SMITH, Mary Burnett 1931–

PERSONAL: Born 1931; married. Education: Temple University, M.A. (education).

ADDRESSES: Home—PA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, William Morrow & Company, 10 East 53rd St., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: School teacher in Philadelphia, PA, until 1992.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fiction Short Story Award, Ebony magazine.

WRITINGS:

Miss Ophelia (novel), Morrow (New York, NY), 1997.

Ring around the Moon (novel), Morrow (New York, NY), 1998.

SIDELIGHTS: Mary Burnett Smith's first novel about a young black girl growing up in post-World War II Virginia, was a debut well received by critics. Narrated by the now-grown-up Isabelle—once known as Belly—it recounts the events of the summer of 1948, when she went away to care for sick relatives. In a strange town, Belly is lonely, and her aunt is mean, but the girl finds sympathy and kindness from her new piano teacher, Miss Ophelia. In this setting, Belly learns many new lessons about people and adulthood, including discrimination within races, abortion, religious hypocrisy, and adultery.

Critics praised Smith for a well-told tale, and especially for her fine crafting of Belly's character. A Kirkus Reviews critic, for one, called Miss Ophelia a "gently affecting tale" and credited Smith with having "richly realized the ritual courtesies and dynamic village unity of an isolated community." A Publishers Weekly reviewer called the book "exceptional" and noted, "The plot isn't terribly original, but Smith … handles it with notable delicacy, capturing the complex way in which Belly half-comprehends the lives of the adults around her." Beth E. Anderson, writing for Library Journal, deemed Belly to be "so genuinely rendered that the reader must struggle to remember that this is a work of fiction."

Smith's second novel, Ring around the Moon, resembles her first in several ways. Also set in the 1940s, it is narrated by a young African-American girl who watches her parents struggle to keep their marriage intact. On a sweltering July night, nine-year-old Amy Beale is present as her mother gives her father—a gambler, drinker, womanizer, and wife beater—one more chance to save the marriage over the course of a "trial year." Amy chronicles the final year of this disastrous relationship and recounts its effects on herself and her two brothers. She also reminisces on her struggles with self-image, her desperate need for friendship, and the cruel jokes and taunts she suffered from other children because of her light complexion and reddish hair. A Publishers Weekly reviewer com-mented on the book's "fine dialogue and vivid characters," while Joanne Wilkinson noted in Booklist that the author's "impressionistic writing style is perfectly matched to her material."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 1997, Lillian Lewis, review of Miss Ophelia, p. 61; October 1, 1998, Joanne Wilkinson, review of Ring around the Moon, p. 309.

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 1997, review of Miss Ophelia, pp. 979-980.

Library Journal, August 1997, Beth E. Anderson, review of Miss Ophelia, p. 136.

Publishers Weekly, July 21, 1997, review of Miss Ophelia, p. 182; September 7, 1998, review of Ring around the Moon, p. 83.