The first comprehensive overview of an important genre of American art, Souls Grown Deep explores the visual-arts genius of the black South. This first work in a multivolume study introduces 40 African-American self-taught artists, who, without significant formal training, often employ the most unpretentious and unlikely materials. Like blues and jazz artists, they create powerful statements amplifying the call for freedom and vision.
September Dove, a must read epic, begins in 1949 on the Texas\Mexican border. Adhering to the times, and with a fifties spin on morality and work ethics, September Dove is heartwarming, sad, and humorous. Written in a narrative style that is refreshing, painfully honest, and almost primal. Gripping human experiences and bare-naked emotions are artfully exposed. An endearing storytelling triumph, that includes seldom revealed, but accurate, history lessons, from the wetback camps of the era, to the authentic practices of a Central Texas working ranch. Seen through the eyes of a young, eccentric girl, Farley Marie Sebastian, this story, has it all, unforgettable characters, a strong, thought-provoking plot, adventure, action and soul-deep love. You will bond with these people, and you will laugh and cry. Farley, a dusky beauty, is saddled with, yet strengthened by, her strict, fundamental, religious background. Plagued by many suitors, and due to a tragedy, she comes to consider her beauty a sinful curse, rather than a genetic blessing. The author clearly has an amazing grasp of humanity and remarkable descriptive abilities. The dreadful camp conditions, and the brutal ranch practices are poignantly vivid. Humor, action and interesting people and settings offer genderless appeal.
The dragons of the past came flooding my soul like an unexpected tornado on an already saturated soil, uprooting everything in its path. It engulfed my already languishing soul, enveloping me in an inferno that threatened to relinquish my very existence. Suddenly from deep within my innermost being like raindrops on a sun-parched earth, something bellowed; live the dream! Like a butterfly rising from its darkened pupa, I took pen in hand and started to write: as stories from my daunting past flooded my soul creating a resilience that told me that life has only just begun. Be still my soul! "The Lord is on my side Look to thy God To order and provide He constant will remain"