Just A Band

– Sorry For The Delay –

New Album!!!

 

by benjamin

October 29, 2012

Very, very exciting!!! In the Band’s own words:

“We are Just A Band, and this is our third studio album. It’s called “Sorry For The Delay”, and it is a collection of songs about life and death, light and darkness, fun, laughter and friendship (good and bad). We hope you will enjoy it.”

Listen to the full album right here:

Cider Press Review Book Award

Deadline:

November 30, 2012

Entry Fee: 

$25

Website: 

http://www.ciderpressreview.com/bookaward

E-mail address: 

editor@ciderpressreview.com

A prize of $1,500, publication by Cider Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Gray Jacobik will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages with a $25 entry fee by November 30. Send an SASE, e-mail, or visit the website for complete guidelines.

Cider Press Review, Book Award, P.O. Box 33384, San Diego, CA 92168. (619) 269-9469. Caron Andregg, Editor in Chief.

Deadline: 15 November 2012

The International Reading Association (IRA) Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award is intended for an outstanding new writer of children’s poetry. The award, given every three years, was established to recognize Lee Bennett Hopkins’ prodigious contribution to children’s poetry and to build upon his legacy. The deadline for submission is November 15.

The award committee is currently accepting applications for poetry copyrighted between 2010 and 2012. Perspective recipients may submit a book length poem for review when they apply. The poem must have been published within the appropriate time frame, and the author may not have more than two children’s poetry books published.

After they have submitted the initial application, authors will receive more instructions via the e-mail that they provided on the form. At that point, the author will be expected to supply each committee member with a copy of the book being reviewed, and the e-mail will provide the necessary shipping information. For applications to be considered complete and on time, committee members must receive the books by November 15.

Poems published in any language may be submitted; authors must simply accompany their original text with an English translation. All poetry will be judged on literary merit, appeal to children, and evidence of a fresh, insightful voice.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries: committees@reading.org

For submissions: via the online nomination form

Website: http://www.reading.org/

 

2nd Annual Drinking Gourd

Chapbook Poetry Prize

Northwestern University’s Poetry and Poetics Colloquium, together with Northwestern University Press, is pleased to announce the second annual Drinking Gourd chapbook poetry prize, a first-book award for poets of color. This will be an annual award combining the efforts of Northwestern’s Poetry and Poetics Colloquium and Northwestern University Press in celebrating and publishing works of lasting cultural value and literary excellence.

Showcasing the work of emerging poets of color, volumes in the Drinking Gourd series are selected by a panel of distinguished minority poets and scholars and feature a short introduction by a senior minority writer.

Drinking Gourd Chapbook Prize Guidelines:

Award

Winner receives $350 prize money, publication by Northwestern University Press, 15 copies of the book, and a featured reading.

Judging

Judging will be conducted by a panel of senior minority poets and scholars assembled by the Northwestern University Poetry and Poetics Colloquium.

Eligibility

Poets of color who have not previously published a book-length volume of poetry. Simultaneous submissions to other contests should be noted.  Immediate notification upon winning another award is required. Winner must be available for a reading in January of 2014.

Deadline

Reading period begins January 15, 2013. December 31, 2012. To be notified that your manuscript has been received, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard. The winner will be announced by March 15, 2013.

Submission

• Complete Submission Form to be included with manuscript packet.

• Send two copies of a single manuscript.  One manuscript per poet allowed.

• Author’s name should not appear on any pages within the manuscript.

• Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope to receive notification of results.

• Manuscript must be typed single-sided with a minimum font size of 11, paginated, and 25-35 pages in length.

• Manuscript must include a table of contents and list of acknowledgments of previously published poems.

• Manuscript must be unbound. Use a binder clip—do not staple or fold. Do not include illustrations or images of any kind.

• Manuscripts not adhering to submission guidelines will be discarded without notice to sender.

• Due to the volume of submissions, manuscripts will not be returned.

• Post-submission revisions or corrections are not permitted.

Reading Fee

$15. Enclose check with submission, made payable to Northwestern University.

Direct packet to:

Northwestern University Poetry and Poetics Colloquium and Workshop
Drinking Gourd Prize Chapbook Series
University Hall, Room 215
1897 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
Attn:  Susannah Young-ah Gottlieb

Tanzania:

Narrating "Titanic" in Swahili

(Documentary)

 

German anthropologists have been documenting Tanzanian performers (wa tafsiri) who narrate/translate pirated foreign films into Swahili for the local audience. Though the art of video narration is more established in neighboring Uganda, it seems the East African roots of the practice goes back to colonial efforts like the Bantu Education Kinema experiment from the 30s or mobile cinemas from the 70s used by Kenyan promoters to hawk their wares in the Tanzania country side.  

