Mos Def Teams Up with

Brooklyn Philharmonic

Orchestra

Rapper turned actor Mos Def is taking a temporary break from the glitz and glamor of Hollywood’s cameras to return to what he knows best – emceeing.

In an effort to blend hip-hop with classical music, the former Black Star artist has joined forces with the Brooklyn Philharmonic as part of the Orchestra’s New Sounds Live event.

According to the New York Times, the event’s focus is to promote a sampling of what the full orchestra – under the command of their new artistic director Alan Pierson – will perform during the 2011-2012 season.

The New York Times’ Zachary Woolfe, who attended the event’s first performance on Saturday, said :

In front of the most diverse crowd I’ve ever seen at a “classical music” concert, Mr. Pierson led an ensemble of the orchestra’s members in three songs by the hip-hop artist (and Bedford-Stuyvesant native) Mos Def, who also joined in a brilliant performance of Frederic Rzewski’s “Coming Together,” written after the 1971 Attica prison uprising.”

Mos Def, 37, dedicated his performance to the recently deceased death row inmate Troy Davis, who was executed – amid much controversy – by lethal injection in Georgia last month.

In case you missed the opportunity to see the Philharmonic’s hip-hop inspired performance on Saturday, Mos Def will join the orchestra again on Wednesday, October 12 at 12:30pm at the Restoration Rocks Festival in Brooklyn and then later that same evening at 7:00pm at the World Financial Center in New York City.

For additional information on the special event, head over to Brooklyn Philharmonic’s website.

Mos Def (now known as Yassin Bey) and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra covering "Coming Together," a composition by Frederic Rzewski regarding the Attica prison riots. Words written by Sam Melville, a former Attica inmate who died during the riots. Mos dedicates the cover to Troy Davis, a Death Row inmate who was recently executed under controversial circumstances. This is Part 1 of 2. At Lyricist Lounge/Restoration Rocks 2011 at Restoration Plaza in Brooklyn on Saturday, 10/8/11.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

#OccupyWallStreet

Hip-Hop Anthem

The Grounded TV Network teamed up with Hon. George Martinez of Ground Zero and The Global Block Collective to produce this music video. Please share and help this go viral!

http://www.globalblock.org/

 

The Global Block harnesses the spirit of innovation, creativity and activism at the core of the Hip-Hop movement to empower youth and transform communities across the globe. Through its leadership, expertise and financial support it aims to inspire individuals to become agents of change in their communities.

Developmental Action Areas:

• Cultural Diplomacy
• Social Enterprise/ Economic Development
• Youth Development

 
Sustainable Community Building:

We believe that building sustainable communities is possible through holistic, creative and non-paternalistic approaches that incorporate Green Technologies, Social Programming, Accountability, and Research and Development.

 

Posted by MAN

First Prize: $1,000. Chapbook publication by Hill-Stead Museum, 15 free copies and a 20-minute introductory reading preceding the evening's featured poet in the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, summer 2012.

Second Prize: $350. Brief introductory reading in the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, summer 2012.

Competition Judge: Tony Hoagland, poet, National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist, and professor at the University of Houston.

Deadline: Entries must be postmarked between July 15 and October 15, 2011. Winners to be announced January 1, 2012.

Reading fee: $30 payable by check to Hill-Stead Museum, to benefit the 2012 Sunken Garden Poetry Festival.

Eligibility
• Previous winners of the Sunken Garden Poetry Prize are ineligible
• Poets featured in the Festival 1999–2011 are ineligible
• Translations and previously published or self-published books are ineligible
• Previously published poems with proper acknowledgment are acceptable.

Guidelines:
• Submit 20–32 pages (no more than one poem per page) and $30 reading fee

• Manuscripts should be paginated consecutively, with a table of contents and acknowledgements page, and bound with a clip.

• Include two cover pages, one with title only, and a second with your name, address, telephone number(s), email address, and title of the manuscript. Your name must not appear elsewhere on the manuscript.

• Manuscripts are judged anonymously.

• No manuscripts will be returned.

• Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are permitted. Notify Hill-Stead by email at poetry@hillstead.org if manuscript is accepted elsewhere.

