Edward Ball (American author)
Encyclopedia
Edward Ball is an American writer of non-fiction
, best known for his book Slaves in the Family (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998). The book tells the story of the author's family, slave-owners in South Carolina
for 200 years, and recounts his search for and meetings with descendants of his family's slaves. Slaves in the Family won the National Book Award
, became a New York Times bestseller, was featured on Oprah
, and was translated into several languages.
, in 1958, grew up in South Carolina, Florida
, and Louisiana
. He finished high school in New Orleans and attended Brown University
, graduating in 1982 with a B.A. in Semiotics
.
He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Iowa
in 1984, and afterwards moved to New York City
, where he worked as a freelance art critic
, writing about film, art, architecture, and books for several magazines. For several years, he wrote for The Village Voice
, a weekly with a circulation of 450,000.
In 1993, he began to research his family legacy as slave owners in South Carolina, an investigation that resulted in a half-hour National Public Radio documentary, "The Other History," which was awarded, in 1994, Best Radio Feature by the Society of Professional Journalists
. He looked deeper into his family's story, documented in several archives, and, after three years, published his first book, Slaves in the Family, about his family's plantation
s and his search for black Americans whose ancestors the writer's family had once enslaved. Slaves in the Family was a New York Times bestseller and won the National Book Award for nonfiction.
Edward Ball's other books comprise biography
, history
, and memoir
. He has taught at Yale University, and he lives in New Haven, Connecticut
.
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
, best known for his book Slaves in the Family (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998). The book tells the story of the author's family, slave-owners in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
for 200 years, and recounts his search for and meetings with descendants of his family's slaves. Slaves in the Family won the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
, became a New York Times bestseller, was featured on Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, and was translated into several languages.
Background
Edward Ball was born in Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, in 1958, grew up in South Carolina, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He finished high school in New Orleans and attended Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, graduating in 1982 with a B.A. in Semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
.
He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
in 1984, and afterwards moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he worked as a freelance art critic
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
, writing about film, art, architecture, and books for several magazines. For several years, he wrote for The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, a weekly with a circulation of 450,000.
In 1993, he began to research his family legacy as slave owners in South Carolina, an investigation that resulted in a half-hour National Public Radio documentary, "The Other History," which was awarded, in 1994, Best Radio Feature by the Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
. He looked deeper into his family's story, documented in several archives, and, after three years, published his first book, Slaves in the Family, about his family's plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s and his search for black Americans whose ancestors the writer's family had once enslaved. Slaves in the Family was a New York Times bestseller and won the National Book Award for nonfiction.
Edward Ball's other books comprise biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, and memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
. He has taught at Yale University, and he lives in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
.
Selected Bibliography
- Slaves in the Family: An investigation of 175 years of slave ownership by the author’s family in South Carolina, and the story of his search for and meetings with descendants of people whom his family enslaved (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998).
- The Sweet Hell Inside: The Rise of an Elite Black Family in the South: The story of a rich black family in the South, the Harlestons, progeny of a white Southern slaveholder and his enslaved black cook, who rose from the ashes of the Civil War to create a dynasty in art and music during the Jazz AgeJazz AgeThe Jazz Age was a movement that took place during the 1920s or the Roaring Twenties from which jazz music and dance emerged. The movement came about with the introduction of mainstream radio and the end of the war. This era ended in the 1930s with the beginning of The Great Depression but has...
(Morrow, 2001). - Peninsula of Lies: A True Story of Mysterious Birth and Taboo Love: The life of English writer and scandal figure Gordon Hall, who, during the 1960s, became one of the first sex-reassignment patients in America, emerging after surgery as Dawn Langley SimmonsDawn Langley SimmonsDawn Langley Pepita Simmons was a prolific English author and biographer. Born "Gordon Langley Hall", Simmons lived her first decades as a male. As a young adult, she became close to British actress Margaret Rutherford, whom she considered an adoptive mother and who was the subject of a biography...
, a rich white woman; she briskly married a black fisherman and produced a mixed-race daughter, whom she claimed was her biological child, creating outrage in several acts (Simon & Schuster, 2004). - The Genetic Strand: Exploring a Family History Through DNA: Following his discovery of a 150-year-old collection of children’s hair kept by his family during the 1800s, the writer turns to DNADNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
science as a tool of family history, testing the locks of hair to reveal their genetic secrets (Simon & Schuster, 2007).Beason, Tyrone (30 November 2007). DNA tells family story in "Genetic Strand", Seattle Times(6 December 2007). Author, Scientist Assist in Tracing Lineage, NPR - The Octopus and the Inventor: Eadweard Muybridge, the Killer Who Created the Movies (forthcoming) – The life of 19th-century photographer and inventor Eadweard MuybridgeEadweard MuybridgeEadweard J. Muybridge was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible...
, who, in California during the 1870s, while working for railroad baron Leland StanfordLeland StanfordAmasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
(“the Octopus”), invented the technology of motion pictures – although not before murdering a man who had seduced his wife (Random House, c. 2011).