Sharon Crockett
Writer
Specializing in non-fiction narrative and feature writing. Focused on social history -- World War II | African-Americans | Design & Decorative Arts
My Story
I write non-fiction narratives and feature articles that emphasize my twin passions: social history -- especially of African-Americans -- and design history. Occasionally, social and design history overlap. Two current interests of mine: African-Americans during the World War II era and 19th-century African-American craft.
I've been writing my whole life:
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White papers
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Investor informational books published by corporations, such as Standard & Poor's, a subsidiary of McGraw-Hill, and financial institutions, including the New York Federal Reserve Bank
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Design blogs -- mine and those of others
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Literature reviews in design research
My past non-fiction informational writing has drawn on both my finance/economics education (B.A. Economics, Johns Hopkins University; M.B.A. Finance/Business Economics, Columbia University) and a 20-year career in the securities industry and banking. Additional education in design (A.A.S. Parsons) and a second career in interior design and design research has informed my more recent non-fiction writing. As a long-time amateur historian, however, I am most drawn to writing, especially in non-fiction narrative form, about historical subjects -- profiles of everyday people and interesting events of the past -- and revealing them through storytelling.
What I Offer
Original Content
I'm always on the hunt for uncovered history -- especially African-American historical topics --, such as the Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps, who rode bicycles on a 1,900-mile journey in the late 1890's from Montana to Missouri. This topic is ripe for research and could be the subject of a future feature article or even non-fiction narrative book.
Research
Digging into the details. Finding the "last surviving" person of an historical event. Oral histories. Uncovering new primary sources. Family genealogy. This is the kind of research I relish. Most recently I uncovered long-lost WW II correspondence between a "colored" doctor and his wife. This will serve as a fascinating primary source for a future historical narrative.
Telling the Truth with Poetry
Just because something happened in the past doesn't mean reading about it has to read like a dry history textbook. I try to bring poetry to my non-fiction writing so that readers can feel, taste, hear and see past worlds and the people who inhabited them. For instance, in exploring the life of a mid-century modern industrial designer, Russel Wright, I would strive to describe the sensation of wandering through the treehouse-like home he designed and built in Garrison, New York so that the reader can virtually walk through it while also gaining a better understanding of how its design reflects the social and cultural currents of America in the early 1960's.
Challenging the Reading Audience
I strive to work with literary agents, editors and publishers to meet their content needs not merely by re-hashing what's already in the marketplace, but by bringing less-heard voices to the non-fiction narrative reading audience. The marketplace of ideas and content in historical non-fiction narrative especially is wide-open and ripe for introducing peoples and events from the past that have been under-represented and are waiting to be revealed.