2011 Common Reader
Black Ice
by Lorene Cary
Review by Gloria J. Hochstein
High Plains Regent, Univeristy of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Black Ice Online Teacher's Guide
Black Ice, by Lorene Cary, is the Common Reader for 2011. Lorene Cary wrote this coming-of-age story to convey her experiences as a black Philadelphia teenager who, in 1972, became a scholarship student at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire in a program designed to develop future American leaders. When she later returns to St. Paul's School as a teacher, she reflects on the experiences of Cary the student and Cary the teacher in a powerful memoir that has drawn comparisons to Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
The environment of the elite, wealthy, and mostly white St. Paul's School becomes the catalyst for Cary and fellow scholarship students to discover themselves, not without difficulty on the way. Although overt racism is mostly absent from the school, Cary and the other scholarship students experience cultural conflicts, racial ignorance, and self doubt. Driven to excel in all areas, Cary feels the pressure of her expectations of herself compounded by her sense of obligation to her family, to the school, and to other young people. The New York Times Book Review calls the novel "A stunning memoir . . . Subtly nuanced and unsparingly self-aware . . . Black Ice is an extraordinarily honest, lively and appealing book."
Five Reasons to Read, Discuss, and Write about the Common Reader
1. The 2011 Sigma Tau Delta Convention will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Sigma Tau Delta's Common Reader for 2011 is Lorene Cary's coming of age memoir, Black Ice. Cary, a native of Philadelphia, currently teaches creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania. So one reason to read and discuss Black Ice is that you will hear from one of the acclaimed voices of Pennsylvania, the region of the next convention.
2. Each Regent offers up to four awards of $50 each to chapters that organize and host a local event or activity around the common reader. This award is completely separate from convention submissions and does not require you to attend the convention. The Regents' Common Reader Award is a chance for chapter members to decide for themselves what to think of Lorene Cary's Black Ice. Simply organize and host a local event or activity around this text before February 15, 2011, and apply for award money after your event. Then submit to your Regent the following three documents, emailed on or before March 1, 2011:
- A cover letter, signed by the Chapter Sponsor (or sent from the Sponsor's email address), confirming that the activity or event took place,
- A narrative, not to exceed 500 words, describing the activity or event, and
- A list of all participating persons or groups.
3. Read Black Ice and then you could submit a paper on Black Ice for the convention and be eligible for one of the Common Reader Convention Awards of up to $500 each. The deadline for submitting these papers is the deadline for all submissions for the 2011 Convention--late October, early November.
4. An excellent online teacher's guide on Black Ice was written by Peter Trachtenberg. It will stimulate your mind and provide numerous ideas for discussion and papers on Black Ice.
Check it out: Black Ice Online Teacher's Guide
5. A fifth, though certainly not final, reason to read Black Ice is that it might be your best summer read, and you will discover an author whom you may not have previously known and points of view which you may not have previously encountered. What marvelous anticipation--having a special book to look forward to reading this summer!