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MERGE LITERARY MAGAZINE
​
Celebrated
Black Women Writers

Photography By Susan J. Ross
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​Toni Morrison at Spelman College, 1990               
​By Susan J. Ross
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​Sonia Sanchez at the Southwest Arts Center, 2005
​By Susan J. Ross
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Toni Cade Bambara at the 1994 National Black Arts Festival By Susan J. Ross
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​Sonia Sanchez & Toni Morrison at the Celebration of the Life of Toni Cade Bambara, 12/17/1995, the Painted Bride Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA By Susan J. Ross
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​Merge Literary Magazine’s Celebrating Black Women issue features four photographs by photographer Susan J. “Sue” Ross of three remarkable writers, Toni Morrison, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction (1988), the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2012); Sonia Sanchez, recipient of the Langston Hughes Poetry Award (1999), and the Robert Frost Medalist (2001); and Toni Cade Bambara, writer, and documentary film maker, won the American Book Award and the Langston Hughes Society Award.

Sue now pursues her passion for documentary and fine art photography  full-time as the PhotoGriot, Atlanta’s 
​photo-cultural historian after retiring from the City of Atlanta after 36 years.
 
She managed the City’s Small Business Development Program - training over 500 small, minority & female firms while serving as the unofficial city photographer over the administrations of all six African-American Mayors. She is a founding member of Sistagraphy: the collective of African-American Women Photographers.
 
Sue has exhibited her photography widely since 1985 with Zone III, Sistagraphy, African-Americans for the Arts (A-AFTA) and many others. Recent exhibits include “The World of Toni Morrison” at the Auburn Ave Research Library, “Sistagraphy Selects” at Buzz Coffee & Winehouse, “The Beauty of a Woman” at Haugabrooks Gallery, “Shero” at the Arts Xchange, “In Conversation - Visual Meditations on Black Masculinity” at the African-American Museum in Philadelphia and the Atlanta Jazz Festival public art exhibit Downtown. Her photo of Atlanta’s African-American Presidential Medal Honorees was the cover photo for Trendsetters to Trendsetters magazine. Her photo SHEROES is currently featured in the FOR THE PEOPLE photo-mural exhibit along Auburn Avenue.
 
The Office of Cultural Affairs honored Sue in the 2018 Elevate Atlanta SWATS Artists Mural in Southwest Atlanta. Rolling Out magazine awarded Sue the 2019 Social Justice Award  at Sisters with Superpowers. The Arts Xchange named Sue the 2019 Arts & Justice Bridge Builder at the Ebon Dooley Awards. The Atlanta Business League honored Susan's lifetime achievements by induction in the Women’s Hall of Fame at the 2019 Super Tuesday Women of Vision Breakfast. This year, Sue is a REMARKABLE honoree, and her work can be seen at the REMARKABLE exhibit at ZuCot Gallery.


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All photographs ©️Susan J Ross. 









 

​©  2021 Merge Literary Magazine. All rights reserved.
  • HOME ISSUE #3
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY AND PROSE
  • BLACK MUSIC PHOTO ESSAY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • VISUAL ART GALLERY
  • BIOGRAPHIES
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • Support Merge Literary Magazine
  • ISSUE #2 CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • FEATURED WRITERS AND ARTISTS
  • MERGE LITERARY MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • Multimedia Art Review
  • PHOTOGRAPHY CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
  • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • ISSUE #1 POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
    • Mission and Content
    • About US
    • POETRY
    • PROSE
    • ART ILLUSTRATION
    • ESSAYS AND PLAY
    • MULTI-MEDIA QUILT REVIEW
    • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
    • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
    • Support Merge Literary Magazine