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August 28, 2013
The Episcopal Church of the Holy Family Presents Favorite 4 & 2 More
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August 27, 2013
AFRICAN DIASPORA FILM SERIES
http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey
We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:
http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support..
August 26, 2013
Cyril Dabydeen Publishes New Book of Stories
My Multi-Ethnic Friends & Other Stories (Guernica Editions) is Cyril Dabydeen’s latest volume which spans a range of narratives set in Canada and other parts of the world reflecting lived experiences. The Guyanese-born Canadian writer has been publishing for many years; his work has appeared internationally in numerous literary magazines and anthologies.
Here in this new volume are shifting spaces and changing lives forming the core of Dabydeen’s stories. Tropical places with verdant greenery are subverted; his sometimes stark images supplant the traditionally exotic. In Canada’s northern hemisphere, Dabydeen’s immigrant and non-immigrant characters delve into memories; whether Greek, Italian, Russian or West Indian, for them new situations resonate in northwestern Ontario, Toronto or Detroit. They are even active in a mayoralty race heating up in Ottawa. It’s also a Muslim’s faith tested in Vancouver.Stories such as the title one and others like “Bearing Gifts,” “Believers,” “Look Who’s Coming,” and “In Transit” reflect ironic twists and styles.
This new book follows on Cyril Dabydeen’s previous fiction such as My Brahmin Days and Other Stories (TSAR Publications. Toronto), Play a Song Somebody: New and Selected Stories (Mosaic Press, Toronto), Black Jesus and Other Stories (TSAR), and North of the Equator (Beach Holme, Vancouver). Dabydeen has also published three short novels, and one full-length novel, Drums of My Flesh (TSAR), nominated for the prestigious IMPAC/Dublin Prize and a short-listed finalist for the City of Ottawa Book Prize. This novel also won the top Guyana Prize for fiction.
Dabydeen’s writing explores the many-sidedness of immigrant life seen as an "outsider" as he evokes metaphors capturing new ways of feeling laced with their psychological insights. “Cyril Dabydeen is a writer of global concerns, permanently crossing boundaries,” said Spanish professor Dr Pilar Somacarrera in Canadian Literature in reviewing his fiction. "It is the epiphany, the moment of illumination, which comes out of an ordinary experience," writes Peter Nazareth (International Writing Program, University of Iowa) in World Literature Today. Other critics have described Dabydeen’s work as: "narratives that often contain the lyrical consolidations of images that are the mark of a poet" (Books in Canada); and, “His stories are seamless between past and present, fantasy and reality....a significant post-colonial writer” (World Literature Today).
A former Poet Laureate of the city (1984-87), Dabydeen has taught creative writing at the University of Ottawa and has published over 15 books, including eight collections of poetry. He also edited the anthologies A Shapely Fire: Changing the Literary Landscape (Mosaic Press, l987), Another Way To Dance: Contemporary Asian Poetry in Canada and the USA (TSAR, 1992), and Beyond Sangre Grande: Caribbean Writing Today (TSAR, 2012). Over the years he has read from his books across Canada, the USA, Cuba and the Caribbean, the UK and Europe, and in India.
For more information, pls. phone: 613/230-7854 (ph.) Or E-mail:cdabydee@uottawa.ca or cdabydeen@ncf.ca
August 21, 2013
‘SLAVE TRADE’ HISTORY REMEMBERED IN KEY WEST
A recently established but highly significant Key West tradition will continue in Sunday, August, 25, at 6:00 p.m. with the Annual Observance of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition (officially August 23), at the 1860 Key West African Cemetery monument on Atlantic Boulevard, just west of the White Street Pier and adjacent to the West Martello Tower fort.
The International Day was declared by the United Nations in 1999, as part of the UNESCO International Slave Route Project (ISRP), an initiative launched in 1994 as a global call to all nations which were touched by the slave trade to retrieve, restore, and conserve all historic locations, artifacts, records, memories, and other evidence, so that this world-changing chapter of human history will be more widely known and not ever be lost or forgotten.
The August 23 date was selected to commemorate the beginning of the successful Haitian Revolution in 1791, as a reminder that Africans themselves were the primary actors in bringing about the Abolition of the barbaric trade in human beings. (This year’s observance marks the 222nd anniversary).
The Key West African Cemetery is symbolic of Key West’s numerous, often heroic connections to the history of the slave trade. It is the site where 295 Africans, mostly young people, were buried in 1860. They were part of a total of 1,432 captives who were rescued from three American-owned slave ships captured by the U.S. Navy and brought into Key West, where the survivors benefited from the much-needed generosity of the local community and U.S. Marshal Fernando Moreno. While most of the Africans lived to be returned to Africa (although not to their original homes), those buried near Higgs Beach, fully 20% of the total, could not recover from the illnesses and horrific conditions they had endured aboard the slave ships prior to being rescued.
