Author crafts novel from life experiences

Maryland author Jean Burgess sang and danced with a swing band in the 1970s, performed in and directed plays in local theaters, taught drama and acting to high schoolers, and earned a Ph.D. in educational theater from New York University in 2002.

Now, at age 68, she’s had her first novel published.

The book, That Summer She Found Her Voice: A Retro Novel, follows the life and hard times of vocalist-dancer Margie Stevens — a 23-year-old who leaves her Eastern Shore home in 1978 to sing and swing with a big band. Along the way, she encounters racism and sexual harassment, slowly finding her place in the world.

“The story has been swirling around in my brain for a long time,” Burgess said in an interview with the Beacon. “The educator in me is elated to offer a story that encourages readers to question the status quo.”

Baltimore scenes

Old-time Baltimoreans will recognize the places and performers in the novel. Some scenes take place in Little Italy, for instance, where the swing band is based.

Burgess describes the now-shuttered Famous Ballroom, which was located on North Charles Street, and the Café Park Plaza in Mount Vernon. Those night spots headlined jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald, Baltimore-raised Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane.

“A lot of people don’t realize Baltimore was a swinging place,” Burgess told the “Jayne Miller Podcast” in April, when her novel was published. “It just had a freer sound.”

Not every musician had the same freedoms. In the 1970s, some private country clubs banned Black performers. Burgess, who is white, interviewed Black musicians about the obstacles they faced.

“It shocked me, it hurt me, but I wanted to incorporate that in this book,” she told the podcast.

Lifelong actor, teacher

Burgess carefully researched the Baltimore music scene of the 1960s and 70s because she never witnessed it firsthand.

Born in Ohio, she dreamed of being an actor. She received her bachelor’s degree in communication arts/theater from Ohio’s Ursuline College and a master’s degree in theater arts from Northwestern University.

Burgess moved to the Baltimore area in 1990 and became a professional actor, performing in Theatre on the Hill summer stock and at Spotlighter’s Theatre in Baltimore.

She directed academic productions at Garrison Forest Academy, Catonsville Community College, and Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, a summer program at Morgan State University.

A lifelong teacher, she taught for 23 years at high schools in Frederick, Maryland and at Carroll Community College and McDaniel College.

While pursuing her doctorate from New York University, Burgess lived in a humble apartment in Greenwich Village “like a starving actor,” she said. Writing her dissertation gave her the confidence she needed to write books, she said.

Now living in Westminster, Maryland, Burgess speaks at writing clubs and holds writing workshops for Carroll County teenagers. She’s also a freelance editor, helping other writers craft their manuscripts.

Positive reviews

Burgess first considered writing a memoir or a screenplay but chose the novel format, which she felt allows for more imagination.

The book was published by Apprentice House Press, a Loyola University operation run by students and overseen by faculty members.

So far, the novel has received positive reviews.

In the January issue of the Midwest Book Review, which features small-press

titles, critic Michael Dunford called Burgess’ novel “a memorable saga of self-discovery, social transformation and

career-changing paradigms.”

He added: “In bringing alive the issues of Margie’s life and times for current generations, Burgess successfully documents changes and influences that lead to new perspectives in and about self and community.”

On Goodreads, one reviewer who received an advance copy of the novel wrote that the main character comes of age “in an era of change, at a time when feminism was new, while navigating heartbreak, conflict, friendship and family…We can all relate to the struggle to find your authentic voice in a world filled with noise.”

At the end of the novel, Burgess provides “Topics for Discussion” for book clubs and students.

At work on a sequel

While this is Burgess’ first novel, it isn’t her first book. She wrote a textbook published in 2019 by Routledge Press. That book, Collaborative Stage Directing, was “for students and directors to focus on the communication and readership skills involved in stage directing,” she said.

What’s next in the acting-teaching-writing career of Jean Burgess? She’s putting nonfiction on hold to focus on writing her next novel, a sequel to her debut work.

So far, she has written a dozen chapters. Its main character is still Margie Stevens, this time making her way in New York City in the early 1980s.

“I’m immersed in the fun research stage — pulling photos of The Big Apple during the 80s time period, getting the clothing right, listening to punk music on YouTube, poring over New York Times archives to weave pertinent news items into my plot outline,” Burgess told an interviewer this spring.

Again, the sequel to her first novel may resemble Burgess’ own life story, which has had many twists and turns.

“You could say I’ve been around,” she said.

That Summer She Found Her Voice is available at Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target.com, Walmart.com and other independent bookstores.