Geechee Literature Series
I packaged my books as “Geechee Literature Series” to affirm the term as viable and not an oxymoron. In years past, the expressions “Geechee” and “Gullah” were considered as insulting and as a speech way that should be corrected. Under no terms, it was believed, should it qualify as literature. Literature, however, is defined by Britannica as “a body of imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution.” Literature produces a pleasing or enriching effect and expresses a worldview.
NEW NOVEL! RAPTORS IN THE RICELANDS
As a mystery unravels in a 21st Century fictional community of Georgetown, SC, a twist on philanthropy unfolds, revealing family secrets, cultural beliefs, and inner conflicts. Newlyweds Florence and Chadwick Wineglass attempt to fulfill their desire to promote economic legacy, but those they assist find themselves unwittingly snared. Without realizing it, the Wineglasses become raptor-like in their generosity and aware of other community members whose kind intentions also prove to be menacing.
Conveyed in four parts, each with four chapters that outline the production stages of Carolina Gold Rice, the story spans time travel to future, past, and present and provides CRT (Critical Rice Thinking) for readers. The story’s plot revolves around the words of Marcus Garvey, and its depiction of Gullah Geechee spirituality, beliefs, language, music, and heritage fosters a message of connections with communities around the globe.
REMINISCENCES OF SEA ISLAND HERITAGE
Before Ron Daise began celebrating the ancient culture of the African-American family in *Gullah, Gullah Island he documented the customs and lifestyles of a proud group of Sea Island blacks in this, his first book. Beginning with the first freedmen and their descendents, he reveals a colorful and provocative story, told in words of island natives and illustrated with photographs taken around the turn of the century.
WE WEAR THE MASK
“Ron Daise offers readers a modern-day “Slave Narrative.” We Wear the Mask, Unraveled Truths in a Pre-Gullah Community is storytelling at its finest, interpreting history and the cruelties of chattel slavery in a way that is compelling. The Gullah speech, practices, and hopes of characters in Slave Row are authentic. Historical references are factual. And Ron’s use of animals, a carryover of a tradition passed on to Gullah people by their African ancestors, is magical. A must-read!” -- Joseph McGill, Jr., founder of the Slave Dwelling Project
TURTLE DOVE DONE DROOPED HIS WINGS
“Ron Daise has created a delightful celebration of Gullah-Geechee wisdom in this allegorical tale set amid an enchanted maritime forest and its surrounding salt marsh. Turtle Dove Done Drooped His Wings introduces readers to the newly established Audubon Rookery, where the Great Council of Birds has gathered to come to a consensus that will shape their future and decide how best to preserve their past for the benefit of future generations. The interpersonal dynamics, miscommunications, and hidden agendas of the various council members will ring true with anyone who has ever served on any sort of planning committee. The members of The Great Council of Birds are at times wry, wise, funny, forgiving and kind—and utterly contemporary.”
GULLAH BRANCHES, WEST AFRICAN ROOTS
Gullah Branches, West African Roots is a memoir of a Gullah man discovering personal and cultural connections with West Africa through sojourns to Ghana and Sierra Leone. Ronald Daise, a Gullah native of St. Helena Island, SC, visited Ghana in 2004 as a Fulbright-Hays, US Department of Education fellowship recipient, and to Sierra Leone in 2005 as a participant in Priscilla s Homecoming. The Gullah homecoming to Sierra Leona connected the family of Thomalind Martin Polite of Charleston, South Carolina, with the country of its matriarch, Priscilla, who had been enslaved in 1756, at the age of ten. In 2006, Daise learned that his visits to Ghana and Sierra Leone had been more of a personal family reunion than he realized. He shares maternal genetic ancestry with the Temne people living in Sierra Leone. And he shares paternal genetic ancestry with the Ewe and Akan peoples in Ghana. Daise utilizes poetry, prose, creative non-fiction, songs, photographs, and his own unique voice to involve readers in a vibrant journey to cultural and historical roots.
LITTLE MUDDY WATERS
Hardheaded Little Muddy Waters gets into everything and does everything that he's told not to do. His grandmother tries to teach him Gullah traditions and beliefs to show him right from wrong, but Little Muddy Waters only laughs at her ways. By and by, however, he learns a lesson he'll never forget. Google Books
Originally published: 1997