Turk, Ruth 1917-

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TURK, Ruth 1917-

PERSONAL: Born 1917. Education: Received M.A. in Education.

ADDRESSES: Home—7320 Pine Park Dr. North, Lake Worth, FL 33467.

CAREER: Writer, lecturer. English teacher and guidance counselor in the New York school system for many years.

MEMBER: Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Florida Freelance Writers Association.

WRITINGS:

You're Getting Older, So What?, illustrated by John Livesay, Herald Publishing House (Independence, MO), 1976.

More Than Friends (novel), Bantam (New York, NY), 1980.

Hillary for President, Trillium Press, 1989.

They Reached for the Stars!, illustrated by Ned Tripp, Blue Bird Publishing, 1992. "15" Is the Pits, New Win Publishing (Clinton, NJ), 1993.

The Second Flowering, New Win Publishing (Clinton, NJ), 1993.

Lillian Hellman: Rebel Playwright, Lerner Publications (Minneapolis, MN), 1995.

Noises in the Night, Armstrong Publishing, 1996.

Ray Charles: Soul Man, Lerner Publications (Minneapolis, MN), 1996.

Rosalynn Carter: Steel Magnolia, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1996.

Coretta Scott King: Fighter for Justice, Branden (Boston, MA), 1997.

I Am African American, PowerKids Press (New York, NY), 1997.

Edith Wharton: Beyond the Age of Innocence, Tudor Publishers (Greensboro, NC), 1998.

The Doll on the Top Shelf, Owl's House Press (Los Altos, CA), 1998.

The Play's the Thing: A Story about William Shakespeare, Carolrhoda Books (Minneapolis, MN), 1998.

Charlie Chaplin: Genius of the Silent Screen, Lerner Publications (Minneapolis, MN), 2000.

Also author of poetry, stories, and articles that have appeared in a variety of national publications. Author of "Dear Ruth" weekly advice column for older people for nearly two decades.

SIDELIGHTS: Ruth Turk has written several biographies for children on prominent Americans in politics and the arts. These books include Lillian Hellman: Rebel Playwright, Rosalynn Carter: Steel Magnolia, and Charlie Chaplin: Genius of the Silent Screen.

In her biography of playwright and screenwriter Lillian Hellman, Turk covers not only Hellman's writing career, but also her outspoken leftist pronouncements, her relationship with mystery writer Dashiell Hammett, and her appearance before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. "Without overwhelming readers with details," noted Mary Harris Veeder in Booklist, "[Turk] forcefully draws the disparate strands of Hellman's story into a coherent portrait, at the same time deepening the impression of the writer's lifelong energies."

In Rosalyn Carter: Steel Magnolia Turk presents the former First Lady's biography, from her upbringing in small town Plains, Georgia, to her marriage to Jimmy Carter, their family together, and her husband's election first as governor of Georgia and then American president. Written after the Carters had left the White House, Turk's biography also covers Rosalyn's later interests and activities. Carolyn Phelan of Booklist found the book to be "a competent and usually engaging discussion."

Turk traces the career of film legend Charlie Chaplin in Charlie Chaplin: Genius of the Silent Screen. Chaplin was born into poverty in London, but early on realized he had a gift for entertaining people. Beginning as a dancer, Chaplin soon turned to acting in film comedies, and eventually became a director of films as well. While his films charmed millions of fans, Chaplin had a turbulent private life, marrying four times and enduring scandals about his politics and love affairs. Carol Fazioli in School Library Journal called Turk's account of Chaplin's career "a competent overview."

In addition to her biographies, Turk has also written The Doll on the Top Shelf, the story of a blind girl who chooses a new doll not on how it looks but on how it feels. The picture book includes Braille text so that both sighted and unsighted children can enjoy the story. An explanation of the Braille alphabet is included in the back of the book for those readers who would like to learn how to read in Braille. A reviewer for the San Jose Mercury News called The Doll on the Top Shelf "a subtle lesson about generosity and transcending the urge to judge by appearances."

Turk once commented: "My first poem was accepted for publication in a leading newspaper when I was ten years old. From that day until the present, writing in some form is a daily part of my lifestyle. While writing in longhand may be considered 'archaic' in a computer age, there is also a compelling need to hold that pen in my hand in order to release that creative flow. "After several decades of teaching in a public school system that absorbed most of my time and energy, I realized there would have to be a time when I would write for myself. Correcting themes and encouraging my students was a rewarding experience while it lasted. I soon learned that the retirement phase of life was more 'refirement' than anything else. Two adult nonfiction books, You're Getting Older, So What? and The Second Flowering, pretty much sum up my attitude toward living in general. Today my writing continues to move in many directions—novels, picture books, articles on a variety of subjects, free verse and traditional poetry—as long as there are words, I continue to explore and use them. Travel and research play a vital role in the preparation of material—inspiration and dedication do the rest. Writing for and about young people also means never growing old!"

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 1995, Mary Harris Veeder, review of Lillian Hellman: Rebel Playwright, p. 1748; December 1, 1997, Carolyn Phelan, review of Rosalynn Carter: Steel Magnolia, p. 618; February 1, 1998, Anne O'Malley, review of Edith Wharton: Beyond the Age of Innocence, p. 910.

Publishers Weekly, June 27, 1980, review of More Than Friends, p. 84.

San Jose Mercury News, April 25, 1999, review of The Doll on the Top Shelf.

School Library Journal, November, 1993, Judy R. Johnston, review of '15' Is the Pits, p. 126; August, 1995, Ruth K. MacDonald, review of Lillian Hellman: Rebel Playwright, p. 165; August, 1996, Tim Wadham, review of Ray Charles: Soul Man, p. 162; October, 1997, Joan Soulliere, review of Edith Wharton: Beyond the Age of Innocence, p. 156; August, 1998, Sally Margolis, review of The Play's the Thing: A Story about William Shakespeare, p. 156, and Eunice Weech, review of I Am African American, p. 156; April, 2000, Carol Fazioli, review of Charlie Chaplin: Genius of the Silent Screen, p. 156.