Tina McElroy Ansa, revered author and journalist from Macon, died on Tuesday (Sept. 10).
She was 74.
Born in Macon, Georgia, on November 18, 1949, famed storyteller Tina McElroy Ansa etched a unique and unforgettable niche in American literature, becoming a potent voice for the South.
“I have a lot of adjectives before my name. I’m a literary writer, I’m a Southern writer, a woman writer, an African-American writer. I’m an erotic writer, I’m a metaphysical writer because I write about spirits and haints and ghosts. I accept any of those that are honest adjectives,” the two-time Georgia Authors Series Award winner told Creative Loafing.
In 1974, Ansa graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and landed her first job on the copy desk of the Atlanta Constitution Journal. In an interview with Eisa Nefertari Ulen, she shared that she purchased an anthology titled “Black-Eyed Susans” with her very first check.
The anthology, a compilation of short stories penned by African-American women about African-American women, was the first-ever of its kind in the United States and inspired her to explore her literary persuasions.
“Well, that just resonated for me, back in ’71. And I have been thinking about that ever since because I realized — even as a 22-year-old — that we did indeed need stories that broke from the literary tradition of black mothers who were all-good and all-sacrificing and all-loving. Many of the mothers I knew were great mothers, but none of them were perfect,” she explained to Ulen. “They had flaws and quirks and unfulfilled dreams. They made mistakes and missteps and sometimes real messes of their lives and their family’s lives. But they were rich and interesting and complex and complicated women that you wanted to know more about. And that is why I created Mudear.”
A woman of many hats, Ansa also worked as a reporter for the Charlotte Observer, a mass media instructor at Atlanta’s Clark College and a writing workshop supervisor at Spelman College in Brunswick, Georgia.
In 1978, she married Jonée Ansa and the newlyweds moved to the island village of St. Simons. They were married for 42 years.
Ansa’s debut novel, Baby of the Family (1989), is a coming-of-age story about a young Black girl named Lena who can see ghosts and predict the future, cementing her as a literary force.
Ansa would go on to release a series of several publications, including Ugly Ways (1993), The Hand I Fan With (1996), You Know Better (2002), and Taking After Mudear (2007) which would continue to explore the themes of femininity, lineage, spirituality and self-discovery. Ansa’s novels were often set in the fictional town of Mulberry, Georgia, steeped in Southern yore and culture— the stories spanning from the 1950s through the 20th century.
In 2004, Ansa founded the Sea Island Writers Retreats.
Motivated by major trade publishers’ lack of interest in serious Black writing, Ansa established DownSouth Press in 2007, an independent house dedicated to profound contemporary African-American literature by experienced and new authors alike. Ansa frequently highlighted fellow Black authors and artists who were not signed to her label on her Instagram account, a testament to her authentic mission to uplift Black voices,
Ansa’s commitment to the somewhat controversial themes of African folklore, womanhood and sexual intimacy and love set her apart from her industry rivals, and DownSouth Press continued to move the needle.
“I want DownSouth Press to be a haven that values authors, great storytelling and beautiful writing,” Ansa said.
The publishing industry has lost a storytelling titan, but her legacy lives on through her words.
Rest in power, Tina McElroy Ansa!
Click here to watch Karen Hunter’s fireside chat with Tina McElroy Ansa at her 2024 Healthy, Wealthy Wise Retreat.