Mail manuscript and entry fee to:

Artistic Director, Sunken Garden Poetry Festival
Hill-Stead Museum
35 Mountain Road
Farmington, CT 06032

Hill-Stead Museum, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, adheres to the Contest Code of Ethics adopted by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fish Flash Fiction Prize 2012

 

Summary - Prizes - Judge - The Rules - Entry Fees - How to Enter

The 2012 Prize is open. This is an opportunity to attempt what is one of the most difficult and rewarding tasks - to create, in a tiny fragment, a completely resolved and compelling story in 300 words or less. The Flash Fiction Stories are wonderfully entertaining to read and challenging to write, but we love it and so do the readers of our Anthology. This is another chance to get a story, however small, into this year's Fish Anthology.
The Fish Flash Fiction Prize has been an annual event since 2004. To view our catalogue of anthologies containing the winning stories from previous one-page story competitions click Fish Books.

 

 Micheal Collins is the judge of the 2012 Prize. He is the acclaimed author of eight books, including novels and short stories which have been translated into seventeen languages. His work has garnered numerous awards, including Irish Novel of the Year along with being shortlisted for both The Man Booker Prize and Impac Prize.

His novel, The Secret Life of E. Robert Pendleton won Breakout Novel of the Year in France 2008.

Adapations include The Resurrectionists to be directed by John Madden, Lost Souls is currently being adapted by A Film Monkey Production.

He is a member of The Irish National 100K Team, which finished 8th at The World 100k Championships in Holland.

Collins holds an MA in Creative Writing from The University of Notre Dame and a doctorate in Creative Writing from The University of Illinois. He has taught at The Art Institute of Chicago and The Sorbonne.

He currently teaches at Southwestern Michigan College.

 

 

Summary - Prizes - Judge - The Rules - Entry Fees - Enter Online/Post

 

 

Flash Fiction Contest Summary

OPENS: 1 Aug 2011
Closing date: 20 March 2012
Results: 30 April 2012
Judge: Micheal Collins

 

 

 

Flash Fiction Contest Prizes

The winner and nine runners up will be published in the 2012 Fish Anthology.

First Prize - €1,000 plus publication in the 2012 Fish Anthology.

Nine runners-up will be published in the Anthology and will each receive plus five complementary copies of the Anthology.

All winning authors will be invited to the launch of the 2012 Fish Anthology. This will take place during the West Cork Literary Festival in July.

Flash Fiction Contest Judge

Micheal Collins will be selecting 10 Flash Fiction Stories to be published in the next Fish Anthology.

 

 

Flash Fiction Contest Rules

• No entry form is needed. This is mostly an on-line competition, but entries will be accepted by post for a slightly higher fee.

• You can enter as many times as you wish. One story per entry fee.

• The flash fiction contest is open to writers of any nationality writing in English.

• There is no restriction on theme or style.

• Word limit 300.

• The winning stories must be available for the Fish Anthology, and therefore must not have been published previously.

• Fish holds publishing rights for one year after publication. Copyright remains with the author.

• Notification of receipt of entry will be by email.

• Stories cannot be altered after they have been entered. Judging is done anonymously. Names and addresses must not appear on the stories, but on a separate sheet if entering by post, or in the place provided online.

• The judges' verdict is final.

• Entry will be taken as acceptance of these conditions.

• Overall winners of the Fish One-Page Prize may enter again, but will not be eligible for the first prize.

• A writer who has had two stories in Fish Anthologies from the One-Page Prize, may not enter for three years. They may enter other Fish Prizes in that time. (This is designed to give opportunities to a wider circle of emerging writers).

• Entry is taken to be acceptance of these rules.

 

 

Flash Fiction Contest Entry Fees

The cost of an On-line entry is fixed in Euro and the conversion into your local currency will be done automatically by your credit card company according to the current exchange rate.

	Online Entry €	Postal Entry €
Per Entry	14.00	16.00
Critique (Optional)	30.00	32.00
2011 Fish Anthology (Buy Online)	12.00 (Inc. p. & p.)

