Homewood

From “master of language” (The New York Times) John Edgar Wideman, a reissue of the revered trilogy that launched his career—two novels and story collection all set in Wideman’s own hometown. Damballah, Hiding Place, and Sent for You Yesterday provide a stunning introduction to the uncompromising work of John Edgar Wideman, whose literary achievements have inspired The New York Times to name him “one of America’s premier writers of fiction.” Damballah’s narratives examine the vexed history of Homewood, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania neighborhood whose origins are rooted in a time when slavery was still legal in the United States of America. The novels Hiding Place and Sent for You Yesterday personalize and interrogate that history’s presence in the contemporary lives of Homewood people and all Americans. Deeply concerned that designations such as “economically oppressed” or “Black” continue to dismiss and marginalize rather than embrace communities like the one in which he was raised, John Edgar Wideman—employing words on the page as his weapon—has dedicated himself to recording the weight, beauty, complexity, and justice that he believes Homewood’s voices, stories, and lives have earned and deserve. In 1983, The Homewood Trilogy signaled the arrival of a major voice in American literature. Forty years later, this edition of the Trilogy celebrates Wideman’s ongoing contribution by offering these masterworks to a new generation of readers.

Winner of a 2005 Heritage Book Award given by the Maryland Historical Trust. Baltimore's Homewood was a wedding gift from Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, to his son Charles Jr. and his bride, Harriet Chew Carroll. Located on 130 acres of rolling meadow and forest, it afforded picturesque view to the harbor. The couple built a "full and genteel establishment," a grand yet intimate summer house that exemplifies the work of the most skilled Baltimore craftsmen of the Federal period. Construction began in 1801 and incorporated a classical five-part Palladian plan, with two hyphens flanking the main block and connecting it to two wings, or dependencies. Spending far more than his father had anticipated, Charles Jr. used only the finest materials then available and included extraordinary architectural details throughout the house. Homewood endures today as one of the finest examples of Federal-period domestic architecture in the United States. Sold by the Carroll family in 1838, the house and grounds eventually became the Homewood campus of the Johns Hopkins University. In 1971, Homewood received National Historic Landmark status, and five years later—through the generosity of Robert G. Merrick, an alumnus and university patron who developed a love for Homewood as a student in the 1920s—Johns Hopkins University began a major restoration effort. Today, open to the public as a museum, the house reflects the height of early-nineteenth-century style and the tastes of the Carroll family. In a lavishly illustrated yet scholarly study of this exquisite American residence, Catherine Rogers Arthur and Cindy Kelly explore Homewood's history, detailing its construction, reliving the Carroll family's experiences here, and recounting the expert restoration that preserves this home for generations to come. The book includes more than one hundred full-color photographs of the house's graceful exterior, its elegant rooms and furnishings, and the many architectural details that have made Homewood so beloved.

Shades Valley was primarily used as a hunting ground by Native Americans until the arrival of the first white settlers in the 1830s. During Birmingham’s industrial boom in the 1870s, “Out of the Smoke Zone, Into the Ozone” became the promoters’ cry to move “Over the Mountain” into what was then called Clifton. By 1926, Rosedale, Edgewood, and Grove Park were established neighborhoods, and under the leadership of Charles Rice they incorporated to form the city of Homewood. The new community had luxurious amenities like the Hillcrest Country Club and the Birmingham Motor and Country Club at Edgewood Lake, which was accessible via the Edgewood Electric Railway. Nearly 100 years later, through much growth and change, Homewood has maintained its small-town feel while adapting to the ever-changing culture of today.

From its beginnings as one of the first stops on the Illinois Central Railroad in 1853, to its position as "the jewel of the south suburbs" today, Homewood has had a rich and varied history. Located 25 miles south of Chicago, Homewood has capitalized on its location along a major rail line, Canadian National Railway today, and the network of interstate expressways that continue to fuel its growth and prosperity. This access to transportation allowed the industrious Gottschalk family to make a fortune selling hay to Chicago's stockyards and, later, bricks to communities throughout the area. Rail access, combined with the abundance of hayfields surrounding Homewood, allowed the area to be transformed into a golfer's paradise at the start of the 20th century and into a suburban bedroom community by mid-century.

The historic grounds of The Homewood Cemetery have been an integral part of Pittsburgh since before the cemetery was founded in 1878. Nearly a half-century prior, Judge William Wilkins established his family's Homewood residence on these now hallowed hills. Homewood was surrounded by the estates of notable Pittsburgh industrialists such as Henry Frick's residence, named Clayton, and the H.J. Heinz family mansion, Greenlawn. These well-known families, along with numerous other sons and daughters of Pittsburgh, now rest in the approximately 200 acres encompassing The Homewood Cemetery. Today, past blends seamlessly with present, as the lawn park design of the cemetery draws visitors from all walks of life to enjoy its bucolic grounds and storied paths.

A Study Guide for John Edgar Wideman's "Beginning of Homewood," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.

"Homewood was to be a place in his fiction but also more than that, a metaphor for the African American experience".