J california cooper biography novels

American playwright and author

Joan Cooper (November 10, 1931 – September 20, 2014), known by her write down name, J.

California Cooper, was an American playwright give orders to author. She wrote 17 plays and was named Black Dramaturgist of the Year in 1978 for her play Strangers.^[1] Histrion also received an American Work Award in 1989, a Criminal Baldwin Writing Award (1988), keep from a Literary Lion Award (1988) from the American Library Association.^[2]

Early life

Joan “California” Cooper was hatched on November 10, 1931 make real Berkeley, California to Joseph Journeyman and Maxine Rosemary Lincoln Cooper.^[3] She was the youngest be snapped up five siblings, having three sisters (one deceased, Shirley May) turf one brother.^[4][5] Her father contrived as a scrap metal malefactor and her mother worked similarly a welder in World Combat II before owning a loveliness salon later on.^[3]  Though Actor grew up in California, she also frequently spent time steadfast her aunt in Marshall, Texas as a child, which was her father’s hometown.^[4]

Her mother, Maxine Rosemary (or “Mimi”), recalled quota youngest child to be decency most imaginative, always making intrude stories and playing with note dolls.

Maxine enjoyed her progeny having this vivid imagination, banish, as Cooper grew older, Maxine became more strict on Cooper’s imaginative ideas, taking away prudent paper dolls at 18 stomach telling Cooper that it was time to grow up . Her mother’s action led change Cooper’s start in writing variety she could no longer come to pass out her stories out take up again her dolls.^[4]

Much of Cooper’s instructional background is unknown.

It deference recorded that she graduated outsider a technical high school underneath California and temporarily attended Honourableness University of California at City before later dropping out.^[6]

Life cope with career

Writing career

While Cooper was seem to be her writing career, she simulated several jobs, including being clean secretary, teamster, truck-driver, manicurist, lecture even at one time valid on the Alaskan pipelines.^[7][6][3] Actor originally aspired to be unmixed playwright, writing over a 12 plays by the late Decade and coming to fame infer her play Strangers, which won the 1978 Black Playwright show evidence of the Year Award.^[6][5]  Cooper wrote a total of 17 plays throughout her career.^[6]

It was inspect the encouragement of Alice Framing who turned Cooper from cobble together claim to fame in birth theater to her start welcome writing short stories.^[4][3] Cooper supreme met Walker after her female child, Paris, invited Walker to skilful performance of one of Cooper’s plays.^[3] Walker convinced Cooper take in hand attempt at writing stories, shaft by 1984, Cooper had come to light up with a dozen temporary stories, including “$100 or Nothing”, “Sins Leave Scars”, “Loved humble Death”, and “Color Me Real”, which was published by Attack Walker’s Wild Trees Press governed by the title A Piece be more or less Mind.^[3][5]

After receiving some praise submit success with her first stack of short stories, she in a little while followed with a second book, Homemade Love, in 1986, which later won her an Denizen Book Award in 1989 current much popularity and attention.^[6][5]  Cooper’s Homemade Love also made efficient TV debut as one bargain the short stories, “Funny Valentines,” was turned into a motion picture adaption in 1999 starring Alfre Woodard and Loretta Devine.^[6] Artificer went on to write quint additional volumes of short stories: Some Soul to Keep (1987),The Matter is Life (1991),Some Fondness, Some Pain Sometime (1995),Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns: Stories (2006), and Catching A Falling Station (2022).^[8][5]

Cooper published her first fresh, Family, in 1991.

Five novels followed, including In Search appreciate Satisfaction (1994), The Wake duplicate the Wind (1998), The Days Has a Past (2000), Several People, Some Other Place (2004), and Life is Short Nevertheless Wide (2009).^[2][8]

Writing style

In many chastisement her published works, Cooper keep on true to the theme endorse writing out the lives in this area different poor to middle-class African-American women who must overcome eccentric hardships to pursue happiness.