 

 

How to Enter

You can enter online or by post. The cheaper option is to enter online.

Flash Fiction Contest Online Entries

To Enter online, simply submit your story(ies) through our online entry system on our website. Please do not send stories as email attachments. 

MAKE SURE YOUR NAME IS NOT ON THE STORY. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ALL SHORT-LISTING AND JUDGING IS DONE ANONYMOUSLY. YOUR STORY IS AUTOMATICALLY LINKED TO YOUR AUTHOR NAME IN THE SYSTEM.

If you have any difficulty submitting your story(ies), post your problem at Feedback and Support.

 

CLICK HERE TO ENTER ONLINE

 

 

Flash Fiction Contest Postal Entries

To enter by post, please include story and entry fee in the same envelope. Cheques payable to 'Fish Publishing'. NOTE: cheques must be made out in the currency of the country from which they are sent, to the value of the fee. Receipt of entry by e mail only. Stories will not be returned. Critiques will be returned by email unless requested by post.

Post to: Fish Publishing, Durrus, Bantry, Co Cork, Ireland

 

 

How to enter

The prize is open to Black and Asian women writers aged 18 or over, based in the UK and writing fiction in English.  Only unpublished original work is eligible for the prize.  The fee per entry is £15.  To find out if you are eligible to enter, please check the eligibility section.  The full prize rules can be downloaded here.

All entries must be made by post using the entry form and cover sheet, and have to be submitted before the closing deadline of 1 June 2012.  All submissions must be made following the format set out in the rules, so please read these carefully before you apply.  If you have any queries about the format or timescale for the prize, please contact us.

Melvin Van Peebles:

The Baadasssss Interview

In 1971, filmmaker-musician-dramatist-commodities trader Melvin Van Peebles launched a movie revolution with his über-low-budget, highly political indie flick, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Sweetback was the largest-grossing independent film of its time, featuring cinema's first ghetto hero, played by Van Peebles himself. Today he's written a graphic novel, Confessions of a Ex-Doofus-Itchyfooted Mutha, and plays regular gigs with his band, Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative. Sir Melvin -- he was awarded the French Legion of Honor -- takes The Root's Teresa Wiltz on a tour of his Manhattan pied-à-terre, waxing on about why he's the "illegitimate godfather of blaxploitation," why Shaft and all those other films are racist and how he managed to get workers' comp after he contracted an STD on the set of Sweetback.

Want to hear what Van Peebles has to say about Tyler Perry? Like us on Facebook to see exclusive outtakes from the shoot.

GO HERE TO VIEW INTERVIEW

via theroot.com

New African Themed Films

October 7, 2011

by Sean Jacobs

Here’s my semi-regular round-up of trailers for new African or African-themed films which I wish to get my hands on. It’s a big continent, so I am not surprised at the output. Some of these are sure to make the rounds at film festivals or short runs in art cinemas or pop up on obscure cable channels. (I’m still waiting for that entrepreneur who’ll start an African film Netflix. I’ll be a customer.) So here they are:

Migration is a big topic in these films.

First up there’s Swiss director Fernand Melgar’s “Special Flight”

Film critic Leo Goldsmith writes  about “Special Flight” in Brooklyn Rail:

[Melgar] investigated a detention center for asylum-seekers in Switzerland; his new film concerns a group of foreign nationals at a rather darker place in the process. Many of the film’s subjects—a couple of dozen men, mainly originating from Africa and Kosovo—have lived in Switzerland for decades, working, paying taxes, and raising families. Now, at a detention center in Frambois, near Geneva, they sit in clean, gray institutional buildings, waiting to hear about the status of their appeals for citizenship, or else to be forcibly shipped out to their countries of origin, the “special flights” of the film’s title … [The] degree of access occasionally gives the film a professional polish that makes it seem almost staged. Stills from the film, which resemble a slightly sunnier Pedro Costa film, made more than one non-Swiss festivalgoer I spoke to think the film was a work of fiction.) Stranger still is the interaction between the detention center’s staff and the inmates (whom the former prefer to call “residents”), which is cordial, warm, and often even apologetic. Members of the staff welcome the detainees, express remorse for their situations, and hear out their grievances sympathetically, forming relationships that border on friendship. And when the orders come down for deportation, staff-members carry them out with an odd mix of duty, helplessness, and regret.

