Janet McDonald

Janet McDonald (August 10, 1953 – April 11, 2007)^[1] was an American writer of young adult novels as well as the author of Project Girl, a memoir about her early life in the Brooklyn projects and struggle to achieve an Ivy League education. Her best known children's book is Spellbound, which tells the story of a teenaged mother who wins a spelling competition and a college scholarship. The book was named as the American Library Association's Best Book for Young Adults in 2002.^[2]

In addition to books, McDonald also wrote articles for publications such as Slate, including one in which she paid psychic Sylvia Browne $700 for a telephone reading.^[3] McDonald was a member of Mensa, the high IQ society.^[4][5]

Biography

After graduating from Vassar (1977), Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (1984), and New York University Law School (1986),^[6] McDonald practiced law in New York City (1986–89) and Seattle (1989–91).^[7] She took a position as an intern at a Paris law firm (1991–93) before moving to Olympia, Washington, to work in the Attorney General's office and teach French language classes at Evergreen State College.^[8] McDonald settled in Paris in 1995 to work first as an international attorney and then as a writer, until she died of cancer in 2007.^[9]

Bibliography

Books

• — (1999). Project Girl. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-23757-3. Retrieved July 1, 2014. 
• — (2003). Spellbound. New York, N.Y., U.S.A: Puffin Books. ISBN 0-14-250193-X. Retrieved July 1, 2014. 
• — (2003). Twists and Turns. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-40006-7. Retrieved July 1, 2014. 
• — (2004). Brother Hood. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-30995-7. Retrieved July 1, 2014. 
• — (2006). Chill Wind. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 0-374-41183-2. Retrieved July 1, 2014. 
• — (2006). Harlem Hustle. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 0-374-37184-9. Retrieved July 1, 2014. 
• — (2007). Off-Color. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 0-374-37196-2. Retrieved July 1, 2014. 
• — (2004). Skin Deep (Anthology) "Zebra Girl". Puffin Books. ISBN 978-0141315058. Retrieved July 12, 2014. 
• — (2011). Paris Was Ours (Anthology) "Just Another American". Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. ISBN 978-1-56512-953-5. Retrieved July 12, 2014. 

Articles

• "Up the Down Staircase: Where Snoop and Shakespeare Meet". Horn Book Magazine. 81 (6): 747–750. November–December 2005. Retrieved May 21, 2014. 
• "X-Patriate". Literary Review. 47 (1): 58–62. Fall 2003. 
• "Double Life". Literary Review. 45 (4): 679–685. Summer 2002. 
• "Educating Janet". Teacher Magazine. 10 (4): 46–52. January 1999. 
• "Booklist Interview". Booklist. 98 (12): 1026. February 15, 2002. 
• "A Sister in Paris". Essence. 25 (1): 54. May 1994. 
• "Crystal bawl". Slate. January 8, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2014. 
• "Black like (white) me". Slate. August 24, 1998. Retrieved May 21, 2014. 
• "A dime bag for the schoolgirl". Slate. February 4, 1999. Retrieved May 21, 2014. 
• "Project Girls". The Village Voice. January 16, 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2014. 

Quotes

• "Freedom is ... not about nothing left to lose, it's about nothing left to be; you don't have to be anything."^[10]
• "Paris is where I became possible. It's where I became free."^[4]

References

Further reading

• Catherine Ross-Stroud. "Urban Hip-Hop Fiction: Janet McDonald", Tarshia Stanley (ed.), Encyclopedia of Hip-Hop Literature, Greenwood Press, 2008.

External links

• Slate. Various articles by McDonald, 1998–2003
• "Americans in Paris", This American Life, 2000 (extended radio interview with McDonald, beginning at 41.05)
• "Remembering Janet McDonald", Entrée to Black Paris, 2011
• Thomas E. Kennedy, "The Wind Blew It Away", The Literary Explorer, 2001
• Catherine Ross-Stroud, "A Talk with Janet McDonald", The ALAN Review, Fall 2009
• Jennifer Williams, "Twists and Turns", HipMama, 2003
• C-Span Book Discussion Janet McDonald discusses Project Girl, 1999
• Susie Linfield, "Caught in Life's Harsh Extremes", L.A. Times Book Review, 1999
• Julia Browne, "Janet's Own Rhythm", Spirit of Black Paris, 2007
• Reading Eagle "From Projects to Paris" Associated Press, 1999
• The Birmingham Post (England) "Letter from Paris", 1999
• Memorial Page by Janet McDonald's Family, Forever Missed.
• Sheryl McCarthy, "Talking With Janet McDonald / I Will Survive", Newsday, 2000
• Lisa J. Curtis"Tales From the Hood", Go Brooklyn, 2004
• Thomas E. Kennedy, "You Don’t Remember Me, But I Remember You - For Janet McDonald", Serving House Journal, 2011