May 25, 2011

TOP 3 THINGS

YOU NEED TO KNOW

 ABOUT PRIVATE PRISONS

 

1) The victims: Private prisons don’t care about who they lock up. At a rate of $200 per immigrant a night at their prisons, this is a money making scheme that destroys families and lives.

2) The players: CCA (Corrections Corporation of America), The Geo Group and Management and Training corporations - combined these private prisons currently profit more than $5 billion a year.

3) The money: These private prisons have spent over $20 million lobbying state legislators to make sure they get state anti-immigration laws approved and ensure access to more immigrant inmates.

(via Immigrants For Sale)

Africa: Debts Paid for with

Natural Resources

 

Over at Africamix, Le Monde's Herviaux Olivier reviews (translation) Odiot Alice and Audrey Gallet's new documentary - Zambia: who benefits from copper? Excerpt:

With a keen sense of narrative and didactic explanation, Alice and Audrey Gallet Odiot effectively dismantle the adage all too familiar in Africa: a rich country, poor people. Zambia, a landlocked country in the heart of the continent, holds in his basement one of the largest copper reserves in the world.... First shock: 1973 and the soaring prices of black gold. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB)... advise countries to borrow, the copper revenues allow sustainability repayment of the debt by the young nation. Second shock: in the early 1980s, the U.S. followed by Europe shrug their interest rates sharply. Result: Zambia must repay three times more interest. It's asphyxia. The country seeks the assistance of the IMF and the WB ... that shape their new credit to a privatization of the copper mines. Sell-off of farms in 2000 to multinationals, drastic fall in investment education and health systems ... The descent into hell begins.

For those who argue that the inability of most Afican countries to benefit from their natural resources goes deeper than corruption, technology or the loan policies of the World Bank and the IMF, then sit back and get blown away by the first 48 minutes of Zeitgeist: Addendum, a 2008 documentary by Peter Joseph, which makes a case for the centrality of debt to the creation of money and expansion of the money supply in a fractional reserve system. Coupled with profit maximization, the indenturement of labor, or of those with natural resources, in a monetary system therefore comes across not as some cladestine developed world conspiracy or plot, but rather as something that comes natural to the system itself:

H/T: Destination X

 

Tumi

The POWA Mixtape

June 14, 2011

by Tom Devriendt

Johannesburg-based Tumi of Tumi and The Volume has released a mixtape. It seems to be in support of People Opposed to Women Abuse and was inspired by the story of rape victim Akona Ndungane. Among those getting the Tumi remix treatment are Mos Def (a fan of Tumi), the Beatles, John Mayer, Radiohead and Kanye West. Film director Teboho Mahlatsi pitched in with this dramatic video above; watch through till the end for the finale). South Africans Zubz, Tuks, PRO, Chen Lo, Zaki Ibrahim, Molemi, Ben Sharpa, KG and Lebo (of Voodoo Child) join Tumi on the mixtape.

Get it here.

Download + Interview:

Tanya Auclair "Origami" EP

 

I'm so happy to be sharing this EP, Tanya Auclair is such an exciting singer songwriter and her work continues to exert a strong gravitational pull on my heart strings towards her live shows and recorded projects. I asked her a couple of questions about the new EP "Origami", the first 1000 copies of which are available for free download through her Bandcamp page so be quick.

I've searched high and low but can't find a single "ooh baby I love you/ you broke my heart etc etc", is it safe to assume the inspiration behind this EP was not your love life?<p><p><a href="http://tanyaauclair.bandcamp.com/album/origami">ORIGAMI by Tanya Auclair</a></p></p>

Haha! Yes, zero tolerance on the smoochy time policy on this EP. I kind of set myself these little 'rules' before setting out on the record. 1) no love songs 2) write everything live before even sniffing a computer...The rules were really just tools to push my songwriting skills. Its easy to write about love, I wanted to get better at telling stories. 

What exactly is a Sverige?

Sverige started out as an epic poem I wrote for my mates after we did a road trip round Sweden. Travel and movement have always been good catalysts for me when it comes to writing, whether its the rhythm of your stride or the random stuff you get up to or the newness of it all. That trip set me off, soon as I got back I wrote the EP Thrum. The lyrics ‘Hear that whistle blow’ is the call you hear when something needs to be done. 