 

The documentary below, VeeJays der Film, from Johannes Guttenberg University, Mainz, premiered back in April and is a closer look at Tanzania's “vibanda vya videos” (video parlours) where average Tanzanians gather not only to watch foreign films from China, the United States, Nigeria and India get narrated by enterprising veejays, but also to have the movies translated--given a "Bongo" flavor if you will-- into their local context.

In "Turning rice into pilau: The art of video narration in Tanzania," Matthias Krings explains the narrator biz:

... narrating live is more demanding, because the brouhaha in the video parlour sometimes makes it difficult to concentrate on the film, but at the same time it is more rewarding because of the immediate response the narrator gets from the audience. Performing live, however, doesn’t generate much of an income because the audience would rather stay away than pay a higher entrance fee which means that a live narrator has to depend on the token amount he gets from the owner of the video parlour who hires him to attract more customers. It is only consequential, therefore, to mediatise video narration and sell the tapes en masse to video parlours and video libraries across the country. According to King Rich, who always makes sure to announce his mobile phone number a couple of times on each of his dubbed tapes, he gets a lot of encouragement from his dispersed audiences. Such positive feedback notwithstanding, he believes that his audience still prefers live-narration, for when he performed in Kobla’s video parlour for about two months in 2007 the room soon became too small to accommodate the daily growing numbers of spectators.

The added value the translators--some of whom do not even speak the language they are translating from--provide is the addition of an enzyme-like layer of information that helps the audience further absorb and better digest the movie better in Swahili - i.e. this information could be anything from the veejay's own take on what is going through a character's head in a scene to all the latest juicy gossip about the actor's life. For example, the scene in Titanic where Jack, after saving Rose, is invited to dinner, when translated by a veejay called Lufufu, sounds like this:

Internal monologue Jack: On this party one is supposed to eat ugali [Maize dumplings] with twenty different spoons. Theses are things I would never get accustomed to, stupid, useless things.
Narration: Jack, still on … like I have told you … still on the welcoming party, he thought that he would get ugali, spinach, beans and cassava, instead he was served only very small portions of food. That’s how it is in a decent place like this. That was not very pleasant. He thought to himself that he would go to bed hungry today (Titanic 1:00:13–45).

Like the katsudō-benshis of early 20th century Japan, Tanzania's skilled narrator-translators have also amassed a loyal following; in addition to what the film is about, people want to know who the narrator at the
parlour or on the dubbed version is. History of film textbooks talk about how the Japanese Benshis became so popular and powerful to the point that Benshi-narrated silent films remained the norm in Japan into the late '30s, delaying the local industry's move to sound. But "In Need of Connection: Reflections on Youth and the Translation of Film in Tanzania" Birgit Englert argues that the growing popularity of the veejays in Tanzania doesn't pose a threat to local film industry:

Increasing enforcement against the film translation business seems to be influenced by two underlying factors: its recent tremendous growth and complaints by Bongo Muvi filmmakers who claimed to increasingly suffer from competition from the translation business with foreign films (Interview with DJ Mark, 2009; cf. Krings 2010: 29). From my point of view, there is no convincing evidence that the translated films harm the business of filmmakers and actors of the Tanzanian film industry – while pirate copies of these films certainly do. The two genres, are in many respects complementary and are being consumed in different spaces: the Bongo Muvis are largely accessible to a better-off, generally higher educated, audience who can buy and watch them at home. The translated films, filamu zimezotafsiriwa, rather have a low income, generally less formally educated, audience who watches them in the video parlours in community with others. Apart from this, they also have very complementary functions. The genre of translated films can largely be seen as a space where connections to the global space can be experienced whereas Bongo Muvis form a space where the own creativity can be explored. Furthermore, translated films are a space where stories from different parts of the world are being retold in Swahili whereas Bongo Muvis are a space where stories from Tanzania are being told in Swahili.

More: "Titanic in Swahili", FanzNet article by Sandra-Katharina Gross on (Translation)

 

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‘Veejays in Dar es Salaam’

"What Is 365Black?

At McDonald's^®, we believe that African-American culture and achievement should be celebrated 365 days a year — not just during Black History Month. That's the idea behind 365Black.com. It's a place where you can learn more about education, employment, career advancement and entrepreneurship opportunities, and meet real people whose lives have been touched by McDonald's. Plus, you can also have a chance to win exciting once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. So make sure you visit often — you just might get inspired.

