A Long Way from St. Louie

“Grandmother Anna Belle Lee: ‘Chile, they got some of us everywhere.’ Thus began my wanderlust.”

“McElroy, a poet (What Madness Brought Me Here, Univ. of New England, 1990) and teacher (English, Univ. of Washington), turns her attention to her travels in this varied collection of essays and poetry. She includes anecdotes from her childhood in St. Louis and homage to role models such as Josephine Baker and Ethel Waters, who helped prepare her for her life of travel. Then she hits the road, starting with Route 66 and venturing over the years to most parts of the world. Her work takes the form of an interior memoir rather than a guidebook. A useful addition to collections of African American literature and culture.” —Library Journal