Judith Gleason
American anthropologist, Africanist and writer (1929–2012)
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Judith Illsley Gleason (1929–2012) was an American anthropologist, Africanist, and writer. She published a large number of books dedicated to the Orishas and Yoruba religions more broadly, both in West Africa and in Latin America and the Caribbean.[1] She conducted anthropologic studies in places such as Brazil, Haiti, Mexico, and West Africa.
Columbia University (PhD)
Judith Gleason | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1929 Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Died | 2012 (aged 82–83) |
| Alma mater | Radcliffe College (BA) Columbia University (PhD) |
| Occupations | Anthropologist, Africanist, and writer |
| Children | 5 |
Biography
Gleason was born in 1929 in Pasadena, California, United States. She graduated with a bachelor's degree at Radcliffe College, later earning her doctorate in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.[2] She taught at Sarah Lawrence College.[3] She also worked as a consultant for schools and organizations that were starting their African humanities and literature programs.[2]
In 1970, she wrote a novel, Agõtĩme: Her Legend, centered on an account of Na Agontimé, who offends her husband, who then sells her into slavery in Brazil; she makes a bargain with a vodu (deity), putting her son on the throne of Dahomey and bringing her home.[4] Her 1971 book Orisha: the gods of Yorubaland was included in an exhibition for Trinidad and Tobago's Emancipation celebrations at the National Library and Information System (NALIS) in Port of Spain in 2019.[5]
Bibliography (selection)
Books
Source:[6]
- This Africa: Novels by West Africans in English and French (1965)
- Agõtĩme: Her Legend (with Carybé; 1970)
- Orisha: the gods of Yorubaland (1971)
- A recitation of Ifa, oracle of the Yoruba (with Awotunde Aworinde and John Olaniyi Ogundipe; 1973)
- Santería, Bronx (1975)
- Leaf and bone: African praise-poems: an anthology, with commentary (1980)
- Oya. In Praise of an African Goddess (1987)
Articles
Source:[7]
- Where Does Your River Begin? (2004)
- Waterspirit-Carrying Woman (2009)
- Summer Visits Nezahualcoyotl (2009)
- Day and Night Hunting (2009)