The Stories Waiting to Be Told

History remembers George Gershwin and his groundbreaking opera Porgy and Bess. But how many people remember Anne Brown, the young Black soprano who helped inspire its creation?

Author Lisa K. Winkler believes her story deserves to be heard.

In her debut historical novel, Gershwin's Bess, Winkler brings to life the remarkable Baltimore-born singer who, at just 16, left home to study at Juilliard and pursue an operatic career at a time when racial barriers limited opportunities for Black performers.

Brown's extraordinary talent caught Gershwin's attention, and she became the original Bess in his 1935 Broadway production. Her influence was so significant that Gershwin changed the opera's title from Porgy to Porgy and Bess.

On this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau talks with Winkler about discovering Anne Brown, the challenges of reconstructing a life from historical records and the fascinating world of New York City during the Harlem Renaissance.

Winkler's interest in Brown began almost by accident while searching for a subject for a playwriting workshop. A database of overlooked women in history led her to a name she had never heard before.

That discovery sparked years of research, archival visits and interviews with opera singers, eventually inspiring a historical novel that blends documented events with imagined conversations and personal relationships.

Winkler's own writing journey is equally compelling.

Raised on a poultry farm in Connecticut, she developed an early love of reading and writing before pursuing journalism, teaching and creative writing.

Her earlier book, On the Trail of the Ancestors: A Black Cowboy's Journey Across America, tells the true story of educator Miles Dean's horseback journey honoring African American contributions to American history.

Winkler also speaks candidly about the perseverance required to publish her first novel, including 150 query letters, the challenges of finding a literary agent and her eventual decision to pursue hybrid publishing.

It's an engaging conversation about artistic ambition, the power of curiosity and the determination to bring overlooked lives into focus.

Because sometimes the most extraordinary stories are the ones still waiting to be told.