Like the unique African Baobab tree, which nourishes its community with its leaves and fruit, McDonald's has branched out to the African-American community nourishing it with valuable programs and opportunities."

McDonald’s Baobab Tree

October 29, 2012

By Justin Scott 

These days, it’s not uncommon to see Western fast food chains alongside local favorites in the post-colony. Lagos, for example, has its Nigerian fast food chains (Mr. Biggs, Chicken Republic, etcetera) but also a brand-new, shiny KFC in the upscale Ikoyi neighborhood, a symbol to many of the city’s modernization and integration into the world economy. This kind of “culinary imperialism” has been discussed before, but less discussed has been the inverse — the use of black and African pride by Western fast food chains to appeal to African-Americans.

Enter McDonald’s new website, 365Black, whose slogan reads “Deeply rooted in the community®!” How deeply? As deeply as “the unique African Baobab tree, which nourishes its community with its leaves and fruit,” just as “McDonald’s has branched out to the African-American community, nourishing it with valuable programs and opportunities.”

The website features pictures of smiling young African-Americans, one even in a cap in gown — if you eat at McDonald’s, it suggests, you’ll be as beautiful and successful as these beautiful people! In its “Opportunities” section, it touts the Ronald McDonald House’s college scholarship program as evidence of its deep roots, but it also touts McDonald’s’ “diverse employment.” Never mind that these diverse employees are paid, on average, about $7.60 an hour, perpetuating cycles of poverty or at least preventing the kind of upward mobility touted on 365Black for many of its employees.

Of course, not all of McDonald’s employees are black, and neither are all of its customers. But the chain’s role in promoting fatty, unhealthy foods in areas with low purchasing power, many of which are predominantly black, is so obvious it need not be addressed. What ought to be addressed, briefly, is the defense of McDonald’s and other fast food chains, which claims that fast food is the cheapest way for the poor to feed themselves. Not true. So even from a “we provide calories” standpoint, McDonald’s has no legitimate claim to being vital for the community, African-American or otherwise.

Aside from issues of health, hegemony, and markets, what we have here is McDonald’s, a Western behemoth pushing a product that could not be even remotely considered African, using an African symbol to appeal to a population of African origin, in order to make itself look like something it isn’t. And it’s a shame that this tactic hasn’t been attacked more widely.

* Justin Scott is a graduate student in African studies at Yale, focusing on access to energy, information, and social networks in Nigeria.

Beijing, a Boon for Africa

By DAMBISA MOYO

Published: June 27, 2012

 

IN June 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech in Zambia warning of a “new colonialism” threatening the African continent. “We saw that during colonial times, it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave,” she said, in a thinly veiled swipe at China.

 

In 2009, China became Africa’s single largest trading partner, surpassing the United States. And China’s foreign direct investment in Africa has skyrocketed from under $100 million in 2003 to more than $12 billion in 2011.

Since China began seriously investing in Africa in 2005, it has been routinely cast as a stealthy imperialist with a voracious appetite for commodities and no qualms about exploiting Africans to get them. It is no wonder that the American government is lashing out at its new competitor — while China has made huge investments in Africa, the United States has stood on the sidelines and watched its influence on the continent fade.

Despite all the scaremongering, China’s motives for investing in Africa are actually quite pure. To satisfy China’s population and prevent a crisis of legitimacy for their rule, leaders in Beijing need to keep economic growth rates high and continue to bring hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. And to do so, China needs arable land, oil and minerals. Pursuing imperial or colonial ambitions with masses of impoverished people at home would be wholly irrational and out of sync with China’s current strategic thinking.

Moreover, the evidence does not support a claim that Africans themselves feel exploited. To the contrary, China’s role is broadly welcomed across the continent. A 2007 Pew Research Center survey of 10 sub-Saharan African countries found that Africans overwhelmingly viewed Chinese economic growth as beneficial. In virtually all countries surveyed, China’s involvement was viewed in a much more positive light than America’s; in Senegal, 86 percent said China’s role in their country helped make things better, compared with 56 percent who felt that way about America’s role. In Kenya, 91 percent of respondents said they believed China’s influence was positive, versus only 74 percent for the United States.

And the charge that Chinese companies prefer to ship Chinese employees (and even prisoners) to work in Africa rather than hire local African workers flies in the face of employment data. In countries like my own, Zambia, the ratio of African to Chinese workers has exceeded 13:1 recently, and there is no evidence of Chinese prisoners working there.

