|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
About Mil Edison’s biography of Clementine Hunter
|
|
|
|
Paintings . . . 25¢ to Look will tell the story of Clementine Hunter's life, all of it.
|
|
|
|
Legend, love, luck, and larceny lurk in every bend of beautiful Cane River Lake, where a farm worker who can't read or write becomes an internationally known primitive artist, the prices of her paintings rising from
25¢ -- sold along with her watermelons -- to $350 before her death at age 101.
Paintings . . . 25¢ to Look
will touch the minds and hearts of its readers in its recounting of this petite, determined woman overcoming poverty, prejudice, and pride with will power and wit and the help of her white friends.
During her rise to fame, Clementine never became rich; she barely managed to provide for her extended family. Born in1886, just 22 years after the end of slavery, Clementine is an unlikely person to obtain fame in
the art world. Her continued "unlikely" achievements and honors make her story a fascinating one.
Paintings . . . 25¢ to Look is the first
definitive biography of Clementine Hunter, one of the most famous primitive artists of the South, whose 5,000 paintings are now displayed worldwide.
Because emphasis is always placed on Clementine the person, the biography reveals:
|
|
|
The intertwined lives of Clementine, her family, the Creoles of Color on Cane River, and a diverse group of "white folks";
Events that affect Clementine's life before the Civil Rights Act;
Her matriarchal commitment to her family;
The pleasures and pains that Cane River gave its African-Americans during this time.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Why is Mil Edison writing a biography of Clementine Hunter when other books have been written about her and her art?
Because Mil Edison feels
strongly that admirers of Clementine's life and her art deserve a book about HER, her family, her friends, her struggles, while showing how her fame changed only a fragment of her life.
Why this title?
Because Clementine loved to charge people to look at her paintings, sometimes 25¢ and sometimes 50¢. Signs on her gate and later on her house and porch form the
basis for the proposed title of this biography: "Paintings . . . 25¢ to Look."
What method has the author used to tell the story?
Creative non-fiction narrative. It reads like a
novel but stays with historical facts.
Why is Mil Edison the one to tell this story?
Because the author knew Clementine personally, admired
her, and understands the conditions of poor Black people. She has the empathy and insight to write a true account of Clementine's life in the Cane River area, where the author lived for many years. She tells Clementine's story with compassion and truthfulness.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Watch this spot for information about the publisher, publication date, and pre-ordering a copy of the book.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
