MACON, Ga. — Tina McElroy Ansa, a noted writer, author and journalist from Macon, died on Tuesday, according to Glynn County Coroner Marc Neu. She was 74.
Respected in literary circles, Ansa had written over 10 books, many of which focus on the African American experience in the South.
Growing up in Macon, she says that she was part of "a writing tradition, one of those little southern girls who always knew she wanted to tell stories," her website biography says.
A graduate of Spelman, she first started her career as a copy editor at The Atlanta Consitution in Atlanta in 1971, but soon she would move to the literary world
Ansa's first novel — "Baby of the Family" — was published in 1989. The novel is a coming-of-age story but with a twist: she can speak to ghosts and see into the future.
"Baby of the Family" tells the story of Lena, born in 1949, in a private black-only hospital. The story juxtaposes her supernatural abilities with the normalness of Lena's everyday life.
Her second book "Ugly Ways" tells the story of three sisters reunited in Mulberry Georgia, which draws on Ansa's experience growing up in Macon and Middle Georgia.
While moving away from Central Georgia and eventually settling at St. Simons Island in 1984, many of her novels are set in Mulberry, Georgia, and she says Macon and Central Georgia inspired the "mythical world" of Mulberry.
In her biography, she attributes her storytelling to hearing stories on the front porch of her family's home along with hearing the stories of strangers at his father's "Juke Joint" in downtown Macon.
She says not only was she a noted writer, but she also enjoyed the outdoor world.
She was also an avid bird watcher, amateur naturalist and gardener. A fixture of her garden? Collard greens, her bio says.
Along with her writing, she frequently lectured at universities, colleges, libraries, festivals and bookstores across the U.S. Ansa also had served as a writer-in-residence at her alma mater, Spelman, inspiring the next generation of young writers.