Your last EP Thrum was a solo effort but for Origami you've worked with other people, what prompted the change and how did the process differ?

With the first EP it was me locked in my room with a Zoom recorder, Fruityloops and some instruments. This time I just wanted to try the opposite. I wanted to write and record as much of it ‘live’ as possible, rather than it kind of living on the computer. This last year I’ve been working with the brilliant drummer Joe Allen, and more recently double-bassist Arista Hawkes – and its really been a time of exploring making music of minimal means, whether by myself, in duo or trio. They’re such sick players that I had to have them and their personalities on the record. Then Jack Allett got on board to record/co-produce and he was also really into the idea of keeping the elements minimal. We managed to blag 6 hours of downtime in a studio to record the core parts, then all the rest was done in friends kitchens and flats. This time I’ve also been lucky enough to collaborate with some great filmmakers - Will Hanke on the ‘Gabriel’ video and Eleni Savvidou on the trailer for ‘Origami’. 

Whilst we're on the subject, your solo show involves an almost annoyingly impressive number of instruments, how many do you play (please list) and will the list continue to expand exponentially?

At the moment I’m playing Microkorg, ukulele, guitar, melodihorn, sticks, shaker and sampling my voice. I’m still having fun messing about with this set up, but definitely up for new elements, as long as it can fit in my granny trolley (what I cart all my equipment in) 

Your cover of "Gabriel" by Roy Davis Jr ft Peven Everett was rather beautiful, but if you could collaborate with anyone who would top the list?

Ingoma Nshya – the hottest drum troupe I’ve ever seen. They’re a company of female drummers from Rwanda – the first of its kind - traditionally women weren’t allowed to drum, but they broke the mould. Imagine being backed by 10 or 12 women dancing like cranes and drumming like thunder?! Powpow!

 

 

 

__________________________

Video:

Tanya Auclair - Origami EP Trailer

__________________________

PMOI Presents:

Tanya Auclair "Gabriel" Dir. by Will Hanke

Writing Spirit Short Story Competition 2011

Writing4all, Ireland's premier writing website, is delighted to announce the 3rd Annual Writing Spirit Short Story Competition, to be judged by Christine Dwyer-Hickey.

The contest is open to all nationalities and all genres. The prize-winning stories, along with merited stories will be published in an anthology at the end of the competition. 

What's the prize?

First Prize: €1000, Second Prize: €200, Third Prize: €100

When's the deadline?

The contest opens 1st March 2011, and runs for four rounds throughout the year. The submission deadlines for the competition are as follows:

First round: 30^th April

Second round: 30th June

Third round: 30th September

Fourth round: 30th November

Each new round begins immediately after the end of the previous round (i.e. you may enter at any time from 1st March to 30th Nov).

At the end of each round, the best stories, as chosen by a panel of judges will be shortlisted for the award. Each round's shortlist will be announced on the Writing4all website (www.writing4all.ie)

At the end of the competition, the judges will choose the six highest-ranking stories from the shortlists. The top three winning stories will be chosen from these six stories by the Grand Judge, novelist and short-story writer, Christine Dwyer-Hickey.

How long/short can my story be?

Stories should be no more than 4,000 words max - but there is no minimum word count,  and flash fiction is welcome. Stories should be typed, double spaced on one side of A4 (or equivalent) paper.

The judge

Christine Dwyer Hickey is an award winning novelist and short-story writer. She is the author of The Dublin Trilogy: The Dancer, The Gambler and The Gatemaker which span the story of a Dublin family from 1913 to 1956. Her novel Tatty was short-listed for Irish Book of the Year in 2005 and was also long-listed for The Orange Prize. Her latest novel, Last Train From Liguria, is set in 1930s Fascist Italy and Dublin in the 1990s and was published in June 2009 by Atlantic Books (UK). The paperback edition of Last Train From Liguria was issued in 2010. Tatty was been nominated for The Irish Book of the Decade competition. She is a member of Aosdana.

What's the entrance fee?

€7 per story

Where do I send my story or stories?

