Literary Work Captures Civil Rights Cross Currents on Milestone Anniversary

PRLog (Press Release) – Feb 26, 2008 – In time for a Civil Rights Movement milestone,  Joanne Leedom-Ackerman’s short story collection, "No Marble Angels," and her  novel, "The Dark Path to the River," are available in new editions.  

The first three stories in "No Marble Angels," set the summer and fall of 1968, illuminate the time in the Civil Rights movement  after the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, after riots in the cities,  a time when people, particularly the young, were looking to cross the borders that society had set around them. Stories in the collection reflect other historic moments, such as the Nashville sit-ins in 1960 and the desegregation of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1956.

"The Dark Path to the River" expands the themes set forth in No Marble Angels into the international arena. A political thriller,  it tells a love story of strong-minded men and women who do not see the world in the same way. The novel, which moves between Wall Street and Africa, was a regional bestseller.

Both "No Marble Angels" and "The Dark Path to the River" have received excellent reviews from "The New York Times," "Los Angeles Times," "Washington Post," and more.  

Carolyn See in "The Los Angeles Times" called "No Marble Angels":  “A valuable philosophical or political acquisition as well as a literary one,” which “should be sought out and read.”

Barbara Kingsolver (author of the "Poisonwood Bible" and other bestsellers) said, “I fell in love with the characters in 'The Dark Path to the River.' I didn’t want the pleasure to end.” 'The Washington Post'  said, “Joanne Leedom-Ackerman knows suspense like Hitchcock…But what distinguishes the novel is its characters…[They] give this fine novel its power.”

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman will be speaking at bookstores and elsewhere about the new editions of her books during the coming months.  “In fiction,” Leedom-Ackerman explains, “I’m interested in seeing the ordinary life in extraordinary events. We often hear of the writer who renders ordinary life extraordinary -- an equally worthy goal, and one I find more engaging in short fiction. In the novel, where the narrator and the writer must go the distance of 300 - 400 pages, I’m interested in finding the human face and heart in extraordinary happenings. I like to walk along the edge of the world discovering the bonds that keep us from falling off.”

Through her fiction, Leedom-Ackerman has told stories that resonate today  – particularly, as we commemorate the historic events of 1968.

No Marble Angels
ISBN: 978-0595480098
The Dark Path to the River
ISBN 978-0595478774
By Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
February 2008
http://www.joanneleedomackerman.com

["No Marble Angels" and "The Dark Path to the River" are published as Authors Guild BackinPrint editions.]