A Taste of Blackberries

Doris Buchanan Smith (1934-2002) was an American author who revolutionized children’s fiction with her book A Taste of Blackberries. She was one of several authors who aimed for a more realistic approach in their writing. Her contemporaries were equally influential authors such as Judy Blume (who wrote the 1970 book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, which tackles sexual and religious topics) and Katheryn Paterson (who wrote Bridge to Terebithia in 1977 as a response to her son’s eight-year-old friend’s death). Smith’s book was rejected by several publishers who worried that children were too young to read anything about death. The book was eventually published and became a success, establishing a place in the children’s literary canon.

Smith was born in Washington, DC, and then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age nine. Miss Pruitt (her sixth-grade teacher, to whom A Taste of Blackberries is dedicated) was the first to notice Smith’s talents as a writer. Smith later studied for a few years at South Georgia College but dropped out with her first husband before completing her degree. The couple raised four biological children and fostered dozens of children over the years.

She returned to writing as soon as her youngest child was old enough to attend school.