Parker, Lonnae O'Neal

PERSONAL:

Married Ralph Parker; children: three. Education: Southern Illinois University, bachelor's degree; attended graduate school at Howard University.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Prince Georges County, MD. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Journalist and writer. Washington Post, Washington, DC, advertising sales, 1991, news aide, editorial aide, summer news intern, obituary writer, Metro reporter, 1992-97, style section reporter, 1997—. Has lectured at the National Writers Workshop, the National Association of Black Journalists national convention, Southern Illinois University, the University of Missouri, and Columbia University. Previously worked as a development assistant.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism award, 2000, for distinguished work in the coverage of race and ethnicity in America; Pulitzer Prize nomination.

WRITINGS:

I'm Every Woman: Remixed Stories of Marriage, Motherhood, and Work (nonfiction), Amistad (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

A longtime style and culture reporter for the Washington Post, Lonnae O'Neal Parker writes about the modern woman's multiple roles in her book I'm Every Woman: Remixed Stories of Marriage, Motherhood, and Work. Drawing from her own life and family, historical figures, and popular culture resources—from movies and soap operas to CDs and magazines—Parker writes about a wide range of issues, including child-rearing, career and money management, religion, and sexuality. Most of her observations are geared toward black women and mothers as she contrasts their lives with those of white women. In an interview with Ylonda Gault Caviness in Essence, Parker explained that she wrote the book because "I felt as if I had to stand up and add complexity and dimension to the concept of what it means to be a Black mother today." Vanessa Bush, writing in Booklist, called I'm Every Woman "a heartfelt and probing look at issues of race and gender." A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that the author "offers some sharp insights into balancing the multiple roles that engage contemporary women." Writing in the Black Issues Book Review, Susan McHenry noted: "Parker's urgent insights are charmingly seasoned with the practical humor that arises from old-fashioned ‘colored folks common sense’ you hear too little of in 21st-century popular culture."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, March-April, 2006, Susan McHenry, review of I'm Every Woman: Remixed Stories of Marriage, Motherhood, and Work, p. 29.

Booklist, October 15, 2005, Vanessa Bush, review of I'm Every Woman, p. 12.

Essence, November, 2005, Ylonda Gault Caviness, "No More Mama Drama," interview with author, p. 96.

New York Times, February 9, 2006, Lynette Clemetson, "Work vs. Family, Complicated by Race," includes review of I'm Every Woman.

Publishers Weekly, August 8, 2005, review of I'm Every Woman, p. 222.

ONLINE

HarperCollins Web site,http://www.harpercollins.com/ (November 8, 2006), brief interview with Parker.

Lonnae O'Neal Parker Home Page,http://www.lonnae.com (November 8, 2006).