 

Entries may be submitted by post to:

The Writing Spirit Award 2011

Spade Enterprise Centre

North King Street

Smithfield

Dublin 7

Republic of Ireland

Alternatively, you can submit your work by e-mail to info@writing4all.ie

Entries must be pasted into the body of the email; attachments will not be opened. Entries must also clearly have the words "The Writing Spirit Award 2011” in their subject lines to prevent being treated as spam.

Receipt of email submissions will be acknowledged. If you have not received an acknowledgement one week after submitting by email, please send a query to info@writing4all.ie

Receipt of postal submissions will also be acknowledged (if an email address is provided in the cover letter). Please allow for the time it will take for postal entries to be received.

Multiple entries are allowed throughout the period of the contest. Entries will be judged anonymously by our judges. You may submit any number of stories and have any number of them on the shortlist.

Entries are welcomed from ALL nationalities, and the judges are keen to see work from as many countries as possible; however, entries must be in the English language.

Story Rights and Conditions

Entries to the competition must NOT have been previously published in the English language, including electronically. However, entries CAN have been posted on the Writing4all website or similar sites of a workshopping nature and do NOT need to be removed from the relevant site. Work of this nature does not qualify as 'previously published'. The work to be judged will be the version submitted to the competition as per the instructions above. Entries found to have been previously published in English will be disqualified from the contest. Stories previously published in languages other than English are eligible to enter the contest.

Entries in each round must NOT be submitted or published elsewhere in any format until those stories that have been chosen for the shortlist are announced on the Writing4all website after each round. If your story has not been chosen for the shortlist after the round in which it was entered, you are free to submit them elsewhere.

Stories that are chosen for the shortlist after each round must NOT be submitted or published elsewhere for the duration of the competition and until after the contents of the short fiction anthology have been chosen and announced on the Writing4all website. Shortlisted stories found to have been submitted or published elsewhere before the announcement will be disqualified from consideration for the Award and the anthologies.

The decisions of the judging panel, and thereafter of the Grand Judges, are final. No correspondence will be entered into in this regard.

How do I pay?

All stories entered to the Writing Spirit Award 2011 must be accompanied by an entry fee of €7 (euro).

By cheque/postal order

For entries from within the Republic of Ireland, the €7 entry fee may be paid by cheque or postal orders. These should be made payable to Writing4all Ltd, and sent to the postage address above.

By PayPal

Payment may also be made securely and easily via the PayPal button below this section. Note, you do NOT need a PayPal account to use this option. PayPal accepts payment from all major credit and debit cards and is internationally recognised as a fast, easy and secure way to make online payments (see www.paypal.com).

You may use PayPal to pay for entries submitted by post or email. For entries paid by PayPal, please include your unique Transaction ID code (which will look something like 98B96318D4186023G) in your cover letter (for both postal or email entries). This code is provided to you by PayPal as you complete the payment process and allows us to validate your payment.

Thank you for your interest in the competition and the very best of luck!

Click the button below to submit the competition fee via Paypal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Logan House!

 

Logan House asks its readers to congratulate Samuel Stenger Renken, whose Where to Start has been selected as the 2010 Holland Prize winner.

2011 Holland Prize Guidelines
Logan House announces the seventh annual Holland Prize for the best unpublished book of poetry in American English. 

 

The author will receive $500, and the winning manuscript will be published in 2012.

 

Each entrant will receive a copy of Disciples of an Uncertain Season and Other Poems by Larry Holland, for whom the Prize is named, as well as a copy of the winning book.

 

Manuscripts should be 60-80 pages and should be submitted with a $25 reading fee and SASE for prize announcement to

Logan House
Holland Prize
321 Logan Street
Wayne City, NE 68787

Deadline is July 4, 2011.

 

Manuscripts will be recycled.  

 

The Holland Prize is dedicated to publishing the best manuscript that comes across our desks, irrespective of the poet’s subject, style or geography. 

 

 Friends and close associates of Logan House are not eligible for the contest. 

 

For additional questions email us at info@loganhousepress.com

Call for entries for the Wasafiri New Writing Prize 2011

Renowned worldwide for featuring some of the best and brightest new talent, Wasafiri launched an annual New Writing Prize as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations in 2009. Now in its third year the competition is open to anyone worldwide who has not published a complete book.

