Name
Mrs Glenda Bailey-Mershon
Country of residence
United States
Ethnicity
Roma/Tsalagi(Cherokee)/Scottish Traveller
Occupation
Writer
BIO
Born in Upstate South Carolina, Glenda Bailey-Mershon is a Romani-Tsalagi-American poet, essayist, and novelist. She has explored in writing her mixed heritage. Her published works include a novel, Eve’s Garden; two volumes of poetry (Bird Talk: Poems and saconige/blue smoke: Poems from the Southern Appalachians). She also published a well-used A History of the American Women’s Movement: A Study Guide and edited four volumes of the Jane’s Stories anthologies by women writers. She has worked with writers from around the world and read to many audiences.
Her first novel, Eve’s Garden, is the story of three generations of women from a Romani-American North Georgia family, who cope with being outsiders in a harsh social environment by clinging to friendships and family. It was published in September 2014 by Twisted Road Publications, and is now available through the publisher and Small Press
Distribution, and at any bookstore.
Glenda has been a finalist in Our Stories fiction contest; featured author at the Illinois Book Fair; and a personal grant recipient from both the Illinois and Florida Humanities Councils as well as the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. She hosts a popular blog, Weaver’s Knot, and reviews books at Women and Books. Among her many funded projects have been several cultural history projects. She often performs her readings with Romani musical groups and also teaches English to Romani youth in her spare time.