Alice Randall
| Alice Randall | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Mari-Alice Randall May 4, 1959 Detroit, Michigan, USA |
| Occupation | Author, songwriter, screenwriter, educator |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | African-American |
| Education | Harvard University |
| Genre | Historical fiction, political fiction |
| Spouse | David Ewing |
| Children | Caroline Randall Williams |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Alice Randall (born Detroit, Michigan) is an American author and songwriter of African-American descent. She is perhaps best known for her novel The Wind Done Gone, a reinterpretation and parody of the popular 1936 novel Gone with the Wind.[1]
Biography
Randall grew up in Washington, D.C.. She attended Harvard University, where she earned an honors degree in English and American literature, before moving to Nashville in 1983 to become a country songwriter.[2] She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee and is married to attorney David Ewing. She is a writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt University and teaches courses including a seminar on the country music lyric in American literature.
Country music career
Randall claims to be the first African American woman to co-write a number one country hit.[3] The single "XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl)" was released in 1994 by country music singer Trisha Yearwood. Over 20 of her songs have been recorded, including several top ten and top forty records; her songs have been performed by Trisha Yearwood and Mark O'Connor.
Fiction
Randall is also a novelist, whose first novel The Wind Done Gone is a reinterpretation and parody of Gone with the Wind. The Wind Done Gone is essentially the same story as Gone with the Wind, only told from the viewpoint of Scarlett O'Hara's half-sister Cynara, a mulatto slave on Scarlett's plantation. The estate of Margaret Mitchell sued Randall and her publishing company, Houghton Mifflin, on the grounds that The Wind Done Gone was too similar to Gone with the Wind, thus infringing its copyright. The lawsuit was eventually settled, allowing The Wind Done Gone to be published. The novel became a New York Times bestseller.
Randall's second novel, Pushkin and the Queen of Spades, was named as one of The Washington Post's "Best fiction of 2004."
Awards
Randall received the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Award in 2001[4] and the Literature Award of Excellence from the Memphis Black Writers Conference in 2002. She was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award in 2002.[2] Randall was also accepted for a prestigious writing residency at the famed Yaddo artist's community from June 23, 2011 to July 24, 2011.[5]
Novels
- The Wind Done Gone (2001)
- Pushkin and the Queen of Spades (2004)
- Rebel Yell (2009)
References
- ↑ Green, Penelope (September 16, 2009). "At Home with Alice Randall: What Matters Most". New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Biography on Alice Randall Official Website, accessed Feb. 9, 2007
- ↑ "An African American History Month Special: A Look at "The Wind Done Gone," a Parody of "Gone With the Wind" Told From a Slave's Perspective, Democracy Now, February 21, 2002, accessed Feb. 9, 2007
- ↑ Al Neuharth Free Spirit Award Past Honorees, Freedom Forum
- ↑ Patterson, Jim. "Vanderbilt writer Alice Randall accepted for Yaddo residency". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
External links
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