Albert French
{{short description|American author and publisher|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{for|the jazz musician|Papa French}}
{{BLP sources|date=April 2018}}
Albert French (born 1943) is an American author and publisher whose works, mainly focusing on the rural life of African Americans, are known for their intensity and distinctive style,{{cite book|author=Emmanuel Sampath Nelson|title=Contemporary African American Novelists: A Bio-bibliographical Critical Sourcebook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rprS-mm9uywC&pg=PA167|date=1 January 1999|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-30501-6|pages=167–}} and have been translated into several languages.[http://hotmetalbridge.org/backthen/golden-years-still-sizzling-for-pittsburgh-author-albert-french/ "Golden Years Still Sizzling For Pittsburgh Author Albert French"]. Hot Metal Bridge MFA, University of Pittsburgh
Early life
French was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1943 and still lives there. He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1963. His experiences there are described in his book Patches of Fire.[http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/significant-authors-the-fast-rise-of-albert-french/Content?oid=887789 "The Fast Rise of Albert French"] By Mike Sula Chicago Sun-Times, June 22, 1995 After returning home, French worked as a photographer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette before publishing the Pittsburgh Preview for twelve years.
Books
- Billy (1995)
- Patches of Fire (1996),
- Holly (1996),{{cite book|author=Linda Parent Lesher|title=The Best Novels of the Nineties: A Reader's Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSiXAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA211|date=1 February 2000|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-0389-6|pages=211–}}
- I Can't Wait on God (1999)
- Cinder (2007).[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/08/featuresreviews.guardianreview "All burned up: Albert French returns to 1930s Mississippi to conjure up stifling images of the deep south in Cinder"], Jay Parini, The Guardian, 7 September 2007.
French's works Billy, Holly and Cinder all describe rural African American life in the South while I Can't Wait on God is centered in Pittsburgh. His first novel, Billy, was favorably reviewed by the New York Daily News-New York Daily News; BILLY by Albert French , November 18, 1993, RICHARD EDER | NEW YORK TIMES BOOK CRITIC and the Los Angeles TimesEder, Richard. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-18-vw-57930-story.html "BOOK REVIEW: NOVEL : Horrific Enlargement of Small, Ugly Truths : BILLY by Albert French, Viking, $20, 214 pages"]. Los Angeles Times, November 18, 1993. Billy was adapted for the stage by David Barr and first performed by the Chicago Theatre Company in February 2007.Chicago Tribune, Chris Jones, April 2001
French was asked by the Royal Book Club to write a foreword for To Kill a Mockingbird.
References
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External links
-Random House.com - http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0898/french/
African American Literature Book Club biography of Albert French- http://aalbc.com/authors/albert.htm
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