Harrison, Sue 1950–

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Harrison, Sue 1950–

PERSONAL: Born August 29, 1950, in Lansing, MI; daughter of Charles Robert (a high school teacher) and Patricia Ann (a musician; maiden name, Sawyer) McHaney; married Neil Douglas Harrison (a computer specialist), August 22, 1969; children: Neil Douglas, Krystal Faith, Koral (deceased). Education: Lake Superior State University, B.A., 1971. Religion: Methodist.

ADDRESSES: Home—Pickford, MI. Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 E. 53rd St., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10022. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Lake Superior State University, Sault Sainte Marie, MI, public relations writer, 1985–88, adjunct instructor in writing, 1988–90, member of governing board.

MEMBER: National Writers Club.

AWARDS, HONORS: Julian Ocean Literature Award, Triple "P" Publications International, 1983; Mother Earth Father Sky was listed among Best Books for Young Adults by American Library Association, 1991; named Distinguished Alumna, Lake Superior State University, 1992.

WRITINGS:

"IVORY CARVER" TRILOGY

Mother Earth Father Sky, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1990.

My Sister the Moon, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1992.

Brother Wind, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1994.

"STORYTELLER" TRILOGY

Song of the River, Avon (New York, NY), 1997.

Cry of the Wind, Avon (New York, NY), 1998.

Call Down the Stars, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2001.

OTHER

SISU (young adult), Thunder Bay Press (Berkeley, CA), 1997.

Author's works have been translated into Dutch, French, Swedish, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Finnish.

SIDELIGHTS: After three years of research, four years of writing, two and a half years of rewriting, and five years of sending her manuscript to uninterested literary agents, Sue Harrison was eventually offered a half-million dollars by Doubleday for the publishing rights to her debut novel. Mother Earth Father Sky is the first volume of the "Ivory Carver" trilogy that begins in 7056 B.C. and follows a Native American tribe's migration from the Aleutian Islands to northern Michigan. A longtime resident of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, an area rich in Native American history and culture, Harrison "wanted to create a book that would give the many Native Americans she knew pride in their heritage," according to Roslyn Siegel in Publishers Weekly. Upon its sizable 100,000-copy first printing in 1990, the book was well-received and called "very readable and interesting" by Carolyn See in the Los Angeles Times.

Set during the Ice Age, Mother Earth Father Sky focuses on a recently betrothed Aleutian girl, Chagak, who returns from a berry-picking jaunt to discover that her entire village has been massacred by an enemy tribe. Overcome with grief, the protagonist sets off with the only other remaining survivor—her infant brother—in a kayak bound for her grandfather's village. Her boat lands, instead, on an island inhabited by Shuganan, a wise, old shaman who becomes Chagak's friend and mentor. Shuganan helps Chagak cope with her anguish when she is raped and impregnated by an intruder on the island and later encourages her to begin a new relationship. Labeling Mother Earth Father Sky a "skillful novel," Katherine Ramsland, writing in the New York Times Book Review, stated that "Harrison expertly frames dramatic events with depictions of prehistoric life in the Aleutian Islands." Louise Titchener wrote in the Washington Post Book World that the novel is "a satisfying story which speaks to both men and women about the heartbreaking challenges and mysterious joys of life and love."

The next book in the trilogy, My Sister the Moon, finds the sons of Chagak intertwined with the fortunes of a young woman named Kiin. Her evil father is mentally and physically cruel to her, and forces her to marry the brother of the man she loves, Samiq. Though she is pregnant with twins, her brother makes her a slave and sells her to another tribe, the Walrus people. In the last book, Brother Wind, Kiin's husband is murdered, and Samiq wants to kill the murderer, who takes Kiin and one of her twin sons to his village. Samiq is also being pursued for revenge by Waxtal, a banished criminal. Another woman from Walrus tribe, Kukutux also is widowed and must survive alone. Reviewing Brother Wind in Publishers Weekly, a critic acknowledged that "this novel offers an emotionally compelling conclusion to a monumental saga."

Harrison followed the "Ivory Carver" trilogy with another trio of novels also in the prehistoric Alaskan Aleuts, the "Storyteller" trilogy. Song of the River, the first book, focuses on Chakliux, an abandoned clubfooted baby of the Near River tribe, who is adopted by K'os, a woman of the Cousin River people. K'os had been recently raped by three men from Chakliux's tribe of origin, and she regards her new son as a positive omen sent to help her. While Chakliux grows up to be a strong storyteller, he also is drawn into political complexities as the Cousin River tribe sends him to confer on a peace settlement with the Near River tribe. Both K'os and certain members of the Near River tribe want war, so Chakliux is framed for murders. Eventually, Chakliux reunites with his love, Aqamdax, a female storyteller who was also cast off by her family. Patricia Monaghan of Booklist called the novel "complex and well-imagined."

Cry of the Wind continues to follow the lives of the characters established in the first book. K'os has become a slave in the Near River tribe and still looks for revenge on the crime committed against her. Chakliux is the leader of the Cousin River people, but is unhappily married to Star while still in love with Aqamdax. She is married to Star's brother, Night Man, but does not love him. While Chakliux and Aqamdax try to make their way to each other, K'os works to undermine their relationship as well. While noting that the number of characters can be confusing, Mary Ellen Rutledge Elsbernd of Library Journal concluded: "Harrison's fans will be entertained by his tale of good and evil."

The final installment, Call Down the Stars, is based on the Inuit's Sedna legends. A young man named Yikaas is a member of the River People tribe. He is reaching adulthood with a large ego and vain self-image because of how other people treat him. Worried that her wise teachings will be in vain, his aunt/teacher takes him on a journey to the home of his ancestors. In the village they travel to, he meets Qumalix, a young female storyteller from the Sea Hunters Tribe. The pair tell each other legends about their tribes, which help him change and grow. Some of the tales concern the lives of previous characters in the trilogy including Chakliux, his wife, Aqamdax, and Chakliux's adoptive mother, K'os. Kathleen Hughes in Booklist wrote: "Well-written and meticulously researched, Harrison's powerful yarn details the hardships and simplicity faced by prehistoric people while also emphasizing their humanity."

Harrison once told CA: "Writing is something I do because I love to write. Mother Earth Father Sky was, for me, an experiment. I wanted to write a novel that was simple enough for those who read only for pleasure, for escape, to read and enjoy. For those who wanted to dig more deeply, it also existed as a statement of social and environmental concerns, one that was based on and drew from Native American traditions of oral literature."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 1, 1997, Patricia Monaghan, review of Song of the River, p. 454; October 1, 2001, Kathleen Hughes, review of Call Down the Stars, p. 299.

Library Journal, November 15, 1998, Mary Ellen Rutledge Elsbernd, review of Cry of the Wind, p. 90.

Los Angeles Times, July 30, 1990, Carolyn See, review of Mother Earth Father Sky.

New York Times Book Review, June 17, 1990, Katherine Ramsland, review of Mother Earth Father Sky, p. 16.

Publishers Weekly, May 18, 1990, Roslyn Siegel, "Doubleday Aims for the Earth and Sky with First Novel," pp. 46-47; August 22, 1994, review of Brother Wind, p. 42.

Washington Post Book World, June 24, 1990, Louise Titchener, review of Mother Earth Father Sky, pp. 4, 13.