INFO: Great Things Happ'nin' - Louis Reyes Rivera

Great Things Happ'nin' 

May 2010

 Editor: Louis Reyes Rivera

 

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Table of Contents

 

  

Part I: Special Event

1. Bio on John O. Killens Released 

  

Part II: Upcoming Readings & Such

2. Book Party for Two @ Sistas' Place

3. On Behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal

4. Heads Up: Writers' Rights Seminar

5. A Dazzling Set of Photographs
Circling the Internet and our Solar System
 

  

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Part I: Special Event

1. Bio on John O. Killens Released 

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A book party for Keith Gilyard's John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism (University of Georgia Press), takes place on Thursday, April 29, 2010, at the Skylight Gallery (Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton Street, between New York and Brooklyn Avenues), in Brooklyn. The event begins at 5 p.m., and is jointly sponsored by Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Center for Art & Culture, and Prof. Carole Gregory's "Modes of Analysis" class at the College of New Rochelle, School of New Resources; the program includes discussion with the author along with a panel of former friends and students of the late novelist.

In this first major biography of Mr. Killens, Prof. Gilyard examines the life and times of the man who was perhaps the premier African American writer-activist, with a literary career that spans from the mid-1940s to the late 1980s. An influential novelist, essayist,screenwriter, and teacher, John O. Killens, along with John Henrik Clarke, Rosa Guy and others, co-founded the Harlem Writers Guild, through which workshop no less than 100 books, screenplays and staged dramas were produced during his tenure as Chair (1951-1965). Among the Guild's other prominent alumni were Sarah E. Wright, Ossie Davis, Alice Childress, Maya Angelou, Piri Thomas, Lonnie Elder III, Irving Burgie, Loften MItchell, Louise Meriwether, Charles Russell, Sylvester Leaks, et al. Other writers he befriended and mentored outside of the Guild include  Haki Madhubuti, Askia Toure, Nikki Giovanni, Ntozake Shange, Doris Jean Austin, BJ Ashanti, Richard Perry, Elizabeth Nunez-Harrell, Nicholasa Mohr, Thulani Davis, Brenda Connor-Bey, Brenda Wilkerson, Arthur Flowers, Terry McMillan, among many others. 

Prof. Gilyard, however, extends his focus into the social parameters of Killens’ times and literary achievements – from the Old Left to the Black Arts Movement and beyond. Figuring prominently in this biography are the many prominent African American political and cultural workers connected to the author from the 1930s to the 1980s – W.E.B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, Alphaeus Hunton, Margaret Walker, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Nina Simone, Gwendolyn Brooks, Woodie King, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Harry Belafonte, Chinua Achebe, Keorapetse William Kgositsile, George Lamming, and Gil Noble – like so.

Though several of his works, Youngblood (1954), And Then We Heard The Thunder (1964), Black Man's Burden (1967), The Cotillion (1972), have been translated into well over a dozen languages, Killens, like Dr. Du Bois, has remained among the least studied of American writers.

John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism is the second of Gilyard's books focusing on the Killens phenomenon. His earlier book, Liberation Memories: The Rhetoric and Poetics of John Oliver Killens, is a detailed study of Killens' novels, through which, taken together, we see one whole continuum of historically-rooted fiction (from the 1690s to the 1980s) – and from a Black point of view. A literature professor at Pennsylvania State University, Keith Gilyard has fashioned a narrative that allows readers to more fully take note of the complexities of Killens' evolution – from a human rights and union activist to a novelist/dramatist/screen writer and mentor to no less than three generations of African American writers and activists. The event is free and open to the public. Copies of the book will be available and refreshments served. Take the 'A' or 'C' train to the Nostrand Avenue station.

 

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Part II: Upcoming Readings & Such

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2. Book Party for Two @ Sistas' Place

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A book party for the release of two new poetry collections, Linyak Love, by Tony Mitchelson, and Trickster, by Clarence Robins takes place on Saturday, April 17, at Sistas' Place, 456 Nostrand Avenue (at Jefferson Ave.), in Brooklyn (the 'A' or 'C' train to Nostrand). Both authors will read from their respective works and, together, engage in an open discussion. Doors open at noon, and the reading/discussion phase will begin promptly at 1 p.m. Copies of their books will be available for sale.

 

About The Authors

 

Tony Mitchelson has been honing his craft since his early teens in Harlem. While initially interested in learning to compose music and lyrics, he says, "My studies of world history and the nobility of our people eventually altered my direction as a writer."

The more he read the better he defined how best to communicate his observations and lessons. For the past eight years culminating in Linyak Love, he has continued to participate in the workshops of renown poets George Edward Tait and Louis Reyes Rivera.

Consisting of 52 poems and two prose works, Linyak Love is "a poet's window into the personal lives of our African Diaspora, recording much of what comprises our daily struggles," says Mitchelson. 

The theme that runs throughout the text is the need for greater concern and mutual respect for one another, relinking families and communities across the board. A constant subtheme is a testament to how resilient we are in overcoming life's hurdles.

"My writings," he says, "are shaped by the needs of our people. Whether in a workshop, café, school, church, street corner or another continent, I am conscious of the needs of our people. They motivate me to record and seek solutions for any problems we happen to be faced with.”

