While there, she married and divorced James Michael Callaghan. in creative writing and literature in 1971. While at Birmingham-Southern, Jeter published short fiction, poetry, and literary criticism in the school’s literary magazine, The Quad wrote, directed, and produced a full-length historical tragedy, Boadicea: Queen of the Iceni and attended the prestigious Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference at Vermont’s Middlebury College.Īfter graduation, Naslund was accepted into one of the nation’s most prestigious creative writing programs, the Iowa Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa. Therefore, she declined the offer and entered Birmingham-Southern College, where she studied English and creative writing and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1964, after winning the B. The University of Alabama offered her a music scholarship, but she felt she lacked sufficient talent to make a career of playing the cello. Enthusiastic about classical music, she played the cello in the Birmingham Youth and Alabama Pops orchestras. She wrote a novel about pioneers at age nine and published her first short story in the Phillips High School newspaper, The Mirror. She has two older brothers, both published writers.Īs a child, Naslund was immersed in both reading and creating stories at Norwood Elementary School. Sena Kathryn Jeter was born in Birmingham on June 28, 1942, to Flora Lee Sims Jeter, a music teacher, and Marvin Luther Jeter, a physician who died when she was 15 years old. Her ambitious and imaginative work illuminates the rich complexities of historical moments, inviting readers to revisit the important issues of important times and places. She is best known for literature that centers on real or fictional characters from the past, bringing to life and exploring the inner lives of individuals living in complex times.

Birmingham native Sena Jeter Naslund (1942- ) is the author of seven novels and two collections of short stories.

Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund