauty in life. Water Girl (1986) tells the story of Abyssinia's granddaughter, while The Golden Pasture (1986) focuses on the youth of Carl Lee, Abyssinia’s love interest. At thirteen he finds a wild horse and through the challenge of raising him gains new respect for his father.
Like the stories she heard as a child, Thomas’s novels are rich with symbolism and the rhythm of language. Her stories give new voice to the folk wisdom that enriched her childhood. In addition to her novels, Thomas published a number of other books, including several collections of poetry for children. Of these, Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea (1993) and The Blacker the Berry (2008) won Coretta Scott King Award honors, as did Bright Shadow. Other awards and honors Thomas earned over the course of her career include a Danforth Graduate Fellowship from the University of California, Berkeley (1973–75); the 2001 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries; and a 1982 American Book Award (from the Before Columbus Foundation), the 1983 National Book Award for children’s fiction, and citations from both the New York Times and the American Library Association for outstanding book of the year, all for Marked by Fire. In 2009–10 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame.
Thomas died on August 13, 2016, at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Her cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver caused by hepatitis C, which she had contracted from a blood transfusion years earlier.
Bibliography
Brenner, Marie J. K. "Joyce Carol Thomas." Cyclopedia of World Authors, edited by Tracy Irons-Georges, 4th rev. ed., Salem Press, 2004. Literary Reference Center, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=103331CWA31589810003419&site=ehost-live. Accessed 24 Mar. 2017.
Malia, Elizabeth. "Joyce Carol Thomas (1938–)." Encyclopedia of African American Women Writers, edited by Yolanda Williams Page, Greenwood Press, 2007, pp. 556–60.
Mitchell, Julie Muller. "Award-Winning Children's Author." Stanford Magazine, Nov.–Dec. 2016, alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article‗id=89703. Accessed 24 Mar. 2017.
Schudel, Matt. "Joyce Carol Thomas, Children's Author Who Accented Black Rural Life, Dies at 78." The Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/joyce-carol-thomas-childrens-author-who-accented-black-rural-life-dies-at-78/2016/08/23/22709fcc-6946-11e6-8225-fbb8a6fc65bc‗story.html. Accessed 24 Mar. 2017.
Slotnik, Daniel E. "Joyce Carol Thomas, Who Wrote of African-American Life, Dies at 78." The New York Times, 22 Aug. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/books/joyce-carol-thomas-who-wrote-of-african-american-life-dies-at-78.html. Accessed 24 Mar. 2017.
Thomas, Joyce Carol. "Evoking the 'Holy and the Horrible': Conversations with Joyce Carol Thomas." Interview by Darwin L. Henderson and Anthony L. Manna. African American Review, vol. 32, no. 1, 1998, pp. 139–46. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=512070&site=ehost-live. Accessed 24 Mar. 2017.