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Lorenz
Graham's “TOWN” Novels
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Boyds Mills Press released Lorenz
Graham’s award-winning novels, South Town, North Town,
Whose Town? and Return to South Town in August
2003. These works by
Graham helped lay the foundation for contemporary African American
children’s literature. A
foreword by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop and an afterword by the author's
daughter, Dr. Ruth Graham Siegrist, place these remarkable novels in
the context of their time (South Town was originally
published in 1958). Through the character of David Williams, young
readers witness a turbulent era in American history, a period marked
by unspeakable injustice and life-affirming hope. |
Maya Angelou
praises Lorenz Graham’s novels.
"South
Town and North Town were the bookends
to a small library
which I used to raise a teenage African American boy…The Graham
books were so accessible that I noticed those were the only two books
my son refused to lend out and in fact kept privately secreted under his
bed."
South Town
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David Williams was just a nother
kid in South Town, until the day he rescued a white
boy from drowning. Now he
was a hero. The whole
town took notice of him. And
that’s when the trouble started.
Some citizens decided that no black boy should be so brave or
bright. No black boy should
have such lofty ambitions. David
dreamed of becoming a doctor and returning to South Town to open a
practice. Some people
thought David was a little too uppity. They decided he needed to be put in his place. David’s family did everything they could to help David. Despite the racial barriers they ran into day after day, his
family never gave up hope. But then came that summer night and the tragic events that would
shatter their lives.
Hailed by
Booklist
as a “sensitively written, harshly realistic, and compelling
story” when it was first published in 1958, South Town
presents a picture of African American life in the South at the
birth of the Civil Rights era.
South Town is also remarkable for its time, when few books
for young people tackled the issue of racism in America.
Lorenz Graham’s novel, the first of four to feature the
character David Williams, is a landmark in African American
literature.
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North
Town
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David Williams and his family
have left the South for a new life up North. A summer
marked by violence and bigotry led them to believe that
their only salvation lay in moving to North Town.
A new life brings new experiences for
David. He had never gone to school with white students.
He had never ridden on a bus where he was not separated from the
white passengers. Despite having to live in a run-down
apartment, city life looks good to David—at least for a short
while.
It
doesn’t take long for David to learn that while he may be living
in the “free” North, he is still treated as a second-class
citizen. In rapid succession, two events change the course of
David’s life. The first is an unexpected encounter with the
law, an experience that calls up all the terrors of his earlier
troubles in the South. The second is a catastrophe in his
family, which seems to end any hope for happiness in North Town.
This
powerful novel, set in the 1960's, is the second in Lorenz
Graham’s classic “Town” series.
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Whose Town?
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Late one night,
David Williams is jumped by a group of white boys. Fortunately, his friends are there to help him fight off the attack. But this ugly incident leads to real tragedy when one of David’s
friends is later shot and killed. In the tangled nightmare
that follows the murder, the best efforts of David’s lawyer are
needed to bring out all of the facts.
When David returns to high school, he
finds it impossible to resume his normal life. Only two years
before, David’s family had fled the South to escape bigotry and
violence. Now their dream of living peacefully in North Town
is shattered, too. Everywhere frustrations are mounting: in
David’s life, in his father’s life, and in the life of
North Town itself. The question is heard again and
again, “Whose town is this?”
This extraordinary novel is the third
in Lorenz Graham’s classic “Town” series, and continues the
story of David Williams during the turbulent 1960's.
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Return to South Town
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David
Williams has come back to South Town, the place he had left fifteen
years ago. He and his family had been victims of hatred, bigotry,
and violence. They went north in search of a better life.
When he left the South, David was a boy
with a great dream. He wanted to be a doctor, and he hoped
to return to South Town to serve the people there. Now he has
realized his dream. He has become a doctor, and he’s ready to
open an office The question is: How much has South Town
changed and how deep have the changes gone? The sleepy little town
that David remembered has certainly been transformed. The
old Jim Crow laws are gone. His old friends have prospered.
But is he needed in South Town? Can
he make it as the first black doctor? Some of his friends answer
the first question with a vigorous yes. As for the second...David’s old boyhood enemy, Harold Boyd, son of the richest man in the
county, has also become a doctor, and he controls the only hospital.
In his struggle to build a new life in his hometown, David Williams
faces old prejudices that refuse to be tempered by time.
This final novel in Lorenz Graham’s
classic “Town” series concludes in the 1970’s, and rounds out the
inspiring life of David Williams.
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