Author Description

“Petry is the writer we have been waiting for, hers are the stories we need to fully illuminate the questions of our moment.” -(Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage) A rare, previously unpublished short story by Ann Petry (1908-1997), one of America's most distinguished African American writers. On a snowy Christmas Eve in an unnamed American city, the archangel Michael wanders the streets. He is alone and hungry, his clothes tattered, and when he sees his face reflected in a store window, it is that of a young African American boy. Who will offer him food and shelter and who will turn him away? And when he becomes a blonde, freckle-faced child, is his fate different? Ann Petry's beautiful fable reveals all her gifts as a storyteller and a sage.