Becky Birtha facts for kids

Becky Birtha (born October 11, 1948) is an American writer who creates poetry and books for children. She lives near Philadelphia, USA. Becky Birtha is known for her stories and poems that explore different kinds of relationships and family life. Her writing often covers topics like emotional healing after a difficult time, being a single parent, and adoption. She has won several awards for her work, including a Lambda Literary award for her poetry. She has also received grants from important arts organizations to help her continue writing. In recent years, she has written three historical fiction picture books for children that share stories about the experiences of African Americans.

Early Life and Education

Rebecca Lucille Birtha was born on October 11, 1948, in Hampton, Virginia. Her parents were Jessie Dixon Moore Birtha and Herbert Marshall Birtha. She has an older sister, Rachel Roxanne Birtha Eitches, who used to be a radio broadcaster. Becky Birtha identifies as an African American with a mix of Cherokee, Catawba, African, and Irish family history. These different backgrounds often inspire her writing.

Becky grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her family moved to the Germantown area of the city in 1952. In 1963, they moved to the West Mount Airy neighborhood. Becky attended the Philadelphia High School for Girls. She went on to study at the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Studies in 1973. Later, in 1984, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Besides being a writer, she has worked as a teacher, a legal librarian, and for an adoption agency.

Writing Career

Becky Birtha's first published book of short stories was For Nights Like This One (1983). This collection featured stories about different kinds of relationships. Her second book, Lovers' Choice, continued to explore the experiences of women, especially those from African-American backgrounds. For example, one story called "Route 23: 10th and Bigler to Bethlehem Pike" tells about a mother who takes her children on a long bus ride to keep them warm.

In 1991, Birtha published The Forbidden Poems, a collection of poetry. She shared that some of these poems helped her heal after a long-term relationship ended. A review in Publishers Weekly noted that her poems have a special way of making everyday moments feel very important. The review also mentioned how her writing shows a community that is "stable, loving and creative." Her works have appeared in various magazines like Conditions and Sinister Wisdom. She also wrote book reviews for The New Women's Times Feminist Review. Ed Hermance, who owned a bookstore in Philadelphia, said that Becky Birtha's stories have a strong sense of place and deep feelings.

At a writers' conference in 1994, Becky Birtha talked about her career. She explained that being a Black woman, an adoptive parent, a single mother, and a Quaker has not stopped her from writing. In fact, she celebrates these parts of her identity, as they inspire her work.

In more recent years, Becky Birtha has focused on writing books for children. Her first children's book, Grandmama’s Pride (2005), won the Golden Kite book award. It is also on important reading lists in several states. Her second picture book, Lucky Beans (2010), was chosen as one of the New York Public Library's 100 best titles for reading and sharing in 2010. It was also named one of Smithsonian Magazine′s Notable Books for Children that year. Becky Birtha is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an organization for authors and illustrators of children's books.

Personal Life

Becky Birtha used to live with her partner Nancy and their daughter Tasha in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. As of 2021, she lives in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia and takes care of her elderly mother.

For many years, she enjoyed Balkan folk dancing and later studied other types of modern and folk dance. She is also a member of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. Her current hobbies include folk dance and playing the hammered dulcimer, a musical instrument.

Becky Birtha is a member of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. In 1991, she gave a speech at a Quaker conference where she talked about how writing is a peaceful and healing process that connects her to her faith.

Awards and Recognition

Becky Birtha has received many awards for her writing:

• In 1985, she received a fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
• In 1988, she received a Creative Writing Fellowship Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
• She won a Pushcart Prize in 1989 for her story "Johnnieruth."
• In 1992, she won a Lambda Literary Award for her poetry collection, The Forbidden Poems.
• She was awarded a Pew Fellowships in the Arts grant of $50,000 in 1993.
• Her children's book Grandmama's Pride (2005) won the 2005 Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Honor Book for Picture Book Text.
• Her children's book Lucky Beans (2010) won the 2010 Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award.

Selected Works

Short Stories

• For Nights Like This One: Stories of Loving Women, Frog in the Well (1983). ISBN: 0960362843
• Lovers' Choice, The Seal Press (1987). ISBN: 9780931188565

Poetry

• The Forbidden Poems, The Seal Press (1991). ISBN: 187806701X

Anthologies (Stories in Collections)

• "Jonnieruth" in Breaking Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American fiction, edited by Terry McMillan, Viking Press (1990). ISBN: 9780670825622. Also in Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent, edited by Margaret Busby, London: Jonathan Cape (1992). ISBN: 978-0224035927
• "Babies" in Revolutionary Tales: African American Women's Short Stories, from the First Story to the Present, edited by Bill Mullen, Laurel Press (1995). ISBN: 9780440220824
• "Ice Castles" in Go the Way Your Blood Beats: An Anthology of Lesbian and Gay Fiction by African-American Writers, edited by Shawn Stewart Ruff, H. Holt (1996). ISBN: 9780805047363
• "Maria de las Rosas" in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, edited by Barbara Smith, Rutgers University Press (2000). ISBN: 0813527538

Bibliography

• Literature by Black Women: A List of Books (1983)

Children's Books

• Grandmama's Pride, Albert Whitman & Co. (2005). ISBN: 9780807530283
• Lucky Beans, Albert Whitman & Co. (2010). ISBN: 9780807547823
• Far Apart, Close in Heart, Albert Whitman & Co. (2017). ISBN: 978-0-8075-1275-3

See also

• African-American literature
• Black Feminism
• List of women writers