LI'L BOY JOHNSON

About the Book

     The story is told in two parts, the first from the Viewpoint of the mother, Mamie Johnson, and the second from the viewpoint of the son, Li’l Boy.

     Set in the deep South, it is a portrait of a family that will not allow poverty and tragedy to bring it down. Mamie, the matriarch of the family, is a strong-willed, articulate, black woman, who puts the welfare of her family above all else.

      As the story begins, her husband is dead and she and her elderly father must try to provide for eight children. From the beginning, Li’l Boy, a twin, seems to stand out above the others, possessing something special that no one can put into words.

     The story follows the Johnson family through their growing up years, then takes us, from his own point of view, through Li’l Boy’s young adulthood.

     He is drafted into the Army, serves in Vietnam, comes back to discover prejudice and hatred still exist at home, and lashes out in rage at a white man.

     Sentenced to one year in prison for the crime, Li’l Boy learns to deal with his feelings. He looks to ‘Pa’ Man, his grandfather, for inspiration after Mamie’s death.

     After his release, he finds that doors still slam in his face, people still call him “nigger” and refuse to hire him, so he decides to open his own business with his brothers and sisters as partners. Their enterprise flourishes and the Johnsons are finally regarded with respect by all who know them.

About the Author

Louise Anderson-Smith (full name Annie Louise Anderson-Smith) was born on November 4, 1946, in Athens, Georgia, United States of America. She is an important novelist, storyteller, and poet, whose poems “Some Old Lady” and “Deliver Me”, were published in the 1986 and 1987 Poetry Anthologies. In 1982, she received the Best Playwright award for her play, “A Tricycle for Li’l Jimmy”. She is married to Joseph Smith and is the mother of four daughters. After supporting her children through college and numerous creative writing classes and workshops, she returned to college at the age of 54, graduating from Clark Atlanta University (in Atlanta, GA) with honors and a degree in Mass Media Arts with a concentration in Film, Radio, & Television. Prior to attending college, she worked as a Computer Data Transcriber for the Clarke County Board of Health and nine surrounding counties. Her writing career began in sixth grade when she wrote a play entitled, “A Trip to the Bakery”, based on a fieldtrip her class took to Benson Bakery in her hometown. In addition to writing the play, she produced, directed, and cast all players for it. She received raving reviews from the Superintendent of schools.