Julius Lester
Encyclopedia
Julius Lester is an American
author of books for children
and adults, and taught for 32 years (1971–2003) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
. He is also a photographer, as well as a musician who recorded two albums of folk music
and original songs.
, Julius Lester is the son of Rev. W.D. Lester, a Methodist minister, and Julia (Smith) Lester. The family moved to Kansas City, Kansas
in 1941, and to Nashville, Tennessee
,in 1952. In 1960 he received his BA
from Fisk University
in Nashville, Tennessee with a major in English and minors in Art and Spanish.
In 1961 he moved to New York City
where he married Joan Steinau. They had two children, Jody Simone (1965) and Malcolm Coltrane (1967). The couple divorced in 1970. Malcolm Lester coaches lacrosse and teaches English at St. Albans School
in Washington DC.
at the New School for Social Research, recorded two albums of traditional and original songs for Vanguard Records, "Julius Lester" (1966) and "Departures" (1967). A compilation of songs from both albums was released on a CD, "Dressed Like Freedom", on Ace Records in 2007. During this time, Lester became active in the civil rights movement, first as a folk singer at numerous civil rights rallies and as part of the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project. In 1966 he began working full time with SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) as a photographer and traveled to North Vietnam
to document U.S. bombing of the country, something the U.S. government was denying at the time. That same year he traveled to Cuba where he and Stokely Carmichael spent three days traveling with Fidel Castro through the mountains of eastern Cuba.:)
During his 32 years at the university, Lester taught courses in five departments: Comparative Literature ("Black and White Southern Fiction), English ("Religion in Western Literature), Afro-American Studies ("The Writings of W.E.B. DuBois"), ("Writings of James Baldwin"), ("Literature of the Harlem Renaissance"), ("Blacks and Jews: A Comparative Study"), and Judaic Studies ("Biblical Tales and Legends"), and ("The Writings of Elie Weisel"), History ("Social Change and the 1960s"), one of the university's largest and most popular courses. He was awarded all three of the university's most prestigious faculty awards: The Distinguished Teacher's Award, the Faculty Fellowship Award for Distinguished Research and Scholarship, and the Chancellor's Medal,the university's highest honor. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education selected him as the Massachusetts State Professor of the Year.
In 1982, Lester converted to Judaism. At the age of 7, he had learned that his maternal great-grandfather was a German Jew, Aldolph Altschul, who had lived in Pine Bluff,
Arkansas, where, every summer, Lester visited his grandmother, one of Adolph's daughters. He recounts the story of his spiritual odyssey to Judaism in his book, Lovesong. From 1988-1991, he was one of the cantors for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services at Congregation B'nai Israel, in Northampton, Mass. In 1992 he became lay leader of Beth El Synagogue in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, until resigning in 2006.
, Boston-Globe Horn Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award finalist, ALA Notable Book, National Jewish Book Award finalist, National Book Critics Circle Honor Book, and The New York Times Outstanding Book Award. His books have been translated into 10 languages.
He has published more than 200 essays and book and film reviews for such publications as The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Op-Ed page, The Boston Globe, Village Voice,
New Republic, Moment, Forward and Dissent.
His photographs have been included in an exhibit of images from the civil rights movement at the Smithsonian Institution. He has had solo shows at the University of Massachusetts Student Union Gallery, the Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass., Valley Photo Center, Springfield, Mass., and the Robert Floyd Photography Gallery, Southampton, Mass.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author of books for children
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
and adults, and taught for 32 years (1971–2003) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
. He is also a photographer, as well as a musician who recorded two albums of folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and original songs.
Early life and family
Born on January 27, 1939, in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Julius Lester is the son of Rev. W.D. Lester, a Methodist minister, and Julia (Smith) Lester. The family moved to Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
in 1941, and to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
,in 1952. In 1960 he received his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
in Nashville, Tennessee with a major in English and minors in Art and Spanish.
In 1961 he 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 married Joan Steinau. They had two children, Jody Simone (1965) and Malcolm Coltrane (1967). The couple divorced in 1970. Malcolm Lester coaches lacrosse and teaches English at St. Albans School
St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)
St. Albans School is an independent college preparatory school for boys in grades 4–12, located in Washington, D.C. The school is named after Saint Alban, traditionally regarded as the first British martyr. Within the St...
in Washington DC.
