Jennifer DeVere Brody

With me today on Writers at Work is Jennifer DeVere Brody, author of MOVING STONES: ABOUT THE ART OF EDMONIA LEWIS, the 19th century Black and Native American sculptor. Jennifer, who is professor of theater and performance studies and African and African American studies at Stanford University, is the author of several books, including PUNCTUATION: ART, POLITICS, AND PLAY and IMPOSSIBLE PURITIES: BLACKNESS, FEMININITY, AND VICTORIAN CULTURE. In MOVING STONES, Jennifer views Edmonia Lewis through a Black feminist and queer lens.

Born in 1844 in upstate New York, Lewis' early life was marred by the loss of both parents before her ninth birthday. While one of the rare Black students at Oberlin College, she was accused of poisoning two women and then savagely beaten as rumors of the allegations spread. She was cleared of the charges.

She left Ohio, moved to Boston, and began her career as a sculptor, a career that blossomed in Rome and led her to be the first Black American and Native American sculptor to achieve domestic and international acclaim. Today, Lewis' works are on display in major institutions, including the Smithsonian. One of her most characteristic works, "Old Indian Arrow Maker and His Daughter," is in the collection at the North Carolina Museum Art. There's much to discuss with Professor Brody, not only the work of Edmonia Lewis, but also her approach to examining and communicating about that work.