From Publishers Weekly
A child prodigy born in Harlem to a noted black journalist and a domineering white mother, classical musician and roving journalist Schuyler (1931-1967) became a 1940s and 1950s racial icon (and inspiration for blacks to take piano lessons). The author describes mother Josephine's boldness in crossing the race barrier and re-creates her assiduous efforts to develop young Philippa's faculties. Haunted by American racism, Philippa found refuge, on tour, in Latin America's more relaxed racial climate; she later had a love-hate relationship with Africa and eventually attempted to perform under an assumed Spanish identity. Further pressured by a troubled love life, Schuyler nonetheless also developed as a writer of both fiction and nonfiction (Who Killed the Congo?), advancing her once-liberal father's right-wing views. She died in a helicopter crash in Vietnam, where she had gone to write. Talalay, assistant archivist/editor at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City, has produced an incisive and readable biography of an intriguing figure.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist
Philippa Schuyler led an accomplished, complex, and tragic life. She was the first "colored girl" to achieve national prominence at an early age. Growing up in the 1940s and 1950s was difficult for an African American female who not only was the daughter of an interracial union but also a child prodigy, both intellectually and musically. Her father, George Schuyler, a noted black writer, influenced her thinking and political views. Her mother, Josephine Cogdell, daughter of a white, wealthy Texas family, sacrificed her position to marry the infamous Messenger editor, Schuyler. Philippa's musical career, concertizing and composing, lovers, associates, and friends spanned continents. She exerted an influence on the culture of her time and was a role model for children of that era. Her inspiration transcended music--one woman noted that after attending her performance, she decided to become a writer. In her twenties, Philippa became an author of fiction and nonfiction and a roving reporter spending a great deal of time relating events of the Vietnam War. Her untimely death in 1967 marked the tragic end of Philippa's duality: in her careers, music and journalism, and identity, black or white. Lillian Lewis
