A life of bread and roses

Posted 8/21/12

Vera B. Williams has dedicated her life to many things, not the least of which are politics and art. Williams was raised in the Bronx in a household that placed high importance and respect on those …

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A life of bread and roses

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Vera B. Williams has dedicated her life to many things, not the least of which are politics and art. Williams was raised in the Bronx in a household that placed high importance and respect on those two things. Her parents were immigrants, her father from Russia and her mother from Poland.

These interests were furthered when she and her sister Naomi went to the Bronx House just across the street from them, a cultural and arts center started by wealthy individuals, women in particular, to help immigrant families adapt to American life and make their own contributions, such as crafts or cooking skills. It was there and at home that both of the Williams sisters became interested in art and drawing. However, words, books and reading were still a big part of her childhood. “I spent a lot of time going to the library, which most authors tell you they did that,” Williams said with a smirk. Something most people won’t tell you? She loved her penmanship lessons at school. “I was proud of my handwriting,” she said.

Williams was brought up in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. Her parents struggled to keep them going, she said, but still wanted to provide a fulfilling life to their family. Her mother often sought out services for her children (and everybody else) to attend. “I came from a left-thinking and doing family; it was embedded in what we believed. My mother was drawn to culture and music; she believed everyone should have bread and roses.” The saying is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by Rose Schneiderman; a line in that speech (“The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too”) inspired the title of the poem “Bread and Roses” by James Oppenheim.

Williams and her sister were able to show their artwork at a national WPA (Works Progress Administration) exhibit. Williams said two things happened there. One was that Florence Cane, an influential creative arts teacher, invited them to take art classes at Radio City in a “big, fancy studio” on one of the top floors. The other was that Eleanor Roosevelt stopped by to look at Williams’ work. “What are yen-tas?” Mrs. Roosevelt asked, as that was the title of Williams’ piece. And so she had to explain to Mrs. Roosevelt how to pronounce—and the meaning of—“yentas.” (Yenta is a Yiddish word for a women who is a gossip or a busybody.)

Although she wasn’t as trained in writing as she was in art, she always had a love for writing. Combining her talents, Williams embarked on a successful career as a children’s book author and illustrator, her most well-known work being “A Chair for My Mother.” The book has won multiple awards, including two coveted Caldecott Honors, and was recently chosen as one of the best 100 books of the past century by the New York Public Library.

In addition to writing, Williams also loved teaching, and traveled the world speaking to children about writing and illustrating. “You can make something you can put your heart into and make people happy,” she said of her illustrious career. “It allowed children to see.” She remarked that everyone remembers their favorite books from childhood; hers were “Nobody’s Boy” and “Nobody’s Girl,” French novels by Hector Malot.

A lifetime of art and books wasn’t all that consumed Williams—she is also a vigorous activist. “I was always strongly disturbed by injustice,” she said. She has long supported nonviolent and nuclear disarmament causes. In 1981, she spent a month in Alderson Federal Prison camp following an arrest at a women’s peaceful blockade of the Pentagon. She served on the executive committee of the War Resisters League from 1984 to 1987. In recent years, she was involved locally in the anti-fracking movement.

Today, Williams lives in New York City and Narrowsburg, NY, and remains active in local groups such as OWN (Older Womens’ Network) and the Upper Delaware Writers Collective. In 2007 she participated in the PEN World Voices literary festival. Her book “Amber was Brave, Essie was Smart” is a narrative in poetry.

Her work will be honored in two functions. A retrospective exhibit of drawings, paintings and graphics titled “Art, Pleasure, Politics and Making a Living: 60 Years of Vera B. Williams’ Works” is on display at the Delaware Arts Center. The opening reception was held on October 9 and the exhibit runs through October 31. In addition, at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance’s 40th Anniversary Gala on October 17, Williams is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award (visit delawarevalleyartsalliance.org or call 845/252-7576).

“I think that I have been extraordinarily lucky,” Williams reminisced, “but I also have sought out a life in which there is connection—between beliefs, what you eat, what you organize, what you listen to, what you do—and that is very hard to obtain.”

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