Leopard Lady
A Life in Verse
Published on 1. October 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
98 pages
978-1-941209-89-9 (ISBN)
Description
Leopard Lady: A Life in Verse by Valerie Nieman tells the story of Dinah, an orphan child of Appalachia who runs away to a carnival, and the emotional, physical, and spiritual journey she embraces. Born in the depths of the Depression, the biracial child is "given" to the childless Gastons to raise. She eventually finds her way out of exploitation into a life on the road as a carnival hootchie-kootchie dancer and fortune-teller. Self-educated with the King James Bible and a volume of Shakespeare, her voice blends Elizabethan phrasings with Appalachian and carnival speech. When Dinah is afflicted with vitiligo, she adds a turn as a "freak" called the Leopard Lady as the show travels back roads from the Carolinas to Pennsylvania. A dropout from divinity school joins the show, and they begin a debate over the nature of God and man–each seeking an understanding of their place in the universe–that becomes a close friendship.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 6 mm
Weight
156 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-941209-89-9 (9781941209899)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Valerie Nieman's In the Lonely Backwater, winner of the 2022 Sir Walter Raleigh Award, has been called "not only a page-turning thriller but also a complex psychological portrait of a young woman dealing with guilt, betrayal, and secrecy." Dead Hand is a sequel to To the Bones, a horror/Appalachian/ecojustice novel that was a finalist for the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award. She is the author of three earlier novels, a short fiction collection, and three poetry books. An upcoming novel, Upon the Corner of the Moon, releases in spring 2025. This is the story of the Macbeths you never knew, rightful rulers who united Scotland in the tumultuous 11th century. A graduate of West Virginia University and Queens University of Charlotte, she worked as a reporter and editor before becoming a writing teacher at North Carolina A&T State University, conferences and workshops. She has held state and NEA fellowships.