Writer in Residence Danzy Senna
- by R. Ankrom
The author Danzy Senna is Chatham Hall’s 2012 Writer in Residence and on Tuesday, April 4 she spent the afternoon meeting with students.
Danzy Senna is the author of the national bestselling novel Caucasia, winner of the Book of the Month Award for First Fiction and the American Library Association’s Alex Award. Caucasia was a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, was named a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year and has been translated into eight languages. A recipient of the Whiting Writers Award, Ms. Senna is also the author of the novel Symptomatic, and the memoir, Where Did You Sleep Last Night? A Personal History, which she researched and wrote as a fellow at the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. Her latest work, a story collection, You Are Free, was recently published by Riverhead Books. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the novelist Percival Everett, and their sons.
In addition to giving a reading of sections from Where Did You Sleep Last Night? A Personal History, Ms. Senna also met with the entire sophomore class (those students had read Caucasia over spring break and had studied short stories in class) and had lunch and dinner with creative writing students as well as board members of the Iris, Chatham Hall’s literary magazine.
“Our students had endless questions for Danzy about the writing process, how she constructs characters, and how her own experiences as a biracial person influence her writing,” added English teacher Gwen Couch. “Her candid responses to their questions proved to be an inspiration.”
