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Maxine Clair Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

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Maxine Clair

Maxine Clair

Maxine Clair Biography

Maxine Clair was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, in the 1950s. She is a poet, short story writer, and novelist. She attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence where she studied science. Clair went on to a career in medical technology as chief technologist at a children's hospital in Washington, D.C. It was while working there that Clair became interested in writing. She pursued and achieved her M.F.A. at George Washington University. In 1989 she became an associate professor of English at GWU, retiring from the position in 2008.

Her first book, a collection of poetry, Coping With Gravity, was published in 1988. In 1992 she published a fiction chapbook entitled October Brown, which earned her an Artscape Prize for Maryland Writers. Her next book, Rattlebone, was published in 1994 and is perhaps her most well-known work. Rattlebone is a collection of interrelated stories revolving around the life of a young African-American girl coming of age in a small African-American neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas. Clair got the name of her book from Rattlebone Hollow, a North Kansas City, Kansas, neighborhood.

October Suite was published in 2001. This novel takes a character from her chapbook October Brown and her novel Rattlebone and explores her life and experiences as an unwed teacher and African-American mother in the 1950s. The novel is a journey of self discovery for its lead character, October Brown, and was well received by critics.

Maxine Clair's website

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Books by Maxine Clair at BookBrowse
October Suite jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Maxine Clair but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Brit Bennett

    Brit Bennett

    Born and raised in Southern California, Brit Bennett graduated from Stanford University and later earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan, where she won a Hopwood Award in Graduate Short Fiction as well as the... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    October Suite

    Try:
    The Vanishing Half
    by Brit Bennett

  • Bebe Moore Campbell

    Bebe Moore Campbell

    Bebe Moore Campbell was a bestselling author and a journalist. Her nonfiction work appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Ms., Essence, Black Enterprise, Ebony, Working Mother, USA Weekend, ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    October Suite

    Try:
    What You Owe Me
    by Bebe Moore Campbell

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