{"title":"Julia Peterkin","description":"JULIA PETERKIN (1880-1961) was the author of three novels, a collection of short stories, and, with photographer Doris Ulmann, a nonfiction collection of essays entitled Roll, Jordan, Roll. She was the first South Carolinian to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize.","products":[{"product_id":"scarlet-sister-mary-pulitzer-prize-winner-paperback","title":"Scarlet Sister Mary: Pulitzer Prize Winner - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, \u003cem\u003eScarlet Sister Mary\u003c\/em\u003e is a haunting portrait of love, faith, and resilience in the post-Civil War South. \u003c\/strong\u003eSet among the Gullah people of South Carolina's Lowcountry, the novel follows Mary, a proud and passionate young woman whose defiance of tradition sets her at odds with her community. When she chooses a path of independence-embracing love, motherhood, and desire on her own terms-Mary is both condemned and admired, a figure of scandal and strength. Through Mary's story, Julia Peterkin captures the rhythms of rural Black life with lyricism and intensity, weaving themes of freedom, spirituality, and survival into a deeply human tale. Both celebrated and controversial, \u003cem\u003eScarlet Sister Mar\u003c\/em\u003ey endures as a striking work of Southern Gothic fiction that confronts the costs of independence in a world bound by judgment and tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51438463090911,"sku":"9781515467342","price":25.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/uREdcO7Pxq9781515467342.webp?v=1790097237"},{"product_id":"scarlet-sister-mary-paperback","title":"Scarlet Sister Mary - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eJulia Peterkin pioneered in demonstrating the literary potential for serious depictions of the African American experience. Rejecting the prevailing sentimental stereotypes of her times, she portrayed her black characters with sympathy and understanding, endowing them with the full dimensions of human consciousness. In these novels and stories, she tapped the richness of rural southern black culture and oral traditions to capture the conflicting realities in an African American community and to reveal a grace and courage worthy of black pride.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51459976560863,"sku":"9780820323770","price":59.87,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/vOMzpwWgVR9780820323770.webp?v=1790369683"},{"product_id":"scarlet-sister-mary-hardcover","title":"Scarlet Sister Mary - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScarlet Sister Mary is a 1928 novel by Julia Peterkin. It won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1929. The book was called obscene and banned at the Gaffney, South Carolina public library. The Gaffney Ledger newspaper, however, serially published the complete book. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScarlet Sister Mary is set among the Gullah people of the Low Country in South Carolina. The date is never established, but it appears to be around the beginning of the 20th century. The title character, Mary, was an orphan on an abandoned plantation who was raised by Auntie Maum Hannah and her crippled son Budda Ben. The description of Mary as \"Scarlet Sister\" reflects the basic conflict in the novel as Mary is torn between her desire to be a member of good standing in the church and a desire to live a life of sin and pleasure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJulia began writing short stories inspired by the everyday life and management of the plantation. She was described as audacious as well as gracious by Robeson (1995). Peterkin sent highly assertive letters to people she did not know and had never met. For example, she wrote to authors Carl Sandburg and H. L. Mencken, and included samples of her writing about the Gullah culture of coastal South Carolina. Living chiefly on the plantation, she invited Sandburg, Mencken, and other prominent people to the plantation. Sandburg, who lived within a day's travel time in Flat Rock, North Carolina, visited. Although Mencken did not visit, he became Peterkin's literary agent in her early career, a possible testament to her persuasive letters. Eventually, Mencken led her to Alfred Knopf, who published Green Thursday, her first book, in 1924.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition to a number of subsequent novels, her short stories were published in magazines and newspapers throughout her career. Peterkin was among the few white authors to specialize in the African-American experience.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67578297581791,"sku":"9781957990781","price":30.17,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/YIEAyv6EiN9781957990781.webp?v=1790402733"},{"product_id":"scarlet-sister-mary-pulitzer-prize-winner-hardcover","title":"Scarlet Sister Mary: Pulitzer Prize Winner - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, \u003cem\u003eScarlet Sister Mary\u003c\/em\u003e is a haunting portrait of love, faith, and resilience in the post-Civil War South.\u003c\/strong\u003e Set among the Gullah people of South Carolina's Lowcountry, the novel follows Mary, a proud and passionate young woman whose defiance of tradition sets her at odds with her community. When she chooses a path of independence-embracing love, motherhood, and desire on her own terms-Mary is both condemned and admired, a figure of scandal and strength. Through Mary's story, Julia Peterkin captures the rhythms of rural Black life with lyricism and intensity, weaving themes of freedom, spirituality, and survival into a deeply human tale. Both celebrated and controversial, \u003cem\u003eScarlet Sister Mary\u003c\/em\u003e endures as a striking work of Southern Gothic fiction that confronts the costs of independence in a world bound by judgment and tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67775204622559,"sku":"9781515467335","price":42.73,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/MnnFilzcAF9781515467335.webp?v=1790682746"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/julia-peterkin.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}