The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) has honored Florence Ladd, director of the Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College, with the 1997 BCALA Literary Award for Best Fiction. This annual award, which recognizes excellence in adult fiction and nonfiction published by African American authors, went to Ladd's debut novel Sarah's Psalm (Scribner, 1996) which topped the fiction category, followed by novels by Faye McDonald Smith and Derrick Bell. Recipients will receive the awards during the 1997 Annual Conference of the American Library Association in San Francisco in June. In addition to the BCALA award, Ladd is also the recipient of the 1997 Valeria Knapp Award by the board of directors of The College Club in Boston, the oldest residence club for college women in the United States. This accolade is presented annually to an outstanding woman educator who exemplifies the professional talents and leadership necessary to significantly influence the Boston community.

Sarah's Psalm tells the lyrical and vivid story of an accomplished African American woman who discovers that Senegal, Africa, is her true home, and that Ibrahim Mangane, her literary mentor, is the man with whom she belongs. Against the textured backdrop of the Senegalese landscape and through a cast of memorable characters, Sarah's Psalm is a story of the American civil rights movement, the emergence of afrocentrism, and a chronicle of one woman's efforts to establish her own fulfillment and identity.

Ladd, who holds a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Rochester, originally considered writing case studies of African American women scholars, activists, and artists whose contributions to society have been understated. However, the possibility of reaching a larger, more general readership through fiction influenced her decision to write Sarah's Psalm.

"The novel became an appropriate medium for the development of Sarah, who is a fictive composite of many women," said Ladd. "Indeed, it afforded a means of placing myself and my kind in literature."

Carol Gilligan, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said

of Sarah's Psalm: "It is a vibrant and moving first novel, taking us into the consciousness of a bold, intelligent, sensuous woman who chooses to live life fully." Playwright and actor Anna Deavere Smith said: "Sarah's Psalm is a beautiful story that takes off in a moment of African American, African, and female history that was rich and full and energetic and underexplored. It brings back the fruits of that time: a tender moment of courage, optimism, and great promise."

Simon and Schuster will release a paperback edition of Sarah's Psalm next fall and actor/director/producer Tim Reid (who directed Once Upon A Time...When We Were Colored) of Tim Reid Productions has bought the film and television rights to the book. Sarah's Psalm made The Boston Globe's Top Ten Best-Seller List for several weeks and was reviewed favorably in newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the Library Journal, Glamour, and Boston Magazine.

 

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Copyright 1998 President and Fellows of Harvard College