Joyce Carol Thomas

“Therefore I approach

The cup slowly

But first I ask

Who has set this table”

Joyce Carol Thomas, Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea

1938 - 2016

About Joyce Carol Thomas

Joyce Carol Thomas (1938–2016) was an award-winning author, poet, and educator whose work beautifully wove together the rhythms of African-American life, the richness of oral storytelling, and the lyrical power of language. Born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and raised in both the cotton fields of the South and the migrant farms of California, Thomas drew on her rural upbringing, church music, and multicultural influences to create deeply moving stories and poetry. Best known for her National Book Award–winning novel Marked by Fire and her celebrated children’s collections such as Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea, she brought warmth, authenticity, and a deep love for family and heritage to every page she wrote.

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QUOTES

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Joyce Carol Thomas is a great and graceful soul. Through her example she encourages love. Through her work, understanding, growth, and hope.

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Joyce Carol Thomas' characters enact the verities of human life: romance, apprehension, loss, and hope, and they perform on the author's real life stage.

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I became engrossed, because Miss Thomas writes with admirable simplicity and finds a marvelous fairy tale quality in everyday happenings. Her people move through troubled times but never fail to celebrate sweeter days...