 

We are looking for creative submissions

in one of three categories: Poetry, Fiction or Life Writing.

 

Simply fill in the form and send it to us with your entry and a fee of UK Sterling £6.00 if entering one category, £10.00 for two and £15.00 for three categories (see terms and conditions). Payment may be made by paypal.

 

 

The closing date is 5pm GMT on 29 July 2011. 

Entrants who are visually impaired or who are

prevented from typing through disability can enter work on audio CD.

 

Download the Wasafiri New Writing Prize 2011 Application Form and let the words flow!

 

Judges

 

Susheila Nasta MBE (Chair) Editor of Wasafiri and Professor of Modern Literature at the Open University	Jackie Kay Celebrated prose writer, poet and playwright, awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2006
Brian Chikwava Award-winning writer and recipient of the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2004	Daljit Nagra Critically acclaimed poet, winner of the Forward Prize (2007) and ACE Decibel Award (2008)

 

 

 

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Aminatta Forna

 

Novel 'Memory of Love'

wins Aminatta Forna

the Commonwealth Writers' Prize

 

British writer Aminatta Forna has won this year's Commonwealth Writers Prize, with a powerful portrayal of human resistance in war-torn Sierra Leone.

Aminatta Forna, who was born in Glasgow and raised in Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom, won the prize on Saturday 21st of May in Sydney with her novel The Memory of Love.

The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, is an annual award for best fiction published in the 53 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, formerly known as the British Commonwealth.

In the video Aminatta Forna discusses her book The Memory of Love


Story
Telling the story of a British psychologist, who arrives in Freetown, Sierra Leone just after the end of the country's bloody civil war, The Memory of Love is an intricate tapestry of betrayal, tragedy and loss. It expertly draws together the threads that link a sick old man, a brilliant doctor with dreams of leaving his troubled homeland, a wounded English psychologist and a young woman who links the three of them in a common bond of love.

Tribute to her mother
With her novel the author also wants to pay tribute to her mum for being willing to marry the man she loved in the face of opposition from both their families and society's unease with mixed marriages, wrote The Daily Record.

Maureen's parents had wanted her to marry a Scot and Mohamed's family had wanted a dynastic marriage, in keeping with his status as the son of an African chieftain.

The family returned to Mohamed's home in Africa where his political career in the turbulent country piled added pressure on them.

At one point, Maureen brought Aminatta and her two big brothers home to the safety of Aberdeen, where they lived in a caravan.

Aminatta said: "One of the reasons we lived there was that nobody in Aberdeen would rent an apartment to a white woman with three brown children.

Father
Her father was killed in Sierra Leone. Between 1970-3 he was imprisoned and declared an Amnesty Prisoner of Conscience. Mohamed Forna was hanged on charges of treason in 1975. The events of Forna’s childhood and her investigation into the conspiracy surrounding her father’s death are the subject of the memoir The Devil that Danced on the Water.

Writers blog
If you want to stay updated about UK based Black writers, literary events and workshops in UK, check out the blog UK Black Writers Board

The author of the blog also tries to keep track of Black writers in the rest of Europe. See the page European Based Authors.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

New Book 'God is Not a Christian' by Nobel Prize Winner and International Humanitarian, Desmond Tutu, is an Essential Collection of Historic Speeches and Writings

Biographer John Allen collects the Archbishop Desmond Tutu's most profound, controversial, and historic words in this inspiring anthology of speeches, interviews, and sermons that have rocked the world. God Is Not a Christian is perfect for anyone moved by Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech or Nelson Mandela’s stirring autobiography Conversations with Myself, brilliantly connecting readers with the courageous and much-needed moral vision that continues to change countless lives around the globe.

God Is Not a Christian: And Other Provocations by Desmond Tutu

In my view, Desmond Tutu is the best advert for Christianity that walks on this earth.
— Bono

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 02, 2011

Desmond Tutu has become one of the greatest moral voices of our time. In his new book, God is Not A Christian, an essential collection of his most historic speeches and writings, we witness his unique career of provoking the powerful and confronting the world in order to protect the oppressed, the poor, and the victims of injustice.