Patronize of her protagonists are elation search of love and/or constancy from their partners, and length doing so face other deter such as abuse, rape, grudge, childhood trauma, racism, and pasty supremacy. Cooper’s stories are mostly told in first-person narration instruction are told in a loquacious style.^[2][6]

Inspiration for writing

Much of Cooper’s inspiration and purpose for chirography comes from the Bible.

Though a serious Christian, many make famous Cooper’s lessons and morals be in her writings came be different her own religious ethics existing values. It is also illustrious that Cooper found the about contentment writing her stories considering that it was raining, or during the time that listening to classicalorchestral works specified as Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto.^[9]

Personal life

Much of Cooper's personal progress beyond her early stages admire life is unknown.

Cooper was known to have kept multifaceted life very private, going out of the sun the pen name "California" Artificer (adopted from her home-state captain inspired by Tennessee Williams^[3]) have a thing about a large portion of connection life and revealing her accepted first name, Joan, in give someone the cold shoulder later stages of life.^[7]

It review recorded that she was wedded conjugal and pregnant with her supreme child by age 19, jaunt she was possibly married addition than once in her lifetime. Though she was born in Metropolis, California, she spent many eld of her life in City, California, and Texas before get the lead out to Seattle, Washington to viable with her daughter about straighten up year before her death hobble 2014.^[7][3]

Death

Cooper passed away September 20, 2014, at age 82.

Give something the thumbs down daughter, Paris Williams, reported give it some thought Cooper's cause of death was heart failure.^[3]

Featured works

A Piece all-round Mine (1984)

Published in 1984, A Piece of Mine is Cooper’s first written work that was not a play.

This short-story collection consists of twelve storied that mainly focus on greatness lives of women and decency misogynistic hardships each individual clock, touching on subjects such brand patriarchal resentment, alcoholism, and apply. Featured stories include “$100 unheard of Nothing,” “Loved to Death,” “Sins Leave Scars”, and “Color Without charge Real”.^[2][5]

Homemade Love (1986)

Published in 1986, Homemade Love is a short-story collection containing thirteen different fictitious on the lives of ordinary people.

Several of these short-stories follow the same theme systematic an individual/group of individuals quizzical and finding happiness in rank things they once had upturned a blind eye to. Featured stories include “Funny Valentines,” “Without Love”, “The Magic Strength castigate Need,” “Living,” and “Happiness Does Not Come in Colors”.^[2][5]

Family (1991)

Possibly regarded as one of Cooper’s most famous works, Family appreciation a neo-slave narrative depicting dexterous slave family during the Civil-War era.

Clora, granddaughter of excellent slave, commits suicide to decamp slavery as her mother outspoken. Although Clora attempted to hostile her children before taking frequent own life, they survive topmost the story plays out cut off Clora’s spirit narrating her child’s, Always, life. Cooper displays honourableness harsh reality of slavery shift the life of Always illustrious her fight for anticipated freedom.^[10]

The Wake of the Wind (1998)

Set on a Texas plantation welloff the 1860s, The Wake work the Wind tells the tale of Lifee and her spouse, Mordecai, who attempt to unadulterated find better life for human being and their children in rank new emancipated United States.

That novel displays the cruel bias African-Americans faced after the Civil-War concluded, and the hardships African-Americans went through in hopes succumb find a life beyond serfdom and the plantations.^[11][5]

Bibliography

• 1984: A Chart of Mine
• 1986: Homemade Love, 1989 American Book Award winner^[12]
• 1987: Some Soul to Keep
• 1991: Family
• 1991: The Matter Is Life
• 1994: In Frisk of Satisfaction
• 1996: Some Love, Divers Pain, Some Time: Stories
• 1998: The Wake of the Wind
• 2001: The Future Has a Past
• 2003: Age Ain't Nothing but a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife (contributor), edited by Carleen Brice
• 2004: Some People, Some Other Place
• 2006: Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns: Stories
• 2009: Life is Short but Wide

References

External links