One of our foremost scholars of African American literature offers a collection of poignant autobiographical essays on being Southern
Trudier Harris will tell you that African Americans who consider themselves Southern are about as rare as summer snow. But Harris has always embraced the South, and in Summer Snow she explores her experience as a black Southerner and how it has shaped her into the writer and intellectual she has become.
“Something between a nostalgic, inward-looking memoir and a collection of provocative, outward-looking essays on race, class, geography and gender.” —Paul Schnieder, O Magazine
“Harris thoughtfully weaves patches of personal history with discourses on topics so fundamental to her growth . . . You will be constantly amused by Harris’s descriptive language.” —Herb Boyd, Black Issues Book Review
“Like Zora Neale Hurston, another great daughter of the South, Harris lets her vision be tempered by her love. And make no mistake, the South of Black Americans is a love story. Summer Snow reminds us of that . . . causes us to remember that . . . lets us celebrate that.” —Nikki Giovanni
“Because of this author, we see, feel, understand and celebrate our people, who created—through sheer wit and will—a culture that defeated the dehumanization of slavery by keeping us, body and soul, alive. A wonderful book you have to read to believe.” —Toi Derricotte, author of The Black Notebooks