Sally Ann- Volume I

About the Book

In the 1900’s life was not easy for the American “Negro” especially in the southern states. In this fictional, yet factual story the writer brings the reader back to the 1900’s. With his vivid storytelling which he calls “Narpoefolk” he get’s the reader to take a glimpse of how the average American  “Negro” struggled as a family unit with injustice, inequality, racial discrimination and their own personal family and community problems that they had to endure.  In the first series of Sally Ann entitled Dee Roots Beneath Da Tree, Mr. Shunnar brings his reader down the mountain of time through the eyes of little Ms. Sally Ann Owens. So close your eyes and grab a hold of our hand as we travel back though the sands of time.

About the Author

Kateb Nuri Shunnar Biography

Warren Bellazer II was born September 10, 1978 in New Orleans, LA, to Warren August Bellazer I and Marva Hill-Bellazer Trinity. While he was very young his parents divorced, and his father forfeited all contact with him. Therefore, he and his older sister Earraina were raised by their mother and grandmother. Warren goes into detail about one of the hardest times of his childhood; “I still remember my mom, my sister, and I lived in a car on the corner of Ursuline Street and Saint Claude which was only a few blocks from the CBD and the French Quarters. When my sister and I were asleep my mother would stay awake all night with her little .22 hand gun to make sure no one came to mess with us.”

This tribulation ended when his mother made the decision to move in with her sister Viola and her husband while she worked to support her family. Bellazer quotes, “My mother was a strong black woman. What I admired most about her, growing up, was that she always did what she had to in order to make sure her children were taken care of.” Growing into a young man, Bellazer made many decisions concerning his future. In 1994, Bellazer became a vegetarian saying, “I realized that we as human beings consumed a lot of unhealthy things that tends to come back to haunt us when we get up in age.” As he grew into a man, his decision proved worthwhile enough for him to remain as such.  

Bellazer says of his family, “I am considered a peacemaker. I am highly esteemed and very well respected.” His grandmother, with whom he has always had a special connection, tenderly nurtured Bellazer’s freedom of expression. He warmly refers to his grandmother’s affection for him as the best thing God ever did for him.

In an attempt to search for a new life and environment, Bellazer relocated to Roswell, Georgia in 1997 where he lived with his uncle.  In a year he saw that he had to return back home to help his grandmother care for his grandfather who was dying due to the deadly disease called Cancer.

             With a strong will and determination to make a better life for himself; Bellazer attended the University of New Orleans majoring in Psychology. Warren later created a pen name that is significant to his love and style of writing to- and- of him. In Bellazer’s journey of defining himself, he considered what other people thought of him, and decided to call himself Kateb Nuri Shunnar. Kateb N. Shunnar is interpreted as the one who writes pleasantly. Bellazer was well pleased to know that his writings touched the lives of many people. Of his friends Bellazer explains, “I was once told I was the true meaning of the word friend and that really touched me a lot. It has been a joy for me to help my friends and family, everything that I do comes from my heart. The things that I do, I do not do to be seen of men, or to get any praise or glory.”

Warren Bellazer II is a poet, novelist, and folklorist. His ingenuity led him to create a genre completely of his own. Bellazer invented the term “Narpoefolk” which is a style of writing consisting of a narrative story, poetry, and a folktale blended in a unique way. This style of writing is demonstrated in Bellazer’s novel titled Sally Ann.

Other projects Bellazer is working on includes, “Sally Ann volume two; The Willow Tree”. “Let them tell it”, which are African American folktales and stories from the south. A children’s book entitled “Talents, and “Stained Glass” which is his own Autobiography. Bellazer is co-author of the children’s book “A Dream Come True” written by Lynette Marrisett. Finally, Bellazer hopes to start a learning Center starting in his home town and later branching out to other states. Bellazer is also a member of the NAACP and the Founder of Southern Black Writers and Artist Association

Written by: Uriel Adiel Amnon

“An unlearned man sees dead flowers as having no use, but to be cast aside as waste, but a wise man uses the dead flowers as COMPOST to enrich the land.”

Kateb Nuri Shunnar