Ann Petry
Encyclopedia
Ann Petry was an American
author
who became the first black woman writer with book sales topping a million copies for her novel The Street
.
as the youngest of three daughters to Peter Clark Lane and Bertha James Lane. Her parents belonged to the black minority of the small town. Her father was a pharmacist and her mother was a shop owner, chiropodist, and hairdresser. Ann and her sister were raised "in the classic New England tradition: a study in efficiency, thrift, and utility (…) They were filled with ambitions that they might not have entertained had they lived in a city along with thousands of poor blacks stuck in demeaning jobs."
The family had none of the trappings of the middle class until Petry was well into adulthood. Before her mother became a businesswoman, she worked in a factory, and her sisters, Ann's aunts, worked as maids. The Lane girls were raised sheltered from most of the disadvantages other black people in the United States had to experience due to the color of their skin; however there were a number of incidents of racial discrimination.
As she wrote in "My Most Humiliating Jim Crow Experience," published in Negro Digest in 1946, there was an incident where a racist decided that they did not want her on a beach. Her father wrote a letter to The Crisis
in 1920 or 1921 complaining about a teacher who refused to teach his daughters and his niece. Another teacher humiliated her by making her read the part of Jupiter, the illiterate ex-slave in the Edgar Allan Poe
short story "The Gold-Bug
".
Petry had a strong family foundation with well-traveled uncles, who had many stories to tell her when coming home; her father, who overcame racial obstacles, opened a pharmacy in the small town; and her mother and aunts who set a examples to become strong herself. Petry, interviewed by the Washington Post in 1992, says about her tough female family members that “it never occurred to them that there were things they couldn’t do because they were women.”
in New Haven in 1931 and worked in the family business for several years. She also began to write short stories while she was working at the pharmacy.
On February 22, 1938, she married George D. Petry of New Iberia, Louisiana
, which brought Petry to New York
. She not only wrote articles for newspapers such as The Amsterdam News, or The People's Voice
, and published short stories in The Crisis
, but also worked at an after-school program at P.S. 10 in Harlem. It was during this period of her life that she had realized and personally experienced what the majority of the black population of the United States had to go through in their everyday life.
Traversing the streets of Harlem
, living for the first time among large numbers of poor black people, seeing neglected children up close – Petry’s early years in New York inevitably made impressions on her. Impacted by her Harlem experiences, Ann Petry used her creative writing skills to bring this experience to paper. Her daughter Liz explained to the Washington Post that “her way of dealing with the problem was to write this book, which maybe was something that people who had grown up in Harlem couldn’t do.”
Petry’s most popular novel
The Street was published in 1946 and won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship with book sales topping a million copies.
Back in Old Saybrook in 1947, the writer worked on Country Place (1947), The Narrows
(1953), other stories, and books for children, but they have never achieved the same success as her first book. Until her death Petry lived in an 18th century house in her hometown, Old Saybrook. Ann Lane Petry died at the age of 88 on April 28, 1997. She was outlived by her husband, George Petry, who died in 2000, and her only daughter, Liz Petry.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who became the first black woman writer with book sales topping a million copies for her novel The Street
The Street (novel)
The Street is an African-American novel by Ann Petry that was published in 1946. Set in Harlem in the 1940s, it centers on the life of Lutie Johnson...
.
Early life
Ann Lane was born on October 12, 1908 in Old Saybrook, ConnecticutOld Saybrook, Connecticut
Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,367 at the 2000 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybrook Manor.-History:...
as the youngest of three daughters to Peter Clark Lane and Bertha James Lane. Her parents belonged to the black minority of the small town. Her father was a pharmacist and her mother was a shop owner, chiropodist, and hairdresser. Ann and her sister were raised "in the classic New England tradition: a study in efficiency, thrift, and utility (…) They were filled with ambitions that they might not have entertained had they lived in a city along with thousands of poor blacks stuck in demeaning jobs."
The family had none of the trappings of the middle class until Petry was well into adulthood. Before her mother became a businesswoman, she worked in a factory, and her sisters, Ann's aunts, worked as maids. The Lane girls were raised sheltered from most of the disadvantages other black people in the United States had to experience due to the color of their skin; however there were a number of incidents of racial discrimination.
