Martha Southgate (born December 12, 1960) is an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

novelist and essayist best known for her novel '' Third Girl from the Left''. Her work has appeared in ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

'', '' O'', ''

Premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

'', and ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

''.

Early life

Southgate was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio. She attended

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

before obtaining an MFA in creative writing from

Goddard Goddard may refer to: People * Goddard (given name) * Goddard (surname) Places in the United States *Goddard, Kansas *Goddard, Kentucky *Goddard, Maryland *Goddard College, a low-residency college with campuses in Vermont and Washington *Goddar ...

Writing career

Southgate's first novel ''Another Way to Dance'', about a 14-year-old black aspiring ballerina, was published in 1997 by

Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

. For that work she won the Coretta Scott King

John Steptoe Award for New Talent The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association (ALA). Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., this award rec ...

. In 2002 she released ''The Fall of Rome: A Novel'', set in a New England private boys

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

. Her third novel, '' Third Girl from the Left'', was published in 2005. Southgate's most recent novel, '' The Taste of Salt'' was published in 2011 by

Algonquin Books Workman Publishing Company, Inc., is an American publisher of trade books founded by Peter Workman. The company is comprised of either imprints: Workman, Workman Children’s, Workman Calendars, Artisan, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and Algon ...

Adaptations

In 2013 plans for an adaptation of Southgate's novel ''Third Girl from the Left'' were announced. Actresses

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

and

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

were attached to star.

Works

* ''Another Way to Dance'' (1997) * ''The Fall of Rome: A Novel'' (2002) *'' Third Girl from the Left'' (2005) *'' The Taste of Salt'' (2011)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Southgate, Martha 1960 births 20th-century American novelists African-American novelists Goddard College alumni Smith College alumni Writers from Cleveland American women novelists 20th-century American women writers Living people Novelists from Ohio 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women