‘and into the silence, now it is after the fact, like riding a bus to north point, to hawkes point, to another place in time, carried along smooth as a sailing ship, to another place not so fraught with memory, even as the mind is distracted by the pavement that disappears behind, underneath these wheels; think of a woman in a pink gown; a man in a fishing vest; think of walker and where he stands on the bank of a stream; a cabin in the woods only a few hundred feet away–or is it a mile or two–it is hard to remember, thinking, standing here on the trail; to recall a place, so much created in imagination: here, a cabin, there, a yellow and black painted frame house; a mail box, a bed of roses, a house with shutters, white trim.’ – America Hart, into the silence: the fishing story
from Colorado to London
America Hart is the pen name of author Carolyn Jean Hart.
The name is taken after my grandmother and great-great grandmother, America Vandalia Cotton.
Born and raised in Colorado, I grew up near the Rocky Mountains with my family. I have lived in Boston, New York City and London, and spent time in Africa and the Caribbean.
A piano performance major as an undergraduate, I also have Master’s degrees in Creative Writing and Africana Studies, and a PhD in African and diasporic literatures.
A London-based writer and academic, I write novels and short stories. I also research and write about African and Trans-Atlantic literatures.
My novels and short stories are innovative in style, including my novel into the silence: the fishing story
“Pictures at an Exhibition” was a finalist for the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize.