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Vera Williams

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Vera B. Williams
BornVera Baker
(1927-01-28)January 28, 1927
Hollywood, California
DiedOctober 16, 2015(2015-10-16) (aged 88)
Narrowsburg, New York, USA
OccupationWriter and illustrator
NationalityAmerican
EducationHigh School of Music & Art Black Mountain College
Period1975–2015
GenreChildren's literature, picture books
Notable worksAs writer:
It's a Gingerbread House (1978)
A Chair for My Mother (1982)
SpousePaul Williams (−1970)
ChildrenSarah
Jennifer
Merce

Vera Baker Williams (January 28, 1927 – October 16, 2015) was an American children's writer and illustrator. Her best known work, A Chair for My Mother, has won multiple awards and was featured on the children's television show Reading Rainbow.[1]

For her lifetime contribution as a children's illustrator she was U.S. nominee in 2004 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books.[2] Additionally, she was awarded the 2009 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature.[3]

Biography

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Early life and education

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Vera Baker was born January 28, 1927, in Hollywood, California.[4] She has one sister, Naomi.[5] As a child, her family moved to the Bronx, New York, where her father was frequently absent during her early childhood. In New York City, she danced, acted, and painted at the Bronx House, a local community center.[6] Her book Scooter, published in 1993, is based on her childhood in the Bronx.[7]

Encouraged by their parents to explore the arts, she studied at the High School of Music & Art[5] and Black Mountain College in North Carolina, where she received her BFA in Graphic Art in 1949.[4]

Marriage and children

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While at Black Mountain College, she married fellow student Paul Williams. The couple divorced in 1970. Together they had three children:

  • Sarah Williams
  • Jennifer Williams
  • Merce Williams

She has five grandchildren:

  • Hudson Williams
  • August Williams
  • William Babcock
  • Rebecca Babcock
  • Clare Babcock

Career

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Williams was a co-founder of the Gate Hill Cooperative Community and served as a teacher for the community from 1953–70. She taught at alternative schools in New York and Ontario throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Following her divorce, she emigrated to Canada, where she committed to becoming a children's author and illustrator.

In 1975 she was invited by Remy Charlip to illustrate Hooray for Me, which she did while living on a houseboat in Vancouver, British Columbia.[5] She established a publishing relationship with Greenwillow Books that continues to this day.

Most recently, Ms. Williams resided in New York City and remained active in local issues such as The House of Elder Artists[8] and participated in the 2007 PEN World Voices literary festival.[9] She died on October 16, 2015.[10]

United for Libraries Literary Landmark dedicated by the Empire State Center for the Book

Philosophical and political views

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Williams long supported nonviolent and nuclear disarmament causes. She contributed artwork for several covers of Liberation magazine.[11] [12]

In 1981 she spent a month in Alderson Federal Prison Camp following arrest at a women's peaceful blockade of the Pentagon.[13] She served on the executive committee of the War Resisters League from 1984 to 1987. Asked about her arrest record, she responded:

I don't make a point of ending up in jail, but if you try to put your hopes and beliefs for a better life into effect, arrest is sometimes a hazard. I am asked if I think any of his helps or works. I say, in the short run, we can't know, but many things we take for granted have been gained by the similar actions of people like myself: the end of child labor, more rights for black people, the vote for women, the end of the Vietnam War are a few. As a person who works for children, who raised three children...I have been able to say I did something to try to save our planet from destruction. It is my faith that we will.[14]

Legacy

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On May 4, 2019, the Vera's Story Garden at Ethelbert B. Crawford Library in Monticello, New York, was named a United for Libraries Literary Landmark in honor of Vera B. Williams. It was dedicated by the Empire State Center for the Book.[15]

Her original artwork is held in collections including the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division[16] and the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center.[17]

A book about Vera B. Williams by historian Mark Davenport is forthcoming as of January 2024.[18]

