|
Books by Gwendolyn Brooks
In
Montgomery and Other Poems /
A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks (Kent) /
A
Street in Bronzeville (1945)
/
Selected Poems
(1963) / In the Mecca
(1968)
Riot
(1969) /
The Tiger Who Wore
White Gloves (1970),
Blacks
(1987), and
Children
Coming Home (1992) / Maud
Martha
(1953)
Report
from Part One: An Autobiography
(1972) /
Report from Part Two:
Autobiography(1996)
/
Jump Bad: A New Chicago
Anthology (1971).
* * * *
*
chicago report
on
gwendolyn
brooks writers conference
wednesday, 23 october to saturday, 26 october, 2002
By Kalamu ya Salaam
Part 2 of 2
the next day, someone asked my
wife, nia, whether the miles davis piece was autobiographical
because it was written in the first person. she said she didn't
know. i just smiled when nia told me about the question. it's
not. i use the first person a lot, even with female-voiced
pieces, because american audiences are attuned to believe that
there is something authentic about first person, more authentic
than third person. even though there is a strain of
sentimentality that favors dramas over documentaries in the
movies, when it comes to what we believe to be real, many of us
would swallow a slick piece presented in the first person to a
raw third person piece, sort of like audiences are addicted to
"reality" television shows, contrived shows which are
actually designed and packaged to "appear" to be
really happening.
afterwards there was an open mic competition.
i passed on the offer to be one of the judges, i had been
pushing hard for the last three or four days and i needed some
rest. on the next day in the hallways someone told me that they
thought the judges were biased and that the competition should
have been judged by peers. in this person's opinion, the two
best poets didn't place in the top three. this is not
surprising. at a conference with a surfeit of english and
literature ph.d's and mfa's, i would expect that the informal,
slam-oriented open mic performances would be like asking boxing
referees to judge a wrestling match. both events are one-on-one
hand fighting, but there are significant differences.
on friday morning after the opening welcome,
entrance of the elders and libation ceremony, the first panel
was a fiction panel featuring tina mcelroy ansa, sandra
jackson-opoku and michael simanga. i missed that one as i was in
the lounge sharing videos and talking to a half full of writers,
including nalo hopkinson, whom i had not seen since we appeared
on a panel together at a science fiction
the first keynote address of the day was
delivered by julianne malveaux. our sister was smoking as only
an intelligent sister can--she was working the hand, pointing
out what's stupid and what's hip, holding a palm out to some of
the more egregious political travesties, raising her fist in
defiance on key issues, but also waving at wonderfully funny
moments--a career as a standup comedian awaits ms. malveaux--and
every now and then giving an ironic flip of the wrist as she
shares an inside joke or caustically cutting comment about some
fool one step below contempt. i wonder is she is a distant
cousin of dick gregory. for sure, she is dangerous. her address
was easily a conference highlight.
a fiction workshop featuring sandra
jackson-opoku and sam greenlee followed; for me it was back to
the lounge. i wanted to get as much feedback as i could on the
video work we have been doing. i did catch most of tina mcelroy
ansa's keynote address. i like sister ansa. she is personable
and warm, a great conversationalist who listens as well as she
speaks, and someone totally dedicated to black culture. her
address was both insightful and welcoming, she made you feel
that.
 |
the highlight of the day
was the early evening fifth annual induction for the
international literary hall of fame for writers of
african descent. the 2002 inductees were: calvin hernton,
june jordan, raymond r. patterson, melvin b. tolson,
tina mcelroy ansa, dr. bertice berry, oscar brown, jr.,
dr. margaret t. g. burroughs, kassahun checole, ausbra
ford, keith gilyard, ron milner, time reid, max
rodriguez and john white. gwendolyn brooks' daughter,
nora brooks blakely and her chocolate chip theatre
company rendered dramatic introductions for each of the
inductees. |
the keynote for the induction ceremony was
delivered by dr. bertice berry in a stirring oration that would
have made any full gospel baptist bishop proud. sister dr. berry
can sang, plus she is clear about where her heart is housed, and
it's not with people who wanted her to straightened her hair if
she wanted to remain on following the ceremony there was a reception
just outside the gwen brooks center's offices on the second
floor of the library. they spread out a buffet that was a cross
between down home (they had some killing sweet potato pie) and
hoity-toity (some items whose names i couldn't pronounce even
though they were clearly printed on name cards). but as good as
the food was, the music was better. the chicago state jazz band
was smoking hotter than grandma's kitchen on thanksgiving
morning. i thought the brass were much stronger than the reeds
and that the featured drummer's time-keeping was a little
suspect even though his soloing was superb, nonetheless, overall
their enthusiasm and musical swagger made up for any minor
technical deficiencies. they received a standing ovation--which
was not easy in a context where food and libations, good
conversation and noted personalities were.
|
saturday, the wrap-up day
of the conference, started off with a poetry panel
featuring keith gilyard, sterling plumpp and kevin
young. i really dug this panel even though it was not
actually about poetry. each poet more-or-less summed up
their life as a poet, how they got interested, what
their childhood was like, etc. and again, keith gilyard
was the one who grabbed my collar and in a quiet,
matter-of-fact way described how poetry saved his
life.
