JACKSON, Guida M. 1930-

PERSONAL: Given name is pronounced "Guy-da"; born August 29, 1930, in Amarillo, TX; daughter of James Hurley (a merchant) and Ina (Benson) Miller; married Prentice Lamar Jackson (an anesthesiologist), June 15, 1951 (divorced, 1986); married William H. Laufer (an artist), February 14, 1986; children: (first marriage) Jeffrey Allen, William Andrew, James Tucker, Annabeth. Ethnicity: Caucasian. Education: Attended Musical Arts Conservatory, Amarillo, TX, 1945-47; Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University), B.A. (journalism), 1951; attended University of Houston, 1953; California State University, M.A. (third world literature), 1985; attended Union Graduate School, 1986; International Institute of Advanced Studies, Ph.D. (comparative literature), 1990.

ADDRESSES: Home—116 Tree Crest Cir., The Woodlands, TX 77381. E-mail—guidamj@flex.net.

CAREER: English teacher at public high schools in Houston, TX, 1951-54; music teacher and freelance writer in Houston, 1956-71; Monday Shop (antiques store), Houston, owner, 1971-75; Texas Country (magazine), Houston, editor, 1976-78; freelance writer, 1978—. Lecturer, University of Houston, 1985-90; writing instructor, Montgomery College, 1990-98. Publisher, Panther Creek Press, 2000—.

MEMBER: International Women's Writing Guild, Dramatists Guild, Women in Communications, PEN, Woodlands Writers Guild, Authors Unlimited of Houston, Houston Writers Guild, Houston Writers Consortium, Writers Forum.

WRITINGS:

Passing Through (novel), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1979.

A Common Valor, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1980.

The Lamentable Affair of the Vicar's Wife (play), I. E. Clark (Schulenburg, TX), 1980.

Heart to Hearth, Prism (New York, NY), 1988.

African Women Write, Touchstone Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Women Who Ruled, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1990.

Favorite Fables, Prism (New York, NY), 1991.

Virginia Diaspora: Southern Bensons and Related Families, Heritage Books (Bowie, MD), 1992.

Encyclopedia of Traditional Epics, ABC-CLIO (Santa Barbara, CA), 1994.

Traditional Epics: A Literary Companion, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1995.

Encyclopedia of Literary Epics, ABC-CLIO (Santa Barbara, CA), 1996.

(Editor, with Jackie Pelham) Fall from Innocence: Memoirs of the Great Depression, Page One Publications, 1997.

Women Rulers throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide, ABC-CLIO (Santa Barbara, CA), 1999.

Contributor to The Three-Ingredient Cookbook, compiled by Phyllis Stillwell Prokop, Broadman (Nashville, TN), 1981. Contributor to magazines. Editor, TSA Newsletter, 1974-82, and Touchstone Literary Quarterly, 1976—; contributing editor, Houston Town and Country, 1975.

ADAPTATIONS: Women Who Ruled was adapted for CD-ROM by ABC-Clio as "Women Leaders: Rulers throughout History"; Virginia Diaspora: Southern Bensons and Related Families was adapted for CD-ROM by Heritage Books as "Heritage Books Archives: Southern Bensons by Guida M. Jackson-Laufer, Ph.D."

WORK IN PROGRESS: A novel.

SIDELIGHTS: Guida M. Jackson told CA: "I consider more carefully, these days, whether or not what I write is worth destroying even one tree in order to publish it. Still, there are stories that beg to be told, lives that need to be chronicled. There are noble and courageous people whose histories are the heritage of our children, stories that will be forgotten if someone doesn't preserve them. Writers are like switchboard operators: we plug cultures together; we plug generations together. When my writing accomplishes this, I figure there will be a tree for me."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Fanning, Diane and Susie Kelly Flatau, Red Boots and Attitude: The Spirit of Texas Women Writers, Eakin Press (Austin, TX), 2002.

PERIODICALS

Biography, fall, 2001, Bella Vivante, review of Women Rulers throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide, p. 1014.

Booklist, November 1, 1994, review of Encyclopedia of Traditional Epics, p. 539; December 15, 1999, review of Women Rulers throughout the Ages, p. 804; May 15, 2000, Dona Helmer, review of Encyclopedia of Traditional Epics, p. 1774.

Book Report, September-October, 1997, Kate Clarke, review of Encyclopedia of Literary Epics, p. 59.

Bookwatch, November, 1999, p. 10.

Book World, February 18, 1996, p. 12.

Choice, April, 1995, C. Reik, review of Encyclopedia of Traditional Epics, p. 1277; July-August, 1997, J. R. Luttrell, review of Encyclopedia of Literary Epics, p. 1780.

Dallas Morning News, October 7, 1979, review of Passing Through.

Durham Morning Herald, October 14, 1979, review of Passing Through.

History, winter, 1992, p. 82.

Houston Chronicle, December 16, 1979.

Houston Post, November 4, 1979.

Houston Reporter, February 28, 1979, review of Passing Through.

Journal of World History, fall, 2001, Bella Vivante, review of Women Rulers throughout the Ages, p. 460.

Kirkus Review, July 15, 1979, review of Passing Through.

Library Journal, April 15, 1991, review of Women Who Ruled; September 1, 1994, Patricia Dooley, review of Encyclopedia of Traditional Epics, p. 173; December, 1999, Bonnie Collier, review of Women Rulers throughout the Ages, p. 108.

Publishers Weekly, July 24, 1979, review of Passing Through.

Reference and Research Book News, March, 1995, p. 43; August, 1997, p. 145.

Reference Books Bulletin, January 15, 1991, review of Women Who Ruled.

RQ, summer, 1995, Martin R. Kalfatovic, review of Encyclopedia of Traditional Epics, p. 517.

School Library Journal, May, 1991, review of Women Who Ruled; February, 2000, J. B. MacDonald, review of Women Rulers throughout the Ages, p. 80.

South Bend Tribune, November 18, 1979, review of Passing Through.

Texas Monthly, November, 1979.

Washington Post, September 22, 1979.

Wilson Library Bulletin, March, 1995, James Rettig, review of Encyclopedia of Traditional Epics, p. 78.

OTHER

Heritage Books Archives: Southern Bensons (CD ROM), Heritage Books.

Women Leaders: Rulers throughout History (CD ROM), ABC-CLIO.