Of course, China should not have a free pass to run roughshod over workers’ rights or the environment. Human rights violations, environmental abuses and corruption deserve serious and objective investigation. But to finger-point and paint China’s approach in Africa as uniformly hostile to workers is largely unsubstantiated.

If anything, the bulk of responsibility for abuses lies with African leaders themselves. The 2011 Human Rights Watch Report “You’ll Be Fired If You Refuse,” which described a series of alleged labor and human rights abuses in Chinese-owned Zambian copper mines, missed a fundamental point: the onus of policing social policy and protecting the environment is on local governments, and it is local policy makers who should ultimately be held accountable and responsible if and when egregious failures occur.

China’s critics ignore the root cause of why many African leaders are corrupt and unaccountable to their populations. For decades, many African governments have abdicated their responsibilities at home in return for the vast sums of money they receive from courting international donors and catering to them. Even well-intentioned aid undermines accountability. Aid severs the link between Africans and their governments, because citizens generally have no say in how the aid dollars are spent and governments too often respond to the needs of donors, rather than those of their citizens.

In a functioning democracy, a government receives revenues (largely in the form of taxes) from its citizens, and in return promises to provide public goods and services, like education, national security and infrastructure. If the government fails to deliver on its promises, it runs the risk of being voted out.

The fact that so many African governments can stay in power by relying on foreign aid that has few strings attached, instead of revenues from their own populations, allows corrupt politicians to remain in charge. Thankfully, the decrease in the flow of Western aid since the 2008 financial crisis offers a chance to remedy this structural failure so that, like others in the world, Africans can finally hold their governments accountable.

With approximately 60 percent of Africa’s population under age 24, foreign investment and job creation are the only forces that can reduce poverty and stave off the sort of political upheaval that has swept the Arab world. And China’s rush for resources has spawned much-needed trade and investment and created a large market for African exports — a huge benefit for a continent seeking rapid economic growth.

 

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Dambisa Moyo, an economist, is the author of “Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and What It Means for the World.”

WHEN CHINA MET AFRICA

When China met Africa – an intimate portrait of three characters on the front line of China’s foray into Africa

A historic gathering of over 50 African heads of state in Beijing reverberates in Zambia where the lives of three characters unfold. Mr Liu is one of thousands of Chinese entrepreneurs who have settled across the continent in search of new opportunities. He has just bought his fourth farm and business is booming.

In northern Zambia, Mr Li, a project manager for a multinational Chinese company is upgrading Zambia’s longest road. Pressure to complete the road on time intensifies when funds from the Zambian government start running out.

Meanwhile Zambia’s Trade Minister is on route to China to secure millions of dollars of investment.

Through the intimate portrayal of these characters, the expanding footprint of a rising global power is laid bare – pointing to a radically different future, not just for Africa, but also for the world.

For a full review of the movie check out AFRICA IS A COUNTRY

DIRECTORS STATEMENT
In November 2006 Beijing cemented its long-term relationship with Africa by hosting a summit of 48 African heads of state. President Hu Jintao proudly declared that, “China will remain a close friend, reliable partner and good brother of Africa.”

Meanwhile, the western media became gripped by a frisson of ‘yellow-peril’ paranoia and articles of China’s ‘take-away’ of Africa and ‘neo-colonial’ rise appeared everywhere. The only China- Africa narrative that was being told again and again was China’s unstoppable quest for resources and support for the governments of Zimbabwe and Sudan.

These stories rarely gave voice to the millions of ordinary Chinese and African people who were working at the frontier of this relationship.
We wanted to tell the China-Africa story in microcosm from the perspective of three characters that were living out the daily reality of this paradigm.

It was important that the film had no commentary because we wanted audiences to have the opportunity to interpret this story for themselves. This would be the first time that Western audiences would see the grassroots interaction of China and Africa in this way.

This was about creating an observational portrait of a critical moment in time, which will be looked back on as the biggest geo-political shift of our age.

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jepchumba / Founder and Creative Director at African Digital Art Network

Jepchumba is an AFRICAN DIGITAL ARTIST and DIGITAL ENTHUSIAST who works hard to combine her two passions: Digital Media and Africa. Originally from Kenya, she has lived around the world developing her interest in philosophy, art and technology. An African digital artist, Jepchumba loves experimenting with motion, sound and various digital effects and techniques and has an extensive background in digital art, web design and development, audio/visual production and social media strategies.

 

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‘When China Met Africa’