‘Colored Television’ writer Danzy Senna’s parents Carl Senna and Fanny Howe had a seemingly ideal marriage, until they didn’t.
Key Takeaways
- Danzy’s parents, Carl and Fanny have shaped Danzy’s life and sculpted her into the profound writer she is today.
- Her father Carl was a man later riddled with drinking and behavioral issues, who abused his wife and neglected his children.
- Danzy takes inspiration from both sides of her family: her relationship with her father, and the strong literary skills of her mother, to create meaningful works of literature.
One of the most acclaimed and insightful contemporary writers of modern times, Danzy Senna’s vivid writing about her life and past inspires her readers to delve deeper into her parents and familial history.
Brought up in Boston, Massachusetts in the middle of 3 children, she is a person of biracial descent, something she has stated on numerous occasions in her works.
She was born on September 13, 1974, only 2 years after interracial marriage was legalized in the US.
Danzy’s parents, Carl and Fanny have shaped Danzy’s life and sculpted her into the profound writer she is today.
Danzy Gets Her Writing Talent From Her Mother Fanny Howe
Senna’s mother, Fanny Howe, is an American poet, novelist, and short story writer.
With many accolades and years of teaching under her name, she is one of the more prominent figures of modern poetry and literature.
Fanny comes from a privileged background, with English and Irish family roots that go back to the Mayflower.
She was born to Mary Manning Howe Adams, who is an Irish novelist, and Mark De Wolfe Howe, a WWII veteran and Harvard Law Professor.
She also has a sister Susan Howe, who is also a poet.
Coming from an educated background, Fanny attended Stanford for three years.
After she left Stanford, she married Frederick Delafield in 1961.
The two would divorce two years later, and Howe initiated her journey on Civil Rights and activism.
During her civil rights endeavors, she met Beacon Press editor and activist Carl Senna, who she married in 1968.
However, after the birth of their three children, they split in 1976.
Danzy’s Father Carl Senna Was a Proud Activist-turned-drunkard
Danzy Senna’s father is Carl Senna.
Carl, unlike Fanny, wasn’t born into privilege or facilities.
He and his siblings had a difficult childhood, as their father, a Mexican boxer, exited their lives early, and his mother, a black jazz musician, was too busy developing her musical career.
This traumatic and difficult childhood inspired Carl to be an activist and a voice for his people.
He later became a social activist and ended up becoming the youngest editor at Beacon Press, a non-profit left-wing book publisher.
During his time at Beacon Press, he met and married Fanny Howe, and eventually split in 1976.
Danzy Senna’s Parents’ Impact on her Life and Career
Danzy has on multiple occasions stated that her childhood was very difficult.
Her father Carl was a man later riddled with drinking and behavioral issues, who abused his wife and neglected his children.
In her book ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night?’ Senna contemplates her lack of bonding with her father,
“What about my father’s side?” After all, “he gave me both my first and last names. Yet I knew so little about him.”
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In the book, she further describes her feelings as she saw her father slowly devolve over the years.
He turned from a proud symbol of racial accomplishment to a loser who drank, got fired from his job, and beat his wife in public.
Carl’s repulsive behavior left a lasting impact on Danzy, as she states,
“Gone was the ‘negro of exceptional promise, and in its stead he lived up to all the stereotypes that his fellow Americans had ever secretly or not-so-secretly harbored about black men.”
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After Carl and Fanny’s divorce in 1976, Danzy had to divide her time between her mother’s and father’s homes.
During her writing career, Danzy published her book Where Did You Sleep Last Night, A Personal History. In the book, she recalled and wrote about her father’s behavior and impact on her life.
She wrote,
When I was a child, I worried that my mother would die by violent means. I worried she would die by my father’s hand.
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However, Carl wasn’t a fan of the work, hence he sued his daughter for defamation in 2010.
Despite her father’s abusive nature and being sued, Danzy still loves her father.
Even though Danzy and Carl have a somewhat tumultuous relationship, Danzy can understand where Carl comes from.
She knows best that some of Carl’s actions are the consequences of a misshapen history and lack of a father figure, which she is active in forgiving.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Danzy Senna is a professor of English at the University of Southern California.
- Danzy is married to novelist Percival Everett and has two children.
- Senna is a recipient of the Whiting Writers Award and the Dos Passos Prize for Literature.
