Leonard Todd

Leonard Todd's Carolina Clay: The Life and Legend of the Slave Potter Dave is a fascinating and unique tribute to a largely unknown -- possibly unknowable -- craftsman, his family, his owners, and their shared community.

The book is well researched, presented with dignity and grace, and careful to distinguish between historic record (both contemporary and subsequent) and various inferences or suppositions that have been drawn from that record. The personal motivation and connections in the author's work (Dave was once owned by Todd's ancestors) make it unusually intimate for a 19th Century biography / history. The author clearly worked to understand Dave, the people in his life, and those who reflect Dave's community and relations today, even where their attitudes and perspective are at odds with his own.

I particularly admire Todd's frank discussions of slavery and race relations in the South. His sympathetic treatment of people and their times will be unsatisfactory to some readers, but the author's purpose is clearly understanding and appreciation rather than criticism. For readers who would pursue the latter, the author includes extensive notes and a bibliography of sources that evidently informed his own research (including, for example, primary sources, archived journalism and interviews, and later scholarship like Gene Genovese’s Roll, Jordan, Roll, http://www.librarything.com/work/109350).

Even so, I doubt a similar treatment of this material would have been possible, or respectfully received, even fifty years ago. I'm grateful that Todd has now given to Dave such voice and memory as he could.… (plus d'informations)