There’s also Belgian filmmaker Nicolas Provost‘s “The Invader” which focuses on the travails of an African migrant in Brussels. The film has a brilliant opening scene. See Tom’s post later today.

Another feature film with African migrants washing up on the shores of a European island at the heart of it; this time the Canary Islands:

The very talented Akin Omotoso (somebody give him buckets of money to keep making films) directed “Man on Ground,” a film about xenophobic violence against African migrants by black South Africans in Johannesburg. Here‘s an early review and here‘s an interview with Omotoso. Here’s the trailer:

“The Cardboard Village” about an Italian priest and illegal immigrants who take shelter in his church.  Bonus: it stars “Blader Runner” star Rutger Hauer. (I don’t know what to expect from that casting choice.) The trailer doesn’t make much sense, but here it is anyway:

And here–in its entirety–is a new short, “Counterfeit,” about West African migrants selling counterfeit watches and fake handbags in Chinatown in New York City:

And also a 12 minute short about racism and the border between Dominican Republic and Haiti (no surprises from which side the racism emanates):

“Always Brando” part fake documentary, part drama about a Tunisian filmmaker’s obsession with the famed American actor:

Another North African film. This time Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaidi’s “Death for Sale” about 3 young petty thieves:

Then there is, “Les Hommes libres,” a period piece about an Algerian black marketer in Nazi-occupied France (also by a Moroccan director). The lead is played by Tahar Rahim who played the lead in the prison film, “A Prophete.” (I’m assuming this is in the same vein as the excellent “Indigènes,” which aimed to set the record straight about the roles of blacks and Arabs’ in the liberation of France during World War II):

“The Rhythm of My Life,” a documentary film about the Miami rapper Ismael Sankara who travels to Gabon to visit family and sort of figures out his life and career:

A number of German films have recently explored their country’s relationship to the African continent. (Remember “Nowhere in Africa,” ”Sleeping Sickness“ and “At Ellen’s Age.”  Now there’s “The River Used To Be A Man” about a German actor finding himself in some open African space.  Here’s a clip (what’s with  trailers that don’t mean or say much?):

The trailer for director Aki Kaurismäki’s “Le Havre” (France) about the relationship of an elderly working-class couple in the French port city of the title with a a young, lovable African illegal immigrant they’re harboring and the police inspector searching for the stowaway. This film is loved by every mainstream critic who has reviewed it. The trailer suggests it has obvious tropes which appeals to American and European audiences:

Talk about films with cute children. “Lucky” is film about a young South African child and the AIDS epidemic there (remember “Life Above All” directed by Oliver Schmitz and which had a limited release here in New York City in the Spring).  The director of “Lucky” is Avie Luthra, an Indian national. In “Lucky” there is a nice twist though; unlike most AIDS films he is not saved by a saintly white person: the lead character ends up in Durban with unscrupulous relatives, but is helped by a South African woman of Indian origin. As far as I know, apart from Leon Schuster’s racist caricatures (Disney just gave him guarantees to make more of that nonsense), “Lucky” might be the first time you have an Indian South African in a major role in a film coming from that country.

Back to documentaries: “Last Call At The Oasis” about the global crisis about water which affects us all:

Films about the unfinished Egyptian Revolution our coming out fast. Take “Tahrir 2011: The Good, The Bad And The Politician.” The film is divided into three chapters; the first focuses on activists, the second on the police and the third the dictator Hosni Mubarak:

Then, Italian director Stefano Savona’s “Tahrir: Liberation Square”:

There’s also the music-focused “Microphone” by Egyptian director Ahmed Abdallah:

The trailer for Columbia University art historian Susan Vogel’s film, “Food, Crumple Crush,” about the famed Ghanaian artist El Anatsui who lives in Nigeria:

There’s a few others for which I can’t find trailers:

* The film version of Albert Camus’ final, unfinished novel based on his childhood in French-occupied Algeria, “The First Man.”

