Authors Interviewing Characters: Susan Sage

Catherine McIntosh graduated from law school in 1923. She was one of the first women to graduate from Detroit College of Law. She’s ready to take the world by storm, as is her fiancé, Robert Sage, whom she met in law school. Their law firm, Sage & Sage, takes off—but then the Great Depression hit and life didn’t go exactly as planned. 

Susan Sage interviews her great aunt about what it was like to live in those times.

SS: Thanks for meeting with me, Aunt Kate. You don’t mind me calling you Kate, do you?

CS: That’s fine. Most did. And thanks for not asking Bob to this interview. He would have tried to steal my thunder again.

SS: From what I’ve gleaned, he was a pretty colorful guy. Did you feel bitter about that?

CS: No, I made my own splash. [She chuckles.] Had I been able to try more cases, Bob’s ability to sway juries by appealing to their emotions, and not their intellects, would have gotten me Irish up! Sadly, I never got much of a chance. Still, I did the best any woman could do during those times.  

SS: Thanks to you both for showing up in my dreams before I wrote my book. 

CS: We had to make sure our story—or stories—got told. I kind of wish he hadn’t horned in…The way you told our tale made me see how we both met the fates we did. A strange sort of justice…I’m sure glad you got the word out about Grace. There should be a book about her! After all, she was the first Black woman to graduate from law school in Detroit—and the public record has ignored her, like it has so many—even in your new-fangled time with information stored invisibly through wires. Not that your world has righted all the wrongs…

SS: I’d like to think your story could inspire young women—not to go exactly your route—but to look to you, your brilliance and energy…and apply that in their own lives. Not to be afraid of power. I sure wish I could have known you—and Bob.

CS: Had you, you never would’ve known a dull moment! 

SS: What stands out to you about the 1920s? 

CS: The energy and creativity of the times, for sure. Like your era, we were coming out of a pandemic. Sure, ours was a worldwide flu outbreak, but there were so many losses and such despair. Coming out of those dark days there was a resurgence of the need for fun and levity. After I passed the Bar exam, such fun we had in the speakeasies, dance halls, and amusement parks!

SS: Interesting food for thought. I recently read about how the public has lost its appetite for reading or watching anything too serious. Still, there’s so much at stake with climate change, the war between Russia and Ukraine…

CS: The pendulum swings, as it always does. If I—could—do it all over again, I wouldn’t try to drink away my despair—I’d enjoy longer the occasional sweet and joyful moments that would come my way.

—

Dancing in the Ring

Detroit in the 1920s proved to be the Paris of the West for many – including Catherine McIntosh and Robert Sage. Both law school students, they are as ardent about each other as they are about their career dreams. 

From a poor family in the Detroit neighborhood of Corktown, Catherine learns early on, the necessity of being resilient. Bob, the ‘battling barrister,’ boxes in order to pay for law school. Despite his gruff and tough-boy personality, my great-uncle Bob was a friend to all:  judges, cops, and even a couple members of the notorious Purple Gang. He was immediately smitten with Kate, one of Detroit’s first women attorneys. They became legendary in legal circles for their commitment to social justice causes – as well as notorious in the local speakeasies and dancehalls.

At first, their optimism seems boundless, as it had for many following an era of trauma and challenges that included the 1918 flu pandemic. It isn’t long before their passionate courtship turns into a tempestuous marriage. For a few years, the law firm of Sage & Sage prospers, but then the Great Depression hits and their lives are forever changed. 

“I love how Susan explored the problems of women, motherhood, and careers and how society perceives such things.”—Frank Mutuma for Readers’ Favorite

“The author’s vivid and immersive storytelling brings 1920s Detroit to life, painting a rich tapestry of a city pulsing with energy and ambition.”—Pratibha Malav, Reviewer

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Susan Sage is a fiction writer and poet. She received an English degree from Wayne State University and did graduate work at the University of Michigan-Flint. During her college years, she began publishing her poetry, and was a recipient of WSU’s Tompkins Award in Creative Writing.

After moving to the Flint area, she became a certified teacher in Language Arts, and also completed graduate coursework at the University of Michigan-Flint. An educator for twenty-three years, Susan wore many hats: an adult education teacher, educational coordinator, as well as an academic interventionist at both the elementary and secondary levels. During her years at Carman-Ainsworth High School, she served as both sponsor of the creative writing club, as well as editor of its annual magazine. She has also been active in a group of local authors, Writers as Instructors.

She has published three novels. Her first book, INSOMINY, was published in 2010. A MENTOR AND HER MUSE, her second novel, was published in January, 2018. Her latest novel, DANCING IN THE RING came out in June 2023.

Her work has appeared in Five on the Fifth, Arlington Literary Journal (Issue #84), Illuminations, Twisted Vines Literary Journal, The Birds We Piled Loosely, Referential Magazine, Storyacious, E.T.A. Literary Journal, Digital Papercut, Black Denim Lit, The Green Hills Literary Lantern, The Rockhurst Review, Passages North, Metis, Qua, Diceybrown, The Mochila Review, Beyond Doggerel, The Wire, and Corridors.

Susan enjoys travelling and stargazing. She lives in Flushing, Michigan, with her husband, Tom, and two cats. They have a daughter, Sarah.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing