Alice Faye Duncan is an American writer and librarian. She is known as the author of children's non-fiction. Among the themes she deals with in her writings, civil liberties and human rights occupy the important place.
Background
Alice Faye Duncan was born on July 31, 1967, in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. She is an only daughter of Kenneth L. Duncan, a high school teacher, and Earline W. Duncan, an elementary school teacher.
A child of teachers, she was raised in the atmosphere of curiosity and learning. Duncan was fascinated by poetry reading such authors as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, and Gwendolyn Brooks.
Education
Alice Faye Duncan studied at the University of Memphis. She was in Children's Literature Class of a professor Ramona Mahood who recommended Duncan to read Charles Turner. His writing later became a source of inspiration for her first book. Duncan graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Then, the author pursued her training at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. While there, she developed an interest to picture books due to a professor Glenn Estes. Duncan obtained her Master of Library Science degree in 1991.
Career
Alice Faye Duncan started her career in Memphis City School System as a school librarian in 1993. On this post, she often uses one of her beloved genres, poetry, to inspire the students.
The first book by Duncan, ‘The National Civil Rights Museum Celebrates Everyday People’, was published in 1995. It is a kind of photo-essay that tells teenagers the story of the Civil Rights movement in the United States. The books include a lot of black-and-white photos of the period and color pictures by J. Gerard Smith which shows children at exhibits dedicated to the period at the National Civil Rights Museum.
The second work of Alice Faye Duncan, ‘Willie Jerome’, followed the same year. The main idea of the book is that everyone should follow his own way in life.
Other works of the author include ‘Miss Viola and Uncle Ed Lee’, ‘Honey Baby Sugar Child’, ‘12 Days of Christmas in Tennessee’, ‘Christmas Soup’, ‘A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks’, and upcoming ‘Just Like a Mama’.
Views
Quotations:
"Poetry helps facilitate reading, writing, and learning in general."
"As a child I was most awkward and goofy. But when I meet friends from my youth – they say I was the kid who knew where she was going. Maybe, that was because I had an undiscovered talent – like acting."
"Words are my work and my pathway to words began with poetry."
"I write from inspiration and inspiration only. So I try to surround myself with good people, good music, good books, and good art. All of these things cause me to think, and they spark my creativity. I recommend that other aspiring artists of any kind – do the same. And then when the muses gather – just let inspiration take control."
"Writing is a lonely gig. I can’t do it with people around me, and I can’t do it with the radio or the television on. It’s so grueling and tedious. It requires that I focus. But once the masterpiece is written? Oh, baby! It’s time to party!"
"As for my writing style, I aspire to write a lyrical prose that is suited for read-alouds or a call and response. I seek to write books that children are compelled to read, 'over and over again.' I want my words to be soul substance and a good time, mixed with a jolt of learning."
"As a young woman I wanted to be a prolific writer, famous, and highly regarded," Duncan once noted while reflecting on her career as an author, "but today my focus is very different. I now understand that even before the foundation of the world, God had in mind all the words that He wanted to go forth. So, my goal is simple now, to sit down long enough to effectively tell the stories that He assigned to me."
"Picture books are my favorite to write! They allow me to ‘sing’ without a music education or singing voice."
"I'm concerned about children's knowledge of the past. A lot of children do not know what their aunts, uncles and grandparents had to go through just for the right to vote. I want them to leave the book knowing 'there were people who struggled for me. I need to be doing my part to protect these liberties.'"
Personality
Alice Faye Duncan loves to dress creatively. She adores shoes, eyeglasses, sparkly nail polish, and jewelry.