Coming out this summer, the Vermont Folklife Center is publishing Turner Family Stories. The book is a collection of comics drawn from the epic story of the Turner Family as shared by Daisy Turner. The work includes a beautiful cover by Robyn Smith ’17 and a tale from Daisy’s own life drawn by Lillie Harris ’21. Daisy Turner was born in 1883 in Grafton, Vermont, the daughter of formerly enslaved Alec and Sally Turner. In 1983, VFC founder Jane Beck met then 100-year-old Daisy and recorded approximately 60 hours of interviews about her family. These interviews are now being used to create these comics.

Lillie Harris ’21 has a comic published in The New Yorker and her comic Wilderness: Prologue is available through Radiator Comics.

Robyn Smith ’17 is the creator of The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town. She is also the illustrator Jamila Rowser’s comic Wash Day and DC’s Nubia: Real One.

Vermont Folklife Center worked with six New England cartoonists on this project. Marek Bennett and Joel Christian Gill created comics about the life of Daisy’s father, Alec Turner. And Liv Bordeleau created a second story about Daisy’s own life. The comics are linked through a story by Grafton-native Ezra Veitch, based on a childhood encounter he and a friend had with Daisy. In partnership with the Vermont Department of Libraries, VFC will distribute copies of the book free to all public libraries in the state. Turner Family Stories will also be available for purchase.

Keep an eye on the Vermont Folklife Center website for more information about how to get your copy of Turner Family Stories.

Tags: Daisy Turner, Graphic Novel, Lillie Harris, new book, Robyn Smith, Turner Family Stories, Vermont Folklife Center