* “The Education of Auma Obama“ about Barack Obama’s sister, Auma, which includes home video of the young Barack Obama on his first ever visit to Kenya in the late 1980s.  (Here‘s a link to a post-screening Q&A with director Branwen Okpako and Auma Obama at the 2011 Toronto Film Fetsival.)

Then a film, I have at the top of my wish list. “Indochina, tras la pista de una madre” (Indochina, Traces of a Mother) is the story of an Afro-Asian man (the son of a Vietnamese woman an and African soldier) who goes back to Vietnam. His parents met when his father, from Benin, was conscripted by France to go and resist Vietnamese independence:

* A new film about the struggle around AIDS in South Africa (by veteran director Jack Lewis):

This film will definitely not make a commercial cinema screen here. The Senegalese director Mamadou Sellou Diallo films the pregnancy of his wife and the birth of his daughter. It’s also a film about womanhood in Senegal:

*  There are also some films about the descendants of Africans in America:

Director Diana Paragas and writer Nelson George’s “Brooklyn Boheme,” about black life in late 1980s and 1990s Fort Greene, Brooklyn, is finally here. (That’s my neighborhood for the last 10 years). Here’s the first 5 minutes:

There’s a documentary about black punk rockers Fishbone:

A profile of foul-mouthed, ageing rapper Blowfly; in daily life the mainstream musician Clarence Reid:

“White Wash,” a documentary about black surfers (which reminds me of the film, “Taking Back the Waves,” about Apartheid racism and surfing in South Africa):

“Angel,” a documentary film directed by Sebastiano d’Ayala Valva, about a former Ecuadorian boxer, lately a transvestite prostitute in France, traveling back to his homeland:

Helene Lee, who wrote a book–”The First Rasta”– about Leonard Howell, who is considered the founder of Rastafari in Jamaica, has now made a documentary about him:

*  Finally, a couple of short films you can watch in full:

Johannesburg filmmaker Palesa Shongwe–whose work reminds me of fellow South African Steve Mokwena–has a short film (in full below) “Atrophy (and the fear of fading)” about nostalgia and youth:

And, American Allysa Eisenstein’s film on homophobia in Uganda based around interviews with gay rights activists and the bigotry and hate they encounter:

 

"The Black History of the White House"   A New Book from Scholar Clarence Lusane  Clarence Lusane is one of America's most thoughtful and critical thinkers on issues of race, class and power. — Manning Marable Official histories of the United States have ignored the fact that 25 percent of all U.S. presidents were slaveholders, and that black people were held in bondage in the White House itself. And while the nation was born under the banner of "freedom and justice for all," many colonists risked rebelling against England in order to protect their lucrative slave business from the growing threat of British abolitionism. These historical facts, commonly excluded from schoolbooks and popular versions of American history, have profoundly shaped the course of race relations in the United States. In this unprecedented work, Clarence Lusane presents a comprehensive history of the White House from an African American perspective, illuminating the central role it has played in advancing, thwarting or simply ignoring efforts to achieve equal rights for all. Here are the stories of those who were forced to work on the construction of the mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the determined leaders who pressured U.S. presidents to outlaw slavery, White House slaves and servants who went on to write books, Secret Service agents harassed by racist peers, Washington insiders who rose to the highest levels of power, the black artists and intellectuals invited to the White House, community leaders who waged presidential campaigns, and many others. Juxtaposing significant events in White House history with the ongoing struggle for civil rights, Clarence Lusane makes plain that the White House has always been a prism through which to view the social struggles and progress of black Americans. Price $19.95 plus $5 shipping and handling. Click here to purchase from the SpeakOut Online Store! Contact SpeakOut to Bring Clarence Lusane to Speak on Your Campus.  Barack Obama may be the first black president in the White House, but he's far from the first black person to work in it. In this fascinating history of all the enslaved people, workers and entertainers who spent time in the president's official residence over the years, Clarence Lusane restores the White House to its true colors. — Barbara Ehrenreich Black folks built the White House in more ways than one. In this beautifully rendered narrative, Clarence Lusane recasts the whole of American history by revealing how slavery and emancipation, racial violence and civil rights, the black freedom movement and white supremacy, and dozens of unsung black heroes shaped the U.S. presidency and federal government in profound ways. — Robin D. G. Kelley Reading The Black History of the White House shows us how much we DON'T know about our history, politics, and culture. In a very accessible and polished style, Clarence Lusane takes us inside the key national events of the American past and present. He reveals new dimensions of the black presence in the US from revolutionary days to the Obama campaign. Yes, 'black hands built the White House' — enslaved black hands — but they also built this country's economy, political system, and culture, in ways Lusane shows us in great detail...Highly recommended! — Howard Winant, UC Santa Barbara In the age of the tea party and the short memory of racism in America, The Black History of the White House is a must read. In bringing to life the histories of racial exclusion and humiliation exercised from within the walls of the nation's most abiding symbol, Clarence Lusane offers a searing reminder of the tenacious personal and political effort from the country's highest office it has taken to uphold racial privilege in the US. — David Theo Goldberg, author of The Threat of Race: Reflections on Racial Neoliberalism Click Below to See the Table of Contents, Introduction and First Two Chapters of The Black History of the White House.   BHWH_front.pdf

