Day 11: Rosa Guy
The events of her teen life appear in many of Guy's novels. Her work frequently focuses on families (and found families) and centers around the lives of adolescents. In a 1973 review of Guy's The Friends, Alice Walker wrote "this book is called a 'juvenile.' So be a juvenile while you read it. Rosa Guy will give you back a large part of the memory of those years that you've been missing." In 1971 Guy compiled a collection of interviews with Black American youth called Children of Longing. In addition to stories about family and friendship, Guy wrote about homosexuality, class, sex, and other coming of age topics.
Besides her young adult novels, Guy also wrote for adults and for children. Her adult novel My Love, My Love: Or, The Peasant Girl, was adapted into a musical called Once on This Island. The show ran on Broadway from 1990 to 1991 and was nominated for 8 Tony Awards. Her activism not only manifested in her writings about her underrepresented community, Guy was also a member of Black nationalist organizations. After the assassination of Patrice Lumumba In 1961 she participated in a sit-in at the United nations.
"The full responsibility of writers I believe should be trying to make the world a better place for us all to live in."
