The Cul-Lud Sch-Oool Teach-Ur

by Sandra E. Bowen

FICTION There was a time in the South when colored school teachers were revered by everybody in the community, white and colored. Th ese respected mentors were predominantly female and taught in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 145023304X
• ISBN13: 9781450233040
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Excellant book

Excellant book. I was expecting chic lit, but this is a book that will interest pretty much anyone. It kept my attention to the last page. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

An excellant read

This is a trip back into time, it is also an introduction to three unforgetable characters. You will meet Joe Cephus Divine, an egomanical police officer and his wives--Dorothy Borden and Johnnye Jamison. They are the teachers he marries and tries to subjugate. He learns, slowly and painfully, that the very qualities and talents which attracted him to them, are their salvation and his very deserved downfall.

Original Theme, Style and Characters

In THE CUL-LUD SCH-OOOL TEACH-UR, Sandra Bowen has created not only a terrific story to read, one of those page-turners, but I discovered how much I didn't know about those courageous, early black school teachers. I was a product of the Black Studies movement at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, and had taught in Mumford High School in Detroit (there was only one white student by the time I got there.) When living in NYC and teaching at the Dalton School, I lived on the edge of Harlem, just south of Columbia University. Thus, I thought I knew a lot, but I didn't. I wish I had read this book years ago and hope that it is finding an important place in education, at all levels today. What did I like? Bowen's writing style pulled me through the life of Dorothy Borden with ease. I was so captured by her life as a child, her teaching, her three male partners and felt I knew her character. Then all of a sudden she changes on me with new work, Paris and different loves. It was the same with Johnnye Jamison. I admit to applauding her first poisoning, but then as the mystery continued, and she marries Dorothy's horrible husband, I'm thinking, "Oh, oh, we've got a problem here." I had never hear of a 'black bottle.' Bowen very carefully develops the characters of these excellent women teachers, attractive, well educated, and very bright in contrast to the men who want to marry them. Some of the men were just fine, but others, like Joe Cephus, used the teachers for their own egotistical needs. As the character of Joe Cephus moves through the book, the author, little by little brings the reader into an understanding of why he behaves as he does, thus enlightening the difficulties these extraordinary teachers experience. Racism enters every aspect of the culture, and Bowen spares no secrets in exposing the ugliness of the system. Most of the book takes place in Granston, North Carolina, but readers know what it was and is like wherever they have lived. Bowen's ability to allow Dorothy Borden to change from the sweet child to battling her husbands and then on to Part II where she is retired and an author utterly fascinates readers. The dialogue style between Dorothy and Jackie as they drive through the streets of Granston, remembering their past lives and teaching experiences, gives the author a chance to present needed information in a unique manner. I'll long remember that delicious Christmas dinner as well as the Sunday dinners. Thank you Sandra Bowen for writing this valuable book. I can't think of a better way to honor Martin Luther King's birthday than reading THE CUL-LUD SCH-OOOL TEACH-ER.

A great sizzling Southern read

This book deserves top stars. Truly murder and mayhem in the gorgeous South. The people and locale are so on target, that I got homesick. The book is about Joe Divine, the first "man of color" on the Granston Police Dept in North Carolina. He's hot and arrogant, and uses (and abuses) his school teacher wives for his own advancement. That comes to a screeching halt with wife number three!

I love this book! !

This book is amazing -- the story is a page turner, the plot is totally engrossing, and the descriptions are incredible. The central character, Dorothy Borden, is inspiring. She's had an amazing life. As a woman, an African American who has lived in both the North and South of this country, a college professor, and a writer, Dorothy has stories to tell and experiences to share that leave the reader spellbound. I find myself fascinated by the book, by an exposure to a part of life which I've never experienced. I thought I knew a lot -- this book has taught me how little I know. It has certainly touched my heart and widened my horizons.