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1493: An Uncommon History

of How Columbus

Changed the World

by Maria Popova

What events from half a millennium ago can teach us about the globalization debate today.

In 2005, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann came to be regarded as the most ambitious and sweeping look at pre-Columbus North and South America ever published. This month, Mann is back with1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created — a fascinating look at one of the lesser-known, lesser-considered aspects of what happened when Columbus and his crew set foot on American soil: the environmental upheaval that began as they brought plants, animals and diseases that forever changed the local biosphere, both in America and in Europe once the explorers returned to the Old World. Known as The Columbian Exchange, this process is considered the most important ecological event since the extinction of the dinosaurs, and the paradoxes at its heart echo today’s polarized views of globalization as either a great cross-pollinator or a great contaminator of cultures.

From the outset globalization brought enormous economic gains and ecological and social tumult that threatened to offset those gains. It is true that our times are different from the past. Our ancestors did not have the Internet, air travel, genetically modified crops, or computerized international stock exchanges. Still, reading the accounts of the creation of the world market one cannot help hearing echoes — some muted, some thunderously loud — of the disputes now on the television news. Events four centuries ago set a template for events we are living through today.”

Mann illustrates the fascinating interplay of organisms within ecological systems and the intricate yet powerful ways in which it impacts human civilization. For instance, when the Spaniards brought plantains to South America, they also brought the tiny scaling insects that live in their roots, which turned out to be delicious new food for the local fire ants. This led to a plague-sized explosion in fire ant population, which forced the terrified Spaniards to live on the roofs of their ant-infested houses and eventually drove them off the islands.

The most striking impact of The Columbian Exchange, however, comes from epidemiology. Because pre-Columbus America had no domesticated animals, it also had no animal-borne diseases. But when the Europeans came over, they brought with them enough disease to wipe out between two thirds and 90% of people in the Americas over the next 150 years — the worst demographic catastrophe in history by a long stretch. While early diaries mentioned these epidemics in describing life in the 1500s and 1600, it wasn’t until the 1960s that epidemiologists and historians realized the true scale of the death toll in the decades following Columbus’s arrival.

NPR’s Fresh Air has an excellent interview with Mann.

From how tobacco became the world’s first global commodity to how forests were transformed by a new earthworm, 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created will change the way you look at ecology, economy and epidemiology, and radically shift how you think about “local” and “global.”

Images via Wikimedia Commons

>via: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/08/24/1493-charles-mann/?utm_sour...

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Boucan: E-zine on

Caribbean Arts and Culture

I recently discovered Boucan, a thoroughly captivating cultural E-zine about the Caribbean. Boucan is a collaboration between editor Cédric Francillette and visual artist Frédérique Blaize-Francillette with writers Guylaine Masini, Maxence Alavarna, and Serena Laurent. Each issue focuses on Caribbean art, cinema, literature, music, and other cultural manifestations.