Guy, Rosa

(US, 1928– )

Born in Trinidad, Guy grew up in Harlem, New York, and left school at 14 to work in a factory. The racism she encountered politicized her, and she later helped to found the Harlem Writers’ Guild, to help black writers develop their skills. Her novels often centre on themes of racism and cruelty shown to outsiders. Her writing is direct and vivid. She is best known for her books for teenagers; begin with The Friends (1973), in which a new girl is bullied at school in the Harlem ghetto, but is reluctant to make friends with the girl who helps her. And I Heard a Bird Sing (1987) tells the story of a grocery delivery boy whose precarious life with his ex-alcoholic mother is disrupted when he is suspected of murder. My Love My Love or The Peasant Girl (1985) is a love-story, based on Hans Anderson's ‘The Little Mermaid’ and set on a beautiful Caribbean island.

Alice Walker, Betty Smith, Joan Riley  JR