Moses, Sheila P. 1961–

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MOSES, Sheila P. 1961–

PERSONAL: Born 1961, in Rich Square, NC.

ADDRESSES: Home—Atlanta, GA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER: Writer and theatrical producer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, 2005, for The Legend of Buddy Bush.

WRITINGS:

(With Dick Gregory) Callus on My Soul: A Memoir, Longstreet Press (Atlanta, GA), 2000.

The Legend of Buddy Bush, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2004.

I, Dred Scott: A Fictional Slave Narrative Based on the Life and Legal Precedent of Dred Scott, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2005.

The Obituary, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Sheila P. Moses writes across genres, working as a poet, playwright, novelist, and biographer. The ninth of ten children, she was born and raised in Rich Square, North Carolina, a setting she mined for her novel The Legend of Buddy Bush, in which twelve-year-old Pattie Mae shares Moses's childhood home. Moses depicts the issues of racism and segregation in North Carolina in 1947, following Pattie Mae and her family through their daily lives in a time before the civil rights movement, when Pattie Mae's uncle, the title character, escapes a near-lynching by the Ku Klux Klan. A contributor to NimbleSpirit.com commented that Moses "creates an appealing voice for her main character … a girl on the cusp of a young woman-hood that is upon her, perhaps, too soon and under too stressful circumstances." In Kirkus Reviews, a contributor noted that the first-person narrative is not always appropriate to Moses's multi-layered tale, but called The Legend of Buddy Bush "an important story."

I, Dred Scott: A Fictional Slave Narrative Based on the Life and Legal Precedent of Dred Scott is Moses's take on the infamous U.S. Supreme Court case. Inspired by the simple plaque outside the Old Court-house in St. Louis, where Scott was tried in 1850, Moses decided to delve deeper into the history of the events surrounding the trial as well as Scott's background. The result is a book written as if from Scott's point of view, though Moses discovered more about Scott's owners than about Scott himself. In order to write as authentically as possible, she researched other slave narratives and studied interviews with former slaves. Claire Rosser, in a review for Kliatt, called Moses's effort "an accessible vehicle to tell about this important legal case."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Ebony, January, 2005, review of The Legend of Buddy Bush, p. 27.

Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2003, review of The Legend of Buddy Bush, p. 1361.

Kliatt, January, 2005, Claire Rosser, review of I, Dred Scott: A Fictional Slave Narrative Based on the Life and Legal Precedent of Dred Scott, p. 10.

USA Today, February 4, 2005, Bob Minzesheimer, review of I, Dred Scott.

Washington Post, February 6, 2005, review of I, Dred Scott, p. D8.

ONLINE

DallasBlack.com, http://new.dallasblack.com/ (February 23, 2005), "Sheila P. Moses."

NimbleSpirit.com, http://www.nimblespirit.com/ (February 23, 2005), "Sheila P. Moses."

Simon and Schuster Web site, http://www.simonsays.com/ (February 23, 2005), "Sheila P. Moses."

Washington Post Online, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ (February 23, 2005), "Sheila P. Moses."