Tracy Lynn Hunter

Tracy Lynn Sandifer-Hunter engaged her students with the power of the written word as an English teacher for over 26 years and was nominated as Teacher of the Year and also won numerous teaching awards during her career. Tracy Lynn is also a self-taught visual artist who illustrated her daughter Erica Sandifer’s first book, Sunshine in the Delta, winner of the BCALA (Black Caucus of the American Library Association) ebook for fiction in 2017.

A native of Greenwood, Mississippi, Tracy wrote and illustrated Clear Skies in the Delta in 2019 as a direct sequel to Sunshine in the Delta.

When the author was eighth grade, she won an award for her poem, “The Dying Thunderstorm” which is also featured in her poetry debut, Thinking Out Loud: The Poetry Anthology. The author, who juxtaposes both her art and writing against vivid local color theme, has also held her own “One Woman” exhibition at the Mississippi Museum of the Delta (formerly Cottonlandia Museum of Art) and also exhibited at the John James Audubon Museum in Henderson, Kentucky, as well as at various local galleries. She describes herself as primarily a self-taught artist who enjoys experimenting with various media.

She mentions, "If I could paint the world, my choice would be a big bright world painted over in bold hues of acrylic paint and brought to life with the literary word. I see writing and art as constant motivational factors existent in all forms of everyday life wherein the true beauty of it lies in the eye of the beholder. However, I have a special appreciation for culturally inspired themes which are reflective of my own cultural background such as the prevalent mother and child theme, dancers, and bluesmen which are evident in much of my writing and art. Equally befitting, I have attempted to capture the essence of men, women, and children who are true reflections of the worlds to which they belong. For example, “Grandmother and Child,” the illustration on the front cover of Clear Skies in the Delta depicts the continuation of the matriarchal theme and the likeness of my grandmother, Carrie."

The author also holds an Educational Specialist Degree in Education from Arkansas State University, a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Teaching both from Mississippi Valley State University. Tracy Lynn is married to James and the proud mother of Erica Marisa and Johnnay Melissa.