To Smile in Autumn: A Memoir
By (Author) Gordon Parks
Foreword by Alexs Pate
University of Minnesota Press
University of Minnesota Press
1st November 2009
United States
General
Non Fiction
Composers and songwriters
Biography: arts and entertainment
Social and cultural history
Ethnic studies
770.92
Paperback
248
Width 140mm, Height 216mm, Spine 20mm
Gordon Parks was born with, he says, "a stubborn need to be somebody." Though Parks is remembered most notably as a photographer and filmmaker, on his enthralling climb to fame between 1944 and 1978 he was successful in many pursuits, including journalism, poetry, and music. It was not always an easy journey, but by thirty-six he had overcome many obstacles to become a photographer and writer for Life magazine. This autobiography, with a new foreword by Alexs Pate, is a testament to a person much attuned to the greater world and driven to leave his mark on it.
"Mr. Parkss achievements would be exceptional no matter what his background, but when compared with the bleakness and hardship of his childhood they seem nothing less than outsized." New York Times, 1979
Gordon Parks was a photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist, and film director. He was the author of several books, including The Learning Tree, and director of the 1971 film Shaft.
Alexs Pate is author of several novels, including Amistad, West of Rehoboth, and Finding Makeba.