Joyce Carol Thomas
Joyce Carol Thomas (May 25, 1938 – August 13, 2016) was an American poet, playwright, motivational speaker, and author of more than 30 children's books.
Also recorded as Joyce Carol Haynes
Joyce Carol Thomas
- Name
- Joyce Carol Thomas
- Born
- 25 May 1938
- Birthplace
- Ponca City, Oklahoma, U.S.
- Died
- 13 August 2016
- Place of death
- Stanford, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Poet
- Nationality
- American
- Awards
- National Book Award (1983) American Book Award
- Fields
- children's literature · American literature
- Education
- San Jose State University · Stanford University
- Known for
- Marked by Fire
- Honours
- National Book Award for Young People's Literature · American Book Awards
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Joyce Carol Thomas (May 25, 1938 – August 13, 2016) was an American poet, playwright, motivational speaker, and author of more than 30 children's books.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Joyce Carol Thomas (1938–2016) was a novelist, playwright and poet, among other activities, of American nationality. The novelist was born in Ponca City and died in Stanford.
Joyce Carol Thomas was educated at San Jose State University and Stanford University. Activity centred on American literature and children's literature.
Among the works is Marked by Fire. Languages used include English. Honours include American Book Awards and National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Joyce Carol Thomas. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q15457424 · wikipedia · Joyce Carol Thomas
In this article
Biography
Biography
Joyce Carol Thomas studied at San Jose State University and Stanford University. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is children's literature and American literature. Works named in the authority record are Marked by Fire. Distinctions recorded are National Book Award for Young People's Literature and American Book Awards.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Joyce Carol Thomas • Born — 25 May 1938 • Birthplace — Ponca City, Oklahoma, U.S. • Died — 13 August 2016 • Place of death — Stanford, California, U.S. • Occupation — * Poet • playwright • speaker • author • Language — English • Nationality — American • Alma Mater — San Jose State University Stanford University • Notableworks — Marked by Fire Bright Shadow Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea The Blacker the Berry • Awards — National Book Award (1983) American Book Award
Background
Background
Thomas was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the fifth of nine children in a family of cotton pickers. In 1948 they moved to Tracy, California, to pick vegetables. She learned Spanish from Mexican migrant workers and earned a B.A. in Spanish from San Jose State University. She took night classes in education at Stanford University, while raising four children, and received the master's degree in 1967.
Personal life
Personal life
Thomas resided in Berkeley, California. She died on August 13, 2016, at the age of 78.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Ponca City.
Birth place
Stanford.
Death place
Published works
Novels • Marked by Fire (1982) • Bright Shadow (1983) • The Golden Pasture (1986) • Water Girl (1986) • Journey (1988) • When the Nightingale Sings (1992) • House of Light (2001) • Healer (2007) Poetry • Bittersweet (1973) • Crystal Breezes (1974) • Blessing (1975) • Black Child (1981) • Inside the Rainbow (1982) • Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea (1993) • Gingerbread Days (1995) • Crowning Glory (1996) • A Mother’s Heart, A Daughter’s Love (2001) • The Blacker the Berry (2008) Picture Books • Cherish Me (1998) • You Are My Perfect Baby (1999) • The Angel’s Lullaby (2001) • Alternatively titled The Angel's Lullabye • Joy (2001) • The Gospel Cinderella (2004) • The Six Fools (2005) • Shouting! (2006) • The Three Witches (2006) Books for Children • I Have Heard of a Land (1998) • The Bowlegged Rooster (2000) • Hush Songs (2000) • The Skull Talks Back (2004) • What’s the Hurry, Fox? (2004) • In the Land of Milk and Honey (2012) Non-Fiction • Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone (2003) Anthologies • I Believe in Water (2000) • Necessary Noise (2003) • A Gathering of Flowers: Stories about Being Young in America (1990) as Editor Plays • Look! What a Wonder! Berkeley (1976) Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA • A Song in the Sky Montgomery Theater, San Francisco. 1976 • Magnolia (1977) Old San Francisco Opera House, San Francisco, CA • Ambrosia (1978) Little Fox Theatre, San Francisco,CA • Gospel Roots (1989) California State University, Carson City, CA • I Have Heard of a Land (1989) Classen Theatre, Oklahoma City, OK • When the Nightingale Sings (1991) Clarence Brown Theatre, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN • A Mother’s Heart (2001) The Marsh, San Francisco, CA
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Joyce Carol Thomas”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q15457424: Joyce Carol Thomas
General reference · Wikidata
Literary awards
For her 1982 novel Marked by Fire, Thomas won a National Book Award in category Children's Fiction (paperback) and an American Book Award. Thomas has been one of three to five finalists for the Coretta Scott King Award thrice, in 1984 for Bright Shadow, in 1994 for Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea, and in 2009 for The Blacker the Berry. Part of the American Library Association program, the King Award annually recognizes the "most distinguished portrayal of African American experience in literature for children or teens". She also received a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year Award and an Outstanding Woman of the 20th Century Award.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jennifer Duke-Sylvester, "Joyce Carol Thomas". Tennessee Authors, The University of Tennessee. Archived 2011-01-16. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
- 2.Marked by fire WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 3.Bright shadow WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 4.The golden pasture WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 5.Water girl WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 6.Journey WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 7.When the nightingale sings WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 8.House of light : a novel WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 9.Healer WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 10.Bittersweet : poems WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 11.Crystal breezes : poems WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 12.Blessing : poems WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 13.Black child WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 14.Inside the rainbow : poems WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 15.Brown honey in broomwheat tea : poems WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 16.Gingerbread days WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 17.Crowning glory : poems WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 18.A mother's heart, a daughter's love : poems for us to share WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 19.The blacker the berry : poems WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 20.Cherish me. Search.worldcat.org.
- 21.You are my perfect baby. Search.worldcat.org.
- 22.The angels' lullaby. Search.worldcat.org.
- 23.Joy WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 24.The gospel Cinderella WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 25.The six fools WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 26.Shouting WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 27.The three witches WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 28.I have heard of a land WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 29.The bowlegged rooster and other tales that signify WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 30.Hush songs : African American lullabies WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 31.The skull talks back : and other haunting tales WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 32.What's the hurry, Fox? : and other animal stories WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 33.In the land of milk and honey WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 34.Linda Brown, you are not alone : the Brown v. Board of Education decision : a collection. Search.worldcat.org.
- 35.Thomas, Joyce Carol 1938- Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com.
- 36.Necessary noise : stories about our families as they really are WorldCat.org. search.worldcat.org.
- 37.A Gathering of flowers : stories about being young in America. Search.worldcat.org.
- 38."National Book Awards – 1983". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
- 39."Coretta Scott King Book Award – All Recipients, 1970–Present". American Library Association (ALA). "About the Coretta Scott King Book Awards". ALA. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
- 40.Prize-winning author Joyce Carol Thomas dead at 78. Chicago.suntimes.com. Associated Press. 2016-08-20.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Joy GoswamiAuthor
- Joy HarjoAuthor
- Joy KogawaAuthor
- Joyce Carol OatesAuthor
- Joyce ChengAuthor
- Joyce FanteAuthor
- Joyce FitzpatrickAuthor
- Joyce JohnsonAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Joyce Carol Thomas?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.