Clarence Esu Miwa Robins took up writing well over a decade ago and began seriously honing his craft initially under the tutelage of poet Rochelle Ratner. He was twice selected to participate in the Cave Canem series through which experience he learned of and joined the 1st & 3rd Saturday Writers' Workshop at Sistas' Place conducted by Rivera.

Born in the midst of the last Great Depression, Clarence has made use of the poetic form through which to capture the lessons and events of his life, from childhood memories to his eventual embrace of African traditions and philosophy. His 130-page collection,Trickster, is a fine semi-autobiographical collection from one who has "seen it all," if you will. And his concerns are rooted in the social struggles for Human Rights.

"African Americans," he says, "have our own perceptions of who we are in the larger culture, though in this society, we are often seen as having no national or geographic boundaries, of being stateless and adrift, relegated to an ambiguous second class citizenry."

            The influence of his Caribbean grandparents eventually led to his own search for ancestral heritage, and in taking up pen and paper to re-create image and definition. "I think of myself as an eavesdropper on history," he says.

            POST SCRIPT: Authors Tony Mitchelson and Clarence Robins will be featured on Perspective, WBAI, 99.5 fm, 2 p.m.Thursday, April 15, with Louis Reyes Rivera. If you can't catch it live, you can still listen in via the internet (www.wbai.org) by clicking on Archives, then scrolling down to Thursday, 2 p.m. 

 

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3. On Behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal

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            In celebrating Mumia Abu-Jamal's birthdate (April 24, 1954), the New York Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and the National Writers Union (NWU/New York Chapter) present Writers for Mumia, an afternoon of readings and testimonials taking place Saturday, April 24, at St. Mary's Church, 512 West 126 Street, between Old Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, in Harlem.

Though still in formation, the list of celebrant writers include Steve BloomLoretta CampbellSusan E. DavisShelley Ettinger,Jose Angel FigueroaRobert GibbonsRashidah IsmailiAtiba Kwabena WilsonDave LindorffLupeNdigoEwuare X. Osayande,Patricia QueenLouis Reyes RiveraYusef SalaamNana SoulIsrael Tacuma, and others. The birthday celebration/reading immediately precedes a rally scheduled for Monday, April 26, in front of the Justice Department's headquarters in WashingtonD.C.

Initiated in 1999 as a project of the International Action CenterWriters for Mumia is a forum of authors who support the imprisoned journalist in his quest for a new trial. It has since become an outpouring by writers weighing in against the death penalty. In addition to cultural presentations, the April 24th program includes Pam Africa of the International Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal and Suzanne Ross of the New York Coalition to Free Mumia.

 

Quick Update:

Mumia Abu-Jamal now faces a most critical moment in his decades-long struggle to be granted a new trial based on solid, incontrovertible evidence of prosecutorial misconduct during the criminal court trial that led to his conviction on charges of killing aPhiladelphia police officer.

This past January, the Supreme Court overturned the Third Circuit Court of Appeals' 2008 decision to set aside the death penalty based on improper instructions given to the jurors. Instead, the high court has instructed the circuit court to "reconsider" its earlier decision, particularly reinstitution of the death penalty. What the Supreme Court refused to weigh in on was the defense's arguments calling for a new trial and drawing attention to numerous instances of prosecutorial misconduct, including the deliberate exclusion of eligible Black jurors and coercion of witnesses, several of whom had recanted their testimonies.

 

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4. Heads Up: Writers' Rights Seminar

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            The Afrikan Poetry Theatre presents Writers' Rights: A Three-Part Seminar with award-winning poet/freelance editor Louis Reyes Rivera. If you plan to self-publish your book or are about to sign a contract with a publisher (big or small), or through E-Book, Print-On-Demand or Audio publishers, this seminar can definitely help. 

What do you need to know before stepping out there? Rivera (Scattered ScriptureThe Bandana Republic) will spell out your rights and your options and how the Internet threatens to push new law despite several lawsuits still pending in the courts. Rivera, who chairs the New York Chapter of the National Writers Union, has, since 1975, helped over 200 authors get their works into print. He can be heard every Thursday, at 2 p.m., on radio station WBAI, hosting Perspective.

The three-part seminar takes place on Saturday(s), May 8May 22May 29, at the Afrikan Poetry Theatre, 176-03 Jamaica Avenue, from 3 to 7 p.m. ('F' train to 179th St.). Reserve your seats now. Email the APT at Jwatusi@aol.com or call 1.718.523.3312.

 

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5. A Dazzling Set of Photographs
Circling the Internet and our Solar System
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I CERTAINLY THOUGHT THIS WAS ENLIGHTENING. BEYOND OUR SUN IT'S A BIG UNIVERSE. 


 

ANTARES IS THE 15 TH BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY .
 

IT IS MORE THAN 1000 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.

 


 

 
 


NOW HOW BIG ARE YOU? 

----------------------------------------------------------------- 


NOW TRY TO WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND THIS......... 


THIS IS A 
HUBBLE TELESCOPE ULTRA DEEP FIELD INFRARED VIEW OF COUNTLESS
'ENTIRE' GALAXIES BILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.
 

BELOW IS A CLOSE-UP OF ONE OF THE DARKEST REGIONS OF THE 
PHOTO ABOVE. 

HUMBLING, 
ISN'T IT?