Key West also has close other close ties to Middle (slave trade) history, by way of the remarkable saga of the Africans rescued from the 1827 wreck of the Spanish slave ship Guerrero, and the discovery of the 1700 wreck of the English slaver Henrietta Marie, discovered by legendary treasure hunter Mel Fisher, among other cases. The Maritime Museum named in Fisher’s memory has become a repository of much of this history.
The Remembrance observance on August 25 will include traditional Native American and African ritual ceremonies along with prayers, discussions of this local history, and open dialogue among participants, aimed at making these memories more enduring.
For further information, 306-904-7620.
Image source: http://vintagevango.blogspot.com/2011/02/key-west-african-slave-cemetery.html
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The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:
http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey
We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:
http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support.
Look for me in the Whirlwind or the Storm | Circle of Friends, International
(L-R) Geoffrey Philp, Malachi Smith, Marva McClean, and Dobby Dobson
by Marva McClean
"Look for me in the whirlwind and the storm!"
These words spoken by Jamaican national hero Marcus Garvey, remind us of our accountability to take action to address the ills in our society. They are strong powerful words, evoking the graphic imagery of natural subversion even as they symbolically convey the writer’s sense of urgency and commitment to fight forcefully for change. The truth is, Marcus Garvey, 1887-1940, was widely known for his subversive words and militant actions.
An activist who fought for the rights of Black people through agentive action and publications like The Negro World, his memory and influence remain strong today among those involved in the continuing struggle for social justice and equity in our society. This was the consensus reached by the group of literary friends gathered this past Saturday at the Broward County South Regional Library, Florida to celebrate the word and their heritage in a literary expo hosted by cultural activist Vonnie McGowan.
Interestingly, the event fell on Garvey’s birthday and it was fitting then, that Garvey scholar and chair of the committee to exonerate Garvey, Geoffrey Philp shared thoughts on Garvey’s work as a Pan Africanist as well as excerpts from Geoff’s book Marcus and the Amazons, a satire on colonialism and an assertion of the struggle of people of color for empowerment.
To read more, please follow this link:
Look for me in the Whirlwind or the Storm | Circle of Friends, International:
'via Blog this'
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http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey
We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:
http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support.
August 18, 2013
Oakland's Marcus Garvey Building: SAVED FROM CITIBANK FORECLOSURE - Occupy Oakland Media
Oakland's Marcus Garvey Building: SAVED FROM CITIBANK FORECLOSURE - Occupy Oakland Media:
National Historic West Oakland Landmark, the Marcus Garvey building/ Liberty Hall, Saved by Community Organization
As of Aug. 7th 2013, community based non-profits and private investors have saved the The Marcus Garvey building, also known as Liberty Hall. The Marcus Garvey building is an A-1+ rated National Historic Landmark, and is at located at 1485 8th Street in West Oakland.
The Save the Liberty Hall campaign helped raise $375,000 in 9 months to purchase the building from Citi Property Holdings, Inc.(an affiliate of Citibank). Citi had threatened to evict nonprofit service provider Overcomers With Hope (OWH) from the building after foreclosing on the previous owner.
Through a series of townhall meetings, community outreach, social media blasts and a change.org petition, the grassroots organizers of the campaign gained the support of several organizations. As a result, we received legal transactional consultation from Hanson Bridgett via the city of Oakland, as well as funds from non-profit community organizations in Alameda County. Additional support came from Pitch Mixer Entrepreneur Forum (a non-profit program supporting investor relations with entrepreneurs in underserved communities), OMY Enterprises (community outreach, fundraising and public relations), and Timothy Y. Fong, Attorney at Law (foreclosure defense counseling).
Saving the building allows OWH, alow new partnerships, to provide programs in Liberty Hall. Now that the building is secure from foreclosure, OWH and its partner organizations can secure funding for much needed building repairs and upgrades. The Marcus Garvey Building will continue to host organizations that serve the community of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The building has been servicing the community for over 100 years, operating by and for the people. In the past, the building has provided a meeting place for many crucial community entities. For example, in the past it was Post 188 of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (U.N.I.A) and was the former home of the Black Pullman Porters, Father Divine, and Jubilee West, Inc.. It was the first dollar store in West Oakland. Currently, it is the home of Overcomers With Hope (OWH), a non-profit organization that trains at risk youth in Television/Digital Arts Media Production and the West Oakland Community Information/ Resource Center. The new organizations that have come to the building as a result of the campaign are Healthy Communities, Inc, and the Black Nurses Association. Healthy Communities is a faith-based, non-profit organization.
The successful campaign started on December 12, 2012,with the specific goal of purchasing the building and keeping services provided by the West Oakland Community Information/ Resource Center open. West Oakland Community Information/Resource Center organizes referrals for jobs and training, food, utilities restoration, housing search and financial assistance. Through a collective of local residents and businesses owners, the campaign was able to increase local, regional and nationwide awareness of the Marcus Garvey/Liberty Hall building in West Oakland. Grassroots organizing and a strong regional media campaign resulted in a letter from Citi on December 21, 2012. Citi offered the property for sale at $375,000 and gave an extension to the eviction deadline. The extension gave the campaign time to organize a fundraiser on January 13, 2013, which allowed artists throughout California the opportunity to support the cause through entertainment.
