Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Sharon Dennis Wyeth is an American poet[1] and author of numerous children's books.[2] She is best known for Evette: The River and Me, which tells the story of a young girl, Evette, who is inspired to clean up the polluted tributary her grandmother once swam in. Wyeth's fiction was the basis for the first biracial American Girl doll, part of its World By Us collection.[3] Evette: The River and Me was derived from Wyeth's childhood in Washington, D.C., where she grew up swimming in the Anacostia River, in part, because Black Washingtonians were harassed when they attempted to access desegregated community pools.[2]

Sharon Dennis Wyeth
OccupationChildren's Author
Creative Writing Professor
NationalityAmerican
EducationHarvard University, B.A.
Hunter College, M.F.A.
GenreChildren's Fiction and
Non-fiction, Poetry
Notable worksEvette: The River and Me
Orphea Proud
Something Beautiful
Always My Dad
Website
sharondenniswyeth.com

Early life

Wyeth was raised in Washington, D.C. and graduated from Anacostia High School in 1966.[2] She then attended Harvard University,[2] earning her B.A. in a combined discipline of sociology, psychology and anthropology.[4] Later, Wyeth worked as a family counselor in New York City.[5] It was there that she started a theater company and began writing romance novels before focusing on books for young readers.[5]

Career

Wyeth's children's book, Boys Wanted, the first in her Pen Pal's series, was published in 1989.[6] During the 1990s, she wrote several books to include Once on This River, The World of Daughter McGuire, Always My Dad, and The Winning Stroke.[7]

In 2004, Wyeth published Orphea Proud, which is narrated by seventeen-year-old Orphea. It's set on a New York City stage, where Orphea performs a monologue that describes the early loss of her parents, how she fell in love with her best friend, Lissa, and the fallout related to Lissa's tragic car accident and Orphea's homophobic brother.[8]

Orphea Proud is one of the many books written by authors who are LGBTQ, women, or people of color to be challenged by local school districts as being inappropriate and considered for banning.[9][10]

In 2022, Wyeth published Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom, non-fiction for children about Emancipation Day, 1865.[1] Wyeth's other children's books include: Something Beautiful, A Piece of Heaven, and The Granddaughter Necklace.[7]

Wyeth is a visiting associate professor at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.[11]

Recognition

Wyeth is a member of the Cave Canem fellowship of African American poets.[12] Her picture book, Something Beautiful, was named a Children's Book Council Notable Book and a Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year.[5]

In 2005, Wyeth was a Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature finalist for her book, Orphea Proud.[13]

Her book, Evette: The River and Me, won a 2021 Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award along with the accompanying American Girl doll, Evette Peeters.[14]

References
  1. Johnston, Amanda (2022-08-05). "August 2022 Feature: Sharon Dennis Wyeth". Torch Literary Arts. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  2. Dvorak, Petula (2021-11-02). "Perspective | A new environmentalist for the next generation is a doll. And she's from D.C." The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  3. Lashley, Katrina. "Why This American Girl Doll Inspires Environmental Activism". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  4. Booker, Bobbi (2015-02-06). "Sharon Wyeth's book based on seven generations' family stories". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  5. "Sharon Dennis Wyeth: Writers on Writing". The Writer. 2015-11-30. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  6. "Boys Wanted by Sharon Dennis Wyeth". www.publishersweekly.com. August 1, 1989. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  7. "Books by Sharon Dennis Wyeth and Complete Book Reviews". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  8. "ORPHEA PROUD by Sharon Dennis Wyeth". Publishers Weekly. January 3, 2005. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  9. "Books probed by a Texas lawmaker by women, people of color, LGBTQ writers. They're asking: 'Really?'". Dallas News. 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  10. Stroshane, Eric (2022-09-21). "Censorship Dateline". Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy. 7 (1): 37–87. ISSN 2474-7459.
  11. "Sharon Dennis Wyeth". Hollins University. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  12. "Cave Canem » Fellows". Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  13. Cerna, Antonio Gonzalez (2005-07-09). "17th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  14. "We Tested Hundreds of Toys, and These Are the Ones Your Kids Will Want This Year". Good Housekeeping. 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
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