New York years
During his New York years, Lester hosted a radio show on WBAI-FM (1968–1975), co-hosted a television show on Channel 13 for two years, taught a course on Afro-American historyat the New School for Social Research, recorded two albums of traditional and original songs for Vanguard Records, "Julius Lester" (1966) and "Departures" (1967). A compilation of songs from both albums was released on a CD, "Dressed Like Freedom", on Ace Records in 2007. During this time, Lester became active in the civil rights movement, first as a folk singer at numerous civil rights rallies and as part of the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project. In 1966 he began working full time with SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) as a photographer and traveled to North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
to document U.S. bombing of the country, something the U.S. government was denying at the time. That same year he traveled to Cuba where he and Stokely Carmichael spent three days traveling with Fidel Castro through the mountains of eastern Cuba.:)
University Years
In 1971 he began teaching in the Afro-American Studies department of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He remained in that department until 1988 when, after differences with members of the department, he became a member of the Judaic and Near Eastern Studies department, where he remained until his retirement at the end of 2003.During his 32 years at the university, Lester taught courses in five departments: Comparative Literature ("Black and White Southern Fiction), English ("Religion in Western Literature), Afro-American Studies ("The Writings of W.E.B. DuBois"), ("Writings of James Baldwin"), ("Literature of the Harlem Renaissance"), ("Blacks and Jews: A Comparative Study"), and Judaic Studies ("Biblical Tales and Legends"), and ("The Writings of Elie Weisel"), History ("Social Change and the 1960s"), one of the university's largest and most popular courses. He was awarded all three of the university's most prestigious faculty awards: The Distinguished Teacher's Award, the Faculty Fellowship Award for Distinguished Research and Scholarship, and the Chancellor's Medal,the university's highest honor. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education selected him as the Massachusetts State Professor of the Year.
Personal
In 1979 he married Alida Carolyn Fechner, who had a daughter, Elena Milad; the couple had a son, David Julius. The marriage ended in 1991. In 1995 he married Milan Sabatini; his stepdaughter from this marriage is performance artist Lián Amaris.In 1982, Lester converted to Judaism. At the age of 7, he had learned that his maternal great-grandfather was a German Jew, Aldolph Altschul, who had lived in Pine Bluff,
Arkansas, where, every summer, Lester visited his grandmother, one of Adolph's daughters. He recounts the story of his spiritual odyssey to Judaism in his book, Lovesong. From 1988-1991, he was one of the cantors for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services at Congregation B'nai Israel, in Northampton, Mass. In 1992 he became lay leader of Beth El Synagogue in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, until resigning in 2006.
Creative endeavors
Since 1968 Lester has written 43 books: 8 nonfiction, 30 children's books, 1 book of poetry and photographs (with David Gahr), and 3 adult novels. His very first book was an instructional book on how to play the 12-string guitar, co-authored with Pete Seeger. Among the awards his books have received are the Newbery HonorNewbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
, Boston-Globe Horn Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award finalist, ALA Notable Book, National Jewish Book Award finalist, National Book Critics Circle Honor Book, and The New York Times Outstanding Book Award. His books have been translated into 10 languages.
He has published more than 200 essays and book and film reviews for such publications as The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Op-Ed page, The Boston Globe, Village Voice,
New Republic, Moment, Forward and Dissent.
His photographs have been included in an exhibit of images from the civil rights movement at the Smithsonian Institution. He has had solo shows at the University of Massachusetts Student Union Gallery, the Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass., Valley Photo Center, Springfield, Mass., and the Robert Floyd Photography Gallery, Southampton, Mass.
Book awards
- Newbery Honor, 1969, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1971 both for To Be a SlaveTo Be a SlaveTo Be A Slave is a children's novel by Julius Lester, illustrated by Tom Feelings. The book received the Newbery Honor medal in 1969. It explores what it was like to be a slave. The book includes many personal accounts of ex-slaves....
- Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1972, and National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe 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...
finalist, 1973, both for The Long Journey Home: Stories from Black History - Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1973, for The Knee-high Man and Other Tales
- Coretta Scott King honorCoretta Scott King AwardThe Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...
, 1983, for This Strange New Feeling, and 1988, for Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit - Parents' Choice Story Book award, 1987, for The Tales of Uncle Remus, and 1990, for Further Tales of Uncle Remus
- Reading Magic Award, 1988, for More Tales of Uncle Remus
- Boston Globe-Horn Book AwardBoston Globe-Horn Book AwardThe Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards were first presented by The Boston Globe and Horn Book Magazine in 1967. They are among the most prestigious honors in the United States in the field of children’s and young adult literature...
, American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
Notable Book, and Caldecott HonorCaldecott MedalThe Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...
, all 1995, all for John Henry - ALA Notable Book, 1996, for Sam and the Tigers.
- Coretta Scott King AwardCoretta Scott King AwardThe Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...
, 2006, for his novel Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue.
Other awards
- Distinguished Teacher's Award, 1983–84
- Faculty Fellowship Award for Distinguished Research and Scholarship, 1985
- National Professor of the Year Silver Medal Award, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, 1985
- Massachusetts State Professor of the Year and Gold Medal Award for National Professor of the Year, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, both 1986
- Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, 1986-87.