to doing this as a result of the Jim Crow laws. The entire civil rights era of the 1960s in referenced to throughout the novel in the actions of Avey 's youngest daughter, Marion. Marion is referenced to as calling from a protest rally in Washington D.C., of which there were many of during this time. Awards and nominations Praisesong for the Widow received the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award in 1983. Publication history 1983, United States, New York: Putnam; Plume, Penguin Books, paperback . Reissued 2021, United States, San Francisco: McSweeney's; hardcover ), with an introduction by Opal Palmer Adisa. References Further reading, sources, external links Dorothy L. Denniston, "Paule Marshall (b. 1929)", Georgetown University. Ann Folwell Stanford, "Praisesong for the Widow", Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database, 2006. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, Critique of the book, The New York Times, February 1, 1983. Courtney Thorsson, "Dancing up a Nation: Paule Marshall's Praisesong for the Widow". Callaloo, Volume 30, Number 2, Spring 2007, pp. 644–652. Book review, Journal of Black Studies, June 1987, 17: 509-511. Jane Olmsted, "The Pull to Memory and the Language of Place in Paule Marshall's 'The Chosen Place, the Timeless People' and 'Praisesong for the Widow'" (excerpt), African American Review, Vol. 31, No. 2. Barbara T. Christian, "Ritualistic Process and the Structure of Paule Marshall's: Praisesong for The Widow", Callaloo, No. 18 (Spring–Summer, 1983), pp. 74–84. Paulette Brown-Hinds, "In the Spirit: Dance as Healing Ritual in Paule Marshall's 'Praisesong for the Widow'", Religion & Literature, Vol. 27, No. 1, Giving Testimony: African-American Spirituality and Literature (Spring 1995), pp. 107–117. 1983 American novels Novels set in the Caribbean Novels by Paule Marshall African-American novels American Book Award-winning works