(right)
Oscar Brown, Jr. |
 |
i won't even attempt to summarize,
suffice it to say this quiet and profound brother could easy
have been dead, or incarcerated, or worse yet, a rank hustler
and pimp of black culture, but instead he forged his life into a
passionate commitment to beauty and the betterment of his
people. plumpp's triangular tale (mississippi/chicago/south
africa) is also arresting, and kevin young's midwest background
offered another node of black cultural diversity. i liked
everyone, but, and i don't mind showing my biases, i still dug
keith to the utmost.
the publishing panel was second, featuring:
william e. cox of black issues book review and the chronicle of
blacks in higher education; bakari kitwana who has served as the
editor of the source magazine; max rodriguez of qbr-black books
review and the harlem book festival; and novelist/entrepreneur
omar tyree. with the exception of tyree's revelation that he is
doing some underground publishing, this was a panel that covered
ground that has been covered time and time again. on the other
hand, i'm sure for some of the folk, some of the background on
black publishing woes, potentials and struggles was informative
news.
the keynote speaker was speculative fiction
writer and editor nalo hopkinson. nalo provided a priceless
special moment during her presentation when she pulled down the
top corner of her sweater to reveal an adinkra symbol tattooed
on her left shoulder, the same symbol enlayed on the floor of
the student center rotunda. her address was a combination of
memoir and manifesto--she called out for a circling of the
cognosti as she waved the banner of freakdom high, and yours
truly was grinning and applauding our canadian-based, caribbean
sister as the circle of black diversity was broadened to include
a wider net of writing genres and personal lifestyles. plus,
dig, nalo is a beautiful spirit, inquisitive as a precocious
child and as serious as a visionary shaman. much respect, much
respect.
the film panel with yvonne welbon , and tim
reid and daphne maxwell reid, was the last panel of the day.
held in the auditorium of the library, the program featured
video excerpts from various projects that the reids are doing
out of their film studio. daphne reid emphasized the business
aspects and offered insight into the joys and pains of
self-determination within the sphere of cinematic production.
tim reid offered insights and guidelines for independent
production within the general commercial film industry.
yvonne welbon, who is a professor and
filmmaker, offered cogent nuggets often as brief addendums to
the reids. i have had a chance to hear tim reid's presentations
about three or four times, and he is always insightful and to
the point. reid speaks specifically to those who are interested
in working as an independent on the periphery of the mainstream
film industry. following the reids there was a reception in the
rotunda that included a wonderful jazz ensemble led by
composer/flutist nicole mitchell with her black earth ensemble.
chicago is teeming with wonderful musicians, and is especially
strong on blues and modern jazz. ms. mitchell's music was
nothing short of enchanting--she even had a female dancer
featured on some numbers. nicole mitchell's writing is in the
charles mingus mode, and that in and of itself is an
accomplishment. the accompanying musicians were excellent. a
rhythm section of trap drums, acoustic bass and keyboards with a
flute, saxophone (doubling on clarinet) and trombone front line
produced a well received and varied set of inventive
improvisations. although, the program proceeded without a break
when the band concluded, i just had to cop a copy of their cd,
so only caught part of haki's introduction of lerone bennett,
jr., who was the concluding keynote speaker.
lerone was lerone, which is to say witty and
wise in the ways of both baptist oratory and historical
research. he was also dapper and, despite his elderhood,
sprightly in his presentation. and, of course, he was given an
ovation from the appreciative.
and that concluded another year of the gwen
brooks writers conference, a conference which i enjoy to the
utmost and which i recommend everybody even faintly interested
in black literature ought to attend at least once in the next
two or three years. although i am sure the conference organizers
would like to see larger audiences, nevertheless one of the
major pluses of the gwen brooks conference is that it is small
enough that everybody gets a chance to speak with each author. i
know that i really enjoy the chance to kick back and swap tales,
lies, insights and opinions with old comrades from back in the
day, and get to know younger writers. this year i was
particularly happy about the time i spent in the presence of
sterling plumpp who is an absolute treasure. also had good talks
with julianne malveaux, nalo hopkinson, kevin young, max
rodriguez, sam greenlee and keith gilyard.
i urge folk to plan now to attend next year's
event--generally held the third or fourth week of october.
a luta continua,
kalamu |