Works

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As author

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  • It's a Gingerbread House (1978)
  • The Great Watermelon Birthday (1980)
  • Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe (1981)
  • A Chair for My Mother (1982)
  • Something Special for Me (1983)
  • Music, Music for Everyone (1984)
  • My Mother, Leah and George Sand (1986)
  • Cherries and Cherry Pits (1986)
  • Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea with Jennifer Williams (1988)
  • "More More More" Said the Baby (1990)
  • Scooter (1993)
  • Lucky Song (1997)
  • Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart (2001)
  • A Chair for Always (2009)
  • Home at Last with Chris Raschka (2016)

As illustrator

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  • Hooray For Me!, Remy Charlip (1975)
  • Long Walks and Intimate Talks, Grace Paley (1991)
  • Home: A Collaboration of Thirty Authors & Illustrators (1996)

Awards

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Exhibitions

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  • 1995: Family, Friends, and Community: The Art of Vera B. Williams, Library of Congress[22]
  • 2024: Vera B. Williams / STORIES: Eight Decades of Politics and Picture Making, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Asheville, North Carolina, January 26 – May 11, 2024.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ PBS. Reading Rainbow episode "A Chair for my Mother" Archived October 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "2004". Hans Christian Andersen Awards. International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).
      "Hans Christian Andersen Awards". IBBY. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  3. ^ "2009 – Vera B. Williams". June 11, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Williams, Vera B." Something About the Author, vol. 102, pp. 200–205.
  5. ^ a b c Williams, Vera B. (January 2002). "BookWire speaks with... Vera B. Williams, author of Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart". BookWire (Interview). Interviewed by Neela Sakaria. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2007.
  6. ^ Williams, Vera B. (2010). "The Reading Child Inside This Writer". World Literature Today. 84 (2): 50–57. doi:10.1353/wlt.2010.0302. JSTOR 27871030. S2CID 245655772.
  7. ^ Wolff, Virginia Euwer (2010). "Bringer of Solace and Delight: A Tribute to Vera B. Williams". World Literature Today. 84 (2): 58–60. doi:10.1353/wlt.2010.0313. JSTOR 27871031. S2CID 160941095.
  8. ^ Brown, Patricia Leigh (August 24, 2000). "GENERATIONS; Raising More Than Consciousness Now". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2007.
  9. ^ "PEN World Voices 2007". Archived from the original on April 8, 2006. Retrieved October 10, 2007.
  10. ^ Fox, Margalit (October 21, 2015). "Vera B. Williams, 88, Dies; Brought Working Class to Children's Books". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Vera Baker Williams Interview by Connie Bostic". BMCS. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  12. ^ Dunn, Alec (July 18, 2023). "Hope in the Midst of Apathy: Liberation magazine and the Covers of Vera Williams". Signal: A Journal of International Political Graphics and Culture. 8. PM Press. ISBN 9781629635668.
  13. ^ Williams, Vera B. (December 12, 2001). "Vera B. Williams". KidsReads.com (Interview). Interviewed by Molly McVeigh. Retrieved October 10, 2007.
  14. ^ Conroy, Caitlin A. "Vera B. Williams". Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  15. ^ "Literary Landmark: Vera's Story Garden – Vera B. Williams". May 24, 2019.
  16. ^ "Library Acquires Original Artwork by Children's Author Vera B. Williams". The NewsMarket. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  17. ^ "Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center". collections.blackmountaincollege.org. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  18. ^ "The Untold Story of Vera B. Williams – A Conversation with Mark Davenport". The Laurel of Asheville. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards: Winners and Honor Books 1967 to present". The Horn Book. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  20. ^ a b "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA)
     "The Randolph Caldecott Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  21. ^ "Regina Medal" Archived April 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Catholic Library Association. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  22. ^ Library of Congress Exhibition Features Work of Children's Author/Illustrator Vera Williams
  23. ^ "Vera B. Williams exhibit in Asheville". The River Reporter. January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
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