It also gave organizers time to find transactional legal counsel (pro bono law firm support was provided by Hansen Bridgett via the City of Oakland), a real estate broker and a primary investor willing to support the project. Together, we were able to successfully negotiate a deal that saved the building.
Although the campaign to save the Marcus Garvey building/ Liberty Hall is successful, it marks the beginning of plans that include upgrading the building with seismic retrofitting, installation of a solar panel electrical grid, and a ramp up of the information center that will help this underserved community have access to job information. Due to the structure of the deal, it provides a unique opportunity for non-profits, businesses and community organizations to work within the A-1+ rated, National Historic Landmark to serve the community. In addition, we expect to create new programs to make positive change within the city of Oakland.
Sites: www.Overcomerswithhope.com
www.healthycommunities.us/Index.html
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http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey
We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:
http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support.
August 16, 2013
Support Send-A-Child to High School in Jamaica
August 14, 2013
Literary & Cultural Expo: Celebrating Jamaican Cultural Icons
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August 12, 2013
1 Minute Book Review: The Lost Collection of an Invisible Man by Nick Makoha
August 5, 2013
1 Minute Book Review: Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire
Name of the book: Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth
Author: Warsan Shire
Publisher: flipped eye publishing limited
What's the book about?
The various female personae in Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth confront identity against a background of war, nationalism, and the conflicting claims of religion (Islam) and gender.
Why am I reading the book? I met Warsan Shire at the Yardstick Festival and was struck by the contradictions (Black British/ Somali/ Female/ Moslem) and the sensuality of her verse.
Quote from the book:
Beauty
My older sister soaps between her legs, her hair
a prayer of curls. When she was my age, she stole
the neighbour's husband, burnt his name into her skin.
For weeks she smelt of cheap perfume and dying flesh.
It's 4 a.m. and she winks at me, bending over the sink,
her small breasts bruised from sucking
She smiles, pops her gum before saying
boys are haram, don't ever forget that.
Some nights i hear her in her room screaming.
We play Surah Al-Baqarah to drown her out.
Anything that leaves her mouth sounds like sex.
Our mother has banned her from saying God's name.
Where to buy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1905233299
Warsan Shire is a Kenyan-born Somali poet and writer who is based in London. Born in 1988, she has read her work internationally, more recently in South Africa, Italy and Germany. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing. The artist and activist uses her work to document stories of journey and trauma. She curates and teaches workshops around the art of healing through narrative.
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I've modified this format from One Minute Book Reviews: http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/
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August 1, 2013
Happy Birthday, Lorna Goodison
When I was in first form at Jamaica College, nearly every boy in 1 Murray drooled and doodled while Lorna Goodison tried to teach us color, value, and texture. Lorna taught us art for about two or three years, and then, she left. The next time I saw her was when she was invited by our drama teacher, Dennis Scott, to talk with our literary club. Lorna talked passionately about art, Rastafari, and music. Afterwards, she gave us a writing exercise to compose a Reggae song. We toyed with the idea for some time and she offered a few suggestions. At the end of the exercise, Dennis asked her to read a poem.
Miss Goodison was also a poet? We listened intently as she read one of her poems. I can't remember the name, but I'll never forget the awe that I felt after her reading. She was like a saint. Saint Lorna.
The feeling never left me.
When I decided that I wanted to be a poet and I was searching for models by reading everything that Derek Walcott had ever written, I tried writing a poem like Lorna's "She," which was published in Savacou 13: Caribbean Women. Of course, I failed miserably. No one can write like Lorna Goodison.
For unlike Walcott, from whose work a young poet can learn forms such as the sonnet and how to use allusions drawn from Greek and Roman mythologies to create Odysseus-like characters or from Shakespearean drama to construct Calibanesque figures, Lorna's poems, while drawing from a similar landscape as Walcott's, does not seek to transform the characters into anything other than what they are. Her speakers remain obstinately Caribbean with red dirt under their fingernails, and smelling of rum and carbolic soap. Also, her sense of line, like brush strokes, carry the signature and confidence of the artist.
There was nothing that she could teach me because the images and the associations that she had made in her art held deeply personal meanings, yet she managed to translate those sentiments to the page so that her readers could experience similar emotions. In other words, what I learned from Lorna was that if I wanted to write like her, I would have to live my own life and to use the experiences and associations from my life. And that couldn't be faked. If I wanted to be a poet like Lorna, I would have to write my own poems.
Give thanks, Lorna. Give thanks!
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"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery/ None but ourselves can free our minds." ~ Lyrics from Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" taken from a speech by the Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
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