Mignon Holland Anderson (born 1945) is an American writer and professor. She writes mainly

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

that focus on African-American life in the

Eastern Shore of Virginia The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties ( Accomack and Northampton) on the Atlantic coast detached from the mainland of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is se ...

Personal life

Mignon Holland Anderson was born in

Cheriton, Virginia Cheriton is a town in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 487 at the 2010 census. History Eyre Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on Mar ...

. Her parents, Frank and Ruby Holland, owned a

funeral home A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral. Services ...

. She attended

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

and received her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1966. In 1970 she graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

with a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

. She once served as research assistant to

Arna Bontemps Arna Wendell Bontemps ( ) (October 13, 1902 – June 4, 1973) was an American poet, novelist and librarian, and a noted member of the Harlem Renaissance. Early life Bontemps was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, into a Louisiana Creole family. His a ...

Career

Anderson writes short stories. Many of her stories take place in the Eastern Shore of Virginia and focus on the lives of African Americans. Her story ''Mostly Womenfolk and a Man or Two,'' takes place after the end of

slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...

and focuses on how African-American people started appropriating

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

culture. Her other story, ''The End of Dying,'' was published in 2001 and also focuses on racism in the mid-20th century. Anderson teaches English at the

University of Maryland Eastern Shore University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Princess Anne, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High r ...

, a historically black college. Anderson has been the recipient of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore President's Teacher of the Year award. She has also been named one of the President's Top Ten Teachers of the Year. She has been the associate editor for the ''Maryland Review.''

Works

*''The End of Dying.'' Baltimore: American House (2001). *"In the Face of Fire I Will Not Turn Back." ''Negro Digest'': 17 (1968), pp. 20–23. *''Mostly Womenfolk and a Man or Two: A Collection.'' Chicago: Third World Press (1976). .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Mignon Holland American women short story writers 21st-century American short story writers African-American women writers People from Cheriton, Virginia Fisk University alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni University of Maryland Eastern Shore faculty 1945 births Living people 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers Writers from Virginia 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American writers