As she wrote in "My Most Humiliating Jim Crow Experience," published in Negro Digest in 1946, there was an incident where a racist decided that they did not want her on a beach. Her father wrote a letter to The Crisis
The Crisis
The Crisis is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , and was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois , Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, W.S. Braithwaite, M. D. Maclean.The original title of the journal was...
in 1920 or 1921 complaining about a teacher who refused to teach his daughters and his niece. Another teacher humiliated her by making her read the part of Jupiter, the illiterate ex-slave in the Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
short story "The Gold-Bug
The Gold-Bug
"The Gold-Bug" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. Set on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, the plot follows William Legrand, who was recently bitten by a gold-colored bug. His servant Jupiter fears him to be going insane and goes to Legrand's friend, an unnamed narrator who agrees to visit his...
".
Petry had a strong family foundation with well-traveled uncles, who had many stories to tell her when coming home; her father, who overcame racial obstacles, opened a pharmacy in the small town; and her mother and aunts who set a examples to become strong herself. Petry, interviewed by the Washington Post in 1992, says about her tough female family members that “it never occurred to them that there were things they couldn’t do because they were women.”
Career
The wish to become a professional writer was raised in Ann for the first time in high school when her English teacher read her essay to the class commenting on it with the words: “I honestly believe that you could be a writer if you wanted to.” The decision to become a pharmacist was her family’s. She enrolled in college and graduated with a Ph.G. degree from Connecticut College of PharmacyUniversity of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
in New Haven in 1931 and worked in the family business for several years. She also began to write short stories while she was working at the pharmacy.
On February 22, 1938, she married George D. Petry of New Iberia, Louisiana
New Iberia, Louisiana
New Iberia is a city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, 30 miles southeast of Lafayette. In 1900, 6,815 people lived in New Iberia; in 1910, 7,499; and in 1940, 13,747...
, which brought Petry to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She not only wrote articles for newspapers such as The Amsterdam News, or The People's Voice
The People's Voice
The People's Voice is an Israeli-Palestinian civil initiative dedicated to advancing the process of achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians...
, and published short stories in The Crisis
The Crisis
The Crisis is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , and was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois , Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, W.S. Braithwaite, M. D. Maclean.The original title of the journal was...
, but also worked at an after-school program at P.S. 10 in Harlem. It was during this period of her life that she had realized and personally experienced what the majority of the black population of the United States had to go through in their everyday life.
Traversing the streets of Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, living for the first time among large numbers of poor black people, seeing neglected children up close – Petry’s early years in New York inevitably made impressions on her. Impacted by her Harlem experiences, Ann Petry used her creative writing skills to bring this experience to paper. Her daughter Liz explained to the Washington Post that “her way of dealing with the problem was to write this book, which maybe was something that people who had grown up in Harlem couldn’t do.”
Petry’s most popular novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Street was published in 1946 and won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship with book sales topping a million copies.
Back in Old Saybrook in 1947, the writer worked on Country Place (1947), The Narrows
The Narrows (1953 novel)
The Narrows is a 1953 novel by African American writer Ann Petry. “The Narrows” is the name of the African American section of the fictional town of Monmouth, Connecticut, in which most of the novel’s action takes place....
(1953), other stories, and books for children, but they have never achieved the same success as her first book. Until her death Petry lived in an 18th century house in her hometown, Old Saybrook. Ann Lane Petry died at the age of 88 on April 28, 1997. She was outlived by her husband, George Petry, who died in 2000, and her only daughter, Liz Petry.
Selected bibliography
- The StreetThe Street (novel)The Street is an African-American novel by Ann Petry that was published in 1946. Set in Harlem in the 1940s, it centers on the life of Lutie Johnson...
(1946) - Country Place (1947)
- The NarrowsThe Narrows (1953 novel)The Narrows is a 1953 novel by African American writer Ann Petry. “The Narrows” is the name of the African American section of the fictional town of Monmouth, Connecticut, in which most of the novel’s action takes place....
(1953) - Tituba of Salem VillageTituba of Salem VillageTituba of Salem Village is an African-American children's novel by Ann Petry.-See also:*The Street*Tituba...
(1955) - "Harriet Tubman: Conductor On The Underground Railroad" (1955)