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Letter & Comments
from
Louisiana
Endowment for the Humanities
& Louisiana Cultural Vistas
Louisiana Endowment for the
Humanities
225 Baronne Street, Suite 1414
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112-1782
12 October 1999
Rudolph Lewis
13219 Kientz Road
Jarratt, VA 23867
Dear Rudolph:
I have enclosed two copies of the
newly-published Fall issue of Louisiana Cultural Vistas.
You will find Marcus Christian's poetry on page 90. I hope the
layout pleases you; many thanks my friend.
This magazine could not exist without the
generous contributions of writers, artists, photographers, and
organizations like yourself. We owe you a debt of gratitude for
allowing us to publish your work.
Louisiana Cultural Vistas has become
Louisiana's premier magazine for history, culture, literature,
art, and music. I hope you share my pride in the magazine and in
this issue in particular. Thank you.
If you would like additional copies we can
provide them at a wholesale rate of $2,00 a piece for five or
more, plus shipping (if necessary). Also, if possible, would you
mind sending along these two extra copies of Louisiana
Cultural Vistas to Amin Sharif; we were not able to locate
his address. Again, thank you.
Cordially,
Michael Sartisky, Ph.D.
President/Executive Director
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Louisiana
Endowment for the Humanities
Reviews I Am New Orleans & Other
Poems by Marcus B. Christian
It is a happy occasion indeed that has brought Xavier Review
Press Occasional Publications to produce the ninth number in the
series, I AM NEW ORLEANS & OTHER POEMS [BY MARCUS
B. CHRISTIAN], a selection of 50 poems by new Orleans poet
Marcus Christian (1900-1976). Christian's papers, including more
than 1,700 hand and typewritten pages of poetry are housed in
the Special Collection of the Earl K. Long Library at the
University of New Orleans, which holds the copyright to the
material.
[Actually, the Archives owns the physical material but not a
copyright on the intellectual material itself. The conditions of
the gift was that the material should be in the public domain. RL]
The book, edited by Rudolph Lewis and Amin Sharif, with an
illuminating introduction by Lewis, reveals a poet old-fashioned
in formal terms, but thoroughly modern in his concerns, among
which the most prominent seem to be multifaceted issues of race
and of romantic love. Christian was head of the black writers
component of the Federal Writer's Project in Louisiana in
Louisiana from the late 1930's until the early 40s.
[Actually, Christian was the 2nd head, after Lawrence
Reddicks resigned. Lyle Saxon, head of the Louisian FWP, I
believe, found Christian more pliable than the more formally
educated Reddicks. RL]
He was a writer-in-residence (and
a pioneering teacher of black history) at UNO the last seven
years of his life.—Ralph Adamo, poetry editor, Fall 1999 Louisiana
Cultural Vistas
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13219 Kientz Road
Jarratt, VA 23867
October 27, 1999
Ralph Adamo
Office of Communication
Dillard University
2601 Gentilly Boulevard
New Orleans, LA 70122-3097
Dear Ralph:
First, I would like to thank you for your kind review in
Louisiana Cultural Vistas. What you are doing will go a long way
to establish Christian in the canon of African American authors.
And that's what we're really after, assuring that a New Orleans
writer gets his due on the national stage.
Of course, you have my permission to use part of the
Introduction for I AM NEW ORLEANS (Xavier Review Press, 1999).
Tom Bonner said he talked with you and that you all agreed that
you could use up to a third of that Introduction. I do hope this
limitation does not create major difficulties for your project.
I look forward to your piece in Dillard
Today. Please send me a copy.
I enjoyed thoroughly our talk today. Thanks for all your tips
on how I might return to new Orleans for further research on
Christian. I am already deeply indebted to you. If i may be of
further service to you, call on me any time.
I enclosed a poem I wrote after the July ALA conference I
attended in New Orleans, called "Ode to a Magic City."
It was a long train trip, but wonderful. I also enclosed a brief
vita.
Sincerely yours,
Rudolph Lewis posted 20 August 2005
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update 19 April 2010 |