Tutu first won renown for his courageous opposition to apartheid in South Africa, but his ministry soon took on international dimensions. Rooted in his faith and in the values embodied in the African spirit of ubuntu, Tutu’s uncompromising vision of a shared humanity has compelled him to speak out, even in the face of violent opposition and virulent criticism, against political injustice and oppression, religious fundamentalism, and the persecution of minorities.

Arranged by theme and introduced with insight and historical context by Tutu biographer John Allen, God is Not a Christian: and Other Provocations (HarperOne, May 2011; ISBN 978–0–06–187462–8; $23.99) takes readers from the violent clashes in South Africa over Apartheid to the healing work of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee; from Trafalgar Square after the fall of the Berlin Wall to a nationally broadcast address commemorating the legacy of Nelson Mandela; from Dublin, Ireland’s Christ Church Cathedral to a basketball stadium in Luanda, Angola. Whether exploring democracy in Africa, the genocide in Rwanda, black theology, the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church, or the plight of Palestinians, Tutu’s truth is clear and voice unflinching.

In a world of suffering and conflict, where human laws all too often clash with the law of God, Tutu’s hopeful, timeless messages become more needed and powerful with each passing year. The strength of principle found in this collection can inspire younger generations of every stripe to pick up Tutu’s mantle. GOD IS NOT A CHRISTIAN invites us to participate, to engage the spirit of ubuntu, because “without us, God has no eyes; without us, God has no ears; without us God has no arms or hands. God relies on us.”

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. In 1986, he was elected Archbishop of Cape Town, the highest position in the Anglican Church in Southern Africa, and in 2009 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. Tutu serves as Chairman of the Elders, a group of global leaders who campaign for justice and human rights worldwide.

John Allen is the managing editor of allAfrica.com and has served as director of communications of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The author of the Tutu biography Rabble-Rouser for Peace, he lives in Cape Town.

Praise for Desmond Tutu:
“For decades (Tutu) has been a moral titan, a voice of principle, an unrelenting champion of justice, and a dedicated peacemaker. . .an outspoken voice for freedom and justice in countries across the globe; a staunch defender of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons"
                                                             — President Barack Obama

“I have the highest regard for my good and trusted friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu. I admire him for the wonderful, warm person he is and especially for the human principles he upholds.”
                             — His Holiness the Dalai Lama

“His unofficial legacy will be his life and the story of how this tiny pastor with a huge laugh from South Africa became our global guardian.”
                                    — Time magazine

“No matter the topic, Tutu speaks throughout in the voice of the Christian prophet, decrying cruelty and meanness, defending the poor and the powerless, delighting in the beauty of creation, assuring us that each and every person has God’s love, as we hope, pray, and work for the kingdom of God.”

—    Ray Olson, Booklist

“His efforts have bridged the gulf between white and black, between oppressor and victim, and helped heal a nation in the spirit of atonement and forgiveness…. I would like him to know that I, and a whole generation of Africans, stand tall and see further because we stand on his shoulders.”
                 — Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations

“In my view, Desmond Tutu is the best advert for Christianity that walks on this earth.”
                                         — Bono

God is Not a Christian: and Other Provocations
By Desmond Tutu
HarperOne, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
May 2011 | $23.99 | Hardcover | ISBN: 9780061874628

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Nigeria: The Cost of Oil

For over 50 years now, the extraction of crude oil and natural gas from Nigeria's Niger Delta has meant wealth for a privileged few but has exacted heavy costs on residents and the environment. Nigeria is the world's 8th largest producer of crude oil, yet remains one of its poorest nations -- an estimated 70 percent of its 150 million residents live below the poverty line. The environment is paying a steep price as well. An estimated 500 million gallons of oil have spilled into the delta -- the equivalent of roughly one Exxon Valdez disaster per year. A number of factors have contributed to these disasters: poor construction and maintenance, lax regulation, militant attacks, and petroleum thieves, not to mention government instability and abuse of power. According to cables released by WikiLeaks, Shell Oil claimed to have planted staff in all of Nigeria's main ministries, gaining access to key government decisions. Gathered here are some scenes from Nigeria's long, disastrous relationship with the crude oil industry.

GO HERE TO VIEW PHOTO ESSAY>[31 photos]