Anne Moody leaves treasure trove of unpublished manuscripts

By Roscoe Barnes III

Chairman, Anne Moody History Project

Copyright© 2017

#AnneMoody

NOTE: I've been informed that Anne Moody's papers are no longer available at Emory University.

When Anne Moody spoke of her writing projects in an interview in 1985, she seemed excited about nine unpublished book manuscripts she had written at the time. She talked about them with passion and seemed eager to have them published. But for some reason, the manuscripts never saw publication.

When Moody died at the age of 74 on Feb. 5, 2015, in Gloster, Miss., she had only two books published to her credit. They included her famous autobiography, Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968), and her collection of short stories in Mr. Death: Four Stories (1975).

This book consists of four stories that were originally a part of Variations on a Dream of Death.  With only 102 pages, it was published in 1975 by Harper & Row. First edition was published as hardback. Amazon has a hardback copy listed at $48 and a paperback listed at $299.

Although much has been written about Coming of Age, which has remained in print since its publication in 1968, little is known about Mr. Death. The short story collection, a spinoff from her manuscript, Variations on a Dream of Death, was a break from her autobiographical writings. Amazon reviewer Kristin Traylor gave the book two out of five stars. She wrote: “The stories were all tragic, with characters just going straight into their destruction. No real character development. Her memoir, Coming of Age in Mississippi, was fantastic.”

Kirkus Review presented more light on the collection:

“Anne Moody's four stories of death are so impressively crafted that we wonder who (author? editor? promotion department?) designated them juvenile fiction. True, three of them have child protagonists, but the fourth--about a young woman and her doomed daughter, whom she believes bears the ""mark"" of a contrary cow her mother-in-law (spitefully, she believes) bestowed on her during her pregnancy--uncompromisingly adheres to the limited outlook of Truelove, the mother. And certainly there is nothing withheld or scaled down in the grisly ""Bobo"" wherein a little gift is eaten by her German shepherd, or any nuance overstated in ""All Burnt Up,"" remarkable for its keen, cool view of tangled interracial feelings and poses in the South. (Moody's protagonists, by the way, are black--a fact that is not incidental but is simply natural and unstated.) Of all the shocking endings only the title story's seems at all constructed or artificial, and even that follows with a good show of inevitability the compelling dream sequence that carries us up to that point. You might not agree with John Donovan's introductory assertion that these bone clean Southern gothics are really about love--but, as with Donovan's own Wild in the World (1971), you won't forget them.”

Moody did not initially consider herself a writer, but she enjoyed success as a best-selling author and she continued to write. Some of her work appeared in magazines, such as Mademoiselle. She has been quoted as saying, "In the beginning I never really saw myself as a writer. I was first and foremost an activist in the civil rights movement in Mississippi."

Why Moody’s other manuscripts were not published is something scholars will need to ponder. I have some personal thoughts about her reasons, but I’m not quite ready to share them. I’m still trying to confirm a few hunches and several stories I’ve heard.

Moody discussed her writings during an interview with Debra Spencer on Feb. 19, 1985, in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Building. She was joined by her son, Sasha Straus. During the interview, Moody was clear about her intentions to publish. She said: “I do plan to get my books published….” Her unpublished manuscripts consisted of two autobiographical sequels, commentary and fiction. Since this interview occurred in the mid-1980s, it is possible that she wrote other material in her later years. Below is the list of manuscripts she described in the interview.

Anne Moody’s Unpublished Manuscripts

1. Farewell to Too Sweet

A finished manuscript, this is the sequel to Coming of Age in Mississippi. It focuses on Moody’s relationship with her mother, Elmira “Too Sweet” Williams Moody, who died in 1976. According to Moody, “The book began with her in the hospital room; it ends with her death.” Moody said the death of her mother was very traumatic for her.

2. Coming of Age in New York

This one discusses her 10-year marriage to Austin Straus. It covers the years of Moody’s life from 1974 to 1984.

3. Alternatives to Conventional Marriage

Moody described this work as “…a book of interviews with couples who found an alternative to the conventional things.”

4. Variations on a Dream of Death

Her book, Mr. Death, was a spinoff of this manuscript.

5. My Black Woman’s Book

This is a novel. Her friends and others reportedly thought it was her “most interesting piece of work.”

6. The Clay Gully

This is another novel. The idea for the story stemmed from the clay gully behind her grandmother’s house where she and other kids used to play.

7. Who Needs a Mouth?

This book is based on her brother who lost his ability to talk after suffering a head injury as a child. According to Moody, he fell off a table and injured his head. She was inspired to write this book after watching his reaction one day when he looked at his dad who had become angry and started swearing. She said it seemed as if her brother was thinking, “Who needs a mouth if this is all it is used for?” (my paraphrase).

8. Giraffe Book

This is a novel about animals. Said Moody: “I think the giraffe is the most beautiful animal in the world, and this book is about a woman who has a zoo.” The woman tries to use the zoo as a tool for integration in Mississippi. It is her hope that the zoo would engender diversity by attracting people of different races.

9. Apartheid and Worse in the Marshall Islands

According to Moody, this is “a book dealing with the nuclear issue. All the testing of the bomb, the weapons and things there.”

Based on this list, it seems that Moody remained busy as a writer. In the 1980s and 1990s, she also lectured and gave readings at a number of schools, including Tougaloo College. Her papers are housed at Emory University. Let’s hope that some of these manuscripts will soon see the light of publication so that we all may know more about this incredibly gifted woman.

References:

* Kirkus Review of Mr. Death

* I came across the Debra Spencer interview while browsing Wikipedia:

Spencer, Debra (February 19, 1985). "Transcript (74 pp.) of interview with Anne Moody" (PDF). Department of Archives & History Building. Jackson, Mississippi. p. 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. AU 76 OHP 403.

* Anne Moody’s papers are housed at Emory University. They were acquired by the university in 2012. NOTE: PAPERS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

* The Clarion-Ledger article: Anne Moody, author of 'Coming of Age in Mississippi,' has died

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Author’s Note:

Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi