Carolyn Beard Whitlow Writes Chapbook
Dana Professor of English Carolyn Beard Whitlow has written a 13-poem chapbook, “When the Wind Stills,” that retells American history focusing on slavery, the Civil War and the early Reconstruction era.
The chapbook was published in February by Finishing Line Press. Its title, a reference to Gone With the Wind, comes from a couplet in the collection’s last poem:
the pungence scatters even when the wind stills
enough to raise pink blossoms on the hill
“The text follows the timeline of my Historical Perspectives class that I’ve taught every semester at Guilford since 1998,” Carolyn said.
A photo from the Library of Congress is on the book’s cover and complements the text perfectly, she said. Its caption reads: “Redeemed in Virginia by Catharine S. Lawrence. Baptized in Brooklyn, at Plymouth Church, by Henry Ward Beecher, May 1863. Fannie Virginia Casseopia Lawrence, a redeemed slave child, 5 years of age”
Carolyn has taught at the College since 1993 and served as chair of the English Department and African American Studies concentration. She holds a bachelor’s from Wayne State University, a master’s from Cornell University and an M.F.A. from Brown University.
