Special Edition: From the Archives J.California Cooper Remembered presented by Beverly Cottman

J. California Cooper

In this episode we honor the work of playwright and author J. California Cooper with a selection of recordings from her appearance at the 2011 Givens Literary Luncheon in Minneapolis, sponsored by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Our host for this episode is Beverly Cottman, storyteller and teaching artist, who was at the event.

Ms. Cooper was born in Berkeley, California in 1931.  She was the prolific author of 17 plays and more than 10 works of fiction. Over the course of her career she came to be known as an important voice in the American literary community of the late 20th century, with her work being compared to that of Alice Walker (her first publisher), Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison and Langston Hughes. She died in Seattle, Washington at the age of 82, but her voice and the characters she shared live on.

Episode 17 – J.California Cooper Remembered with Beverly Cottman

In this episode we honor the work of playwright and author J. California Cooper with a selection of recordings from her appearance at the 2011 Givens Literary Luncheon sponsored by the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Our host for this episode is Beverly Cottman, storyteller and teaching artist, who was at the event.

Original Recordings April 16, 2011, RELEASED JAN 11, 2017

03:23 Brief Welcome by Arleta Little, Executive Director (fmr), The Givens Foundation for African American Literature and a reading by J. California Cooper from Homemade Love (St. Martin’s Press)  

19:47 Students from Ms Cottman’s Artist Residency at North Community High School provide a Chorale Reading based on an excerpt from Some Soul to Keep (St. Martin’s Press)

24:16 Interview with Ms Cooper and Edie French, President iDream.tv

Go Deeper

J. California Cooper, Award-Winning Writer, Dies at 82 (Published 2014)

J. California Cooper, an award-winning writer whose black female characters confront a world of indifference and betrayal, but find kinship there in unexpected places, died on Saturday in Seattle. She was 82. A spokesman for Random House, her publisher, confirmed her death. She had had several heart attacks in recent years.

Book List in order:

J. California Cooper

A complete list of all J. California Cooper’s books in order (12 books). Browse plot descriptions, book covers, genres, pseudonyms, ratings and awards.

Reviews:

Books by J. California Cooper and Complete Book Reviews

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Learn more about Beverly Cottman here

Beverly Cottman (aka Auntie Beverly)

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