[by: Tony Harris] We are, quite likely, familiar with the statement, “If I have seen far, it is because I am perched upon the shoulders of giants.” Dr. Ward (HBW Board Member Emeritus) pinpoints seven of several pillars whose writing could be thought to undergird the work the Project on the History of Black Writing has accomplished throughout its 35-year existence. He notes also the […]
[by: Morgan McComb] This year was my inaugural experience at the 78th Annual College Language Association convention. I was in constant awe—every panel I went to struck me as something new, expanding my horizons. But perhaps no panel stood at the center of the crossroads between scholarship and dynamic engagement with black literature and black history than the panel entitled “Chicago Dreamers: Literary and Life […]
[by Vincent Omni] I last delivered a paper 20 years ago: an academic talk as an undergraduate fellow with the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM). I discussed the contributions of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston to the Harlem Renaissance. Since then, I’ve raised a family and worked in public education. The thought, then, of presenting at the College Language Association’s annual conference caused […]
[by: Morgan McComb] Before you head to Hanif Abdurraqib’s reading tonight, check out this review of They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us and get your tickets here. Sometimes you read books that make you think, and then sometimes you read books that make you feel; this one does both. Abdurraqib’s essays give you just enough of the personal, but once he draws you in, […]
[By: Anthony Boynton] If no other moment during my time in Lawrence has shown me what freedom of expression and freedom of speech means, including how positionalities directly influence their manifestation, Dr. Eve L. Ewing’s recent visit to KU did so. On January. 30th, the Lawrence community gathered together in some amazing ways to share and celebrate poetry at “Mic Supremacy” which featured the award-winning […]
On Day 6 & 7 of our “Ode to #BlackExcellence” series we are celebrating the newest release from Tayari Jones An American Marriage. Oprah’s newest book club pick, An American Marriage masterfully intertwines love, suspense, and racial injustice through the story of Roy Hamilton and Celestial Davenport. KU Visiting Scholar and HBW Affiliate Lili Wong got a chance to speak with Jones about the new novel, as well […]
African American Vernacular English constitutes a crucial element of Charles W. Chestnutt’s short fiction– a distinctive linguistic feature of his southern character. Light enough to “pass” as white, he never did so and always openly identified as African American. You can read more about his novels and short stories in our Black Literary Suite feature “Histories of African American Short Stories: a Digital Humanities Exhibit“ […]