2022 BPL Local Authors Expo: Meet Laura Secord

 

Laura Secord, author and poet 

Laura Secord is best known in Birmingham by her poetry moniker, Mojo Mamma. She has participated several times in Bards & Brews, the Birmingham Public Library's popular spoken word poetry/craft beer event. 

Between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. this Saturday, November 5, at the Central Library downtown, come meet Laura Secord the author. She is among nearly 30 participants with books at the 2022 BPL Local Authors Expo.

Secord will be signing copies of "An Art, a Craft, a Mystery”, the historical saga written entirely through poetry that tells the story of two women accused of witchcraft in the 1700s. 

Secord has  shared her love for Birmingham as a poet since moving here from California in 1977. She is active in the Magic City Poetry Festival. 

In a Q&A with BPL, Secord talks about her new book, "An Art, A Craft, A Mystery" 

BPL: Tell me about your book. 

Secord:  "An Art, A Craft, A Mystery"  is an historical novel in poetry telling the stories of two colonial women who were accused of witchcraft in 17th century Connecticut. It is a profound and moving history that shares the lives, the losses, the triumph and the terrors in the lives competent and independent women in a strict puritanical community.

It gives readers an emotional insight into their experiences and their hearts. It's a unique, well researched and easily accessible. An engaging read, that echoes the struggles we face in America today.

BPL: What inspired you to write your book? 

Secord: When I discovered my ancestors, Lydea Gilbert and Kate Harrison, I was angered by the stereotypical ways their lives were described by male historians. I sought to use research to understand their lives.

I began to see they were heroic foremothers, whose lives needed to be experienced and celebrated. I feel this book makes them real for modern readers whose understanding of colonial women's neglected and misrepresented in our educations. 

BPL: Who is your favorite author and why? 

Secord: Toni Morrison. She is able to open our hearts to the complex lives of her characters with beauty and compassion. The ending of "Song of Solomon" is one of the best endings ever written. I also love Alice Walker, Louise Erdrich, and Patricia Smith. 

BPL: What do you hope readers get out of your book? 

Secord: I want my readers to feel what life was like in the early colonies. I want them engaged emotionally with the characters. I want them fired up about the treatment of women in the early colonies and today. I hope feel a sense of awe and admiration for what they accomplished and endured.

BPL: Any advice you would give for new authors or those desiring to become an author?

Secord: Write, write, and write. Read aloud, listen to your voice. Read writers whom you love and revise, revise, revise.