But what made the house breathe, what gave the house its lungs, was its front porch. A long driveway traversed the length of the yard, cut in half by a folding wooden barn gate. This house seemed somehow large and small at once-it sat on many different split levels that spanned out in all directions in a wild, Southern maze.

The low house was a cat napping in the shade of plum trees, not at all like the three-story Victorian fortress we had just left. “With the patience and diligence of a man deep in love.” “Papa Myron selected and placed each stone of the house’s foundation himself,” she whispered to me and Mya. Mama squeezed my hand as the three of us gazed up at it, our bleary exhaustion no match for the animated brightness before us. Read on for an exclusive sneak peak on Tara M. How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones: An extract Memphis is my proof that our lives – our beautiful, rich, full Black lives – matter so much.” That Memphis women can gut catfish and fry green tomatoes and lead revolutions and do hair and tuck their children in at night and sing all the while.

That the women here are full of mystery and magic and humour and grit. She is my proof that a great people reside in the South. Inspired by her own rich family heritage, Tara’s grandfather was the first Black homicide officer in Memphis who was murdered by his own police squad her grandmother was an activist and marched with Martin Luther King Memphis tells the story of Hazel, Miriam, August and Joan: three generations of women in a southern family.ĭescribing her highly anticipated book, Tara said: “Quite simply, is an ode to my city and the Black women living here in it. Read on for an exclusive extract from the book. Stringfellow celebrates Black female joy, grace, humour and grit.

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow