Caribbean-American writer-activist Rosa Guy dies at 89
Novelist was co-founder of the Harlem Writers Guild, famed for 1970s young-adult trilogy: 'The Friends,' 'Ruby' and 'Edith Jackson'
ACCLAIMED Caribbean-American novelist and activist Rosa Guy, a co-founder of the Harlem Writers Guild, died Sunday afternoon after a six-year battle with cancer.
She passed away at age 89 in her upper West Side apartment surrounded by family, her grandson Warner Guy 3rd told the Daily News.
"She was my personal pride and joy," he said. "She was a lover of life who could hold her own in a room filled with friends like (writers) Maya Angelou and Louise Meriwether."
Born in Trinidad, Guy moved to New York as a child and turned her personal experiences with social instability and race politics into a series of trailblazing, taboo-busting novels.
"She was very sensitive to people's real lives, their real situations," poet Amiri Baraka told The News. "And she was direct about it. A lot of writers try to obfuscate the truth because they think it's too hard for readers to accept, but she was not like that."
Among her books for young adults, a 1970s trilogy made up of "The Friends," "Ruby," and "Edith Jackson" was her most famous.
Her 1985 adult novel "My Love, My Love: Or, The Peasant Girl" was made into the Tony-nominated 1990 Broadway musical "Once on This Island."
"She imprinted me and everyone she met with her grace, wisdom and humor," her grandson said.
Novelist was co-founder of the Harlem Writers Guild, famed for 1970s young-adult trilogy: 'The Friends,' 'Ruby' and 'Edith Jackson'
ACCLAIMED Caribbean-American novelist and activist Rosa Guy, a co-founder of the Harlem Writers Guild, died Sunday afternoon after a six-year battle with cancer.
She passed away at age 89 in her upper West Side apartment surrounded by family, her grandson Warner Guy 3rd told the Daily News.
"She was my personal pride and joy," he said. "She was a lover of life who could hold her own in a room filled with friends like (writers) Maya Angelou and Louise Meriwether."
Born in Trinidad, Guy moved to New York as a child and turned her personal experiences with social instability and race politics into a series of trailblazing, taboo-busting novels.
"She was very sensitive to people's real lives, their real situations," poet Amiri Baraka told The News. "And she was direct about it. A lot of writers try to obfuscate the truth because they think it's too hard for readers to accept, but she was not like that."
Among her books for young adults, a 1970s trilogy made up of "The Friends," "Ruby," and "Edith Jackson" was her most famous.
Her 1985 adult novel "My Love, My Love: Or, The Peasant Girl" was made into the Tony-nominated 1990 Broadway musical "Once on This Island."
"She imprinted me and everyone she met with her grace, wisdom and humor," her grandson said.
Caribbean-American writer-activist Rosa Guy dies at 89
Novelist was co-founder of the Harlem Writers Guild, famed for 1970s young-adult trilogy: 'The Friends,' 'Ruby' and 'Edith Jackson'
ACCLAIMED Caribbean-American novelist and activist Rosa Guy, a co-founder of the Harlem Writers Guild, died Sunday afternoon after a six-year battle with cancer.
She passed away at age 89 in her upper West Side apartment surrounded by family, her grandson Warner Guy 3rd told the Daily News.
"She was my personal pride and joy," he said. "She was a lover of life who could hold her own in a room filled with friends like (writers) Maya Angelou and Louise Meriwether."
Born in Trinidad, Guy moved to New York as a child and turned her personal experiences with social instability and race politics into a series of trailblazing, taboo-busting novels.
"She was very sensitive to people's real lives, their real situations," poet Amiri Baraka told The News. "And she was direct about it. A lot of writers try to obfuscate the truth because they think it's too hard for readers to accept, but she was not like that."
Among her books for young adults, a 1970s trilogy made up of "The Friends," "Ruby," and "Edith Jackson" was her most famous.
Her 1985 adult novel "My Love, My Love: Or, The Peasant Girl" was made into the Tony-nominated 1990 Broadway musical "Once on This Island."
"She imprinted me and everyone she met with her grace, wisdom and humor," her grandson said.
Novelist was co-founder of the Harlem Writers Guild, famed for 1970s young-adult trilogy: 'The Friends,' 'Ruby' and 'Edith Jackson'
ACCLAIMED Caribbean-American novelist and activist Rosa Guy, a co-founder of the Harlem Writers Guild, died Sunday afternoon after a six-year battle with cancer.
She passed away at age 89 in her upper West Side apartment surrounded by family, her grandson Warner Guy 3rd told the Daily News.
"She was my personal pride and joy," he said. "She was a lover of life who could hold her own in a room filled with friends like (writers) Maya Angelou and Louise Meriwether."
Born in Trinidad, Guy moved to New York as a child and turned her personal experiences with social instability and race politics into a series of trailblazing, taboo-busting novels.
"She was very sensitive to people's real lives, their real situations," poet Amiri Baraka told The News. "And she was direct about it. A lot of writers try to obfuscate the truth because they think it's too hard for readers to accept, but she was not like that."
Among her books for young adults, a 1970s trilogy made up of "The Friends," "Ruby," and "Edith Jackson" was her most famous.
Her 1985 adult novel "My Love, My Love: Or, The Peasant Girl" was made into the Tony-nominated 1990 Broadway musical "Once on This Island."
"She imprinted me and everyone she met with her grace, wisdom and humor," her grandson said.
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