Overview
As our society becomes increasingly globalized, the themes in the literary texts and literature created by black writers throughout the African diasporic communities of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe are shifting and expanding in varying ways. There is recognition of the importance and value of preserving cultural memory and identity and of cultivating and nurturing cultural and geographical spaces. At the same time, there is also a recognition that politics and popular culture shape what we respond to, what we read, what gets published, what we teach, and what conversations we have in our literary communities, in the media, in our educational institutions, in our work environments, and in our homes.
Through novels, stories, poems, plays, memoirs, and essays, black writers have explored the importance of memory on our concepts of self and family. They have examined the impact of popular culture on our personal lives, belief systems, values, and traditions. And they have chronicled what happens when we neglect and do not nurture our natural environment. In essence, they have used the power of words and the literary arts to stir our imagination and to motivate us to affirm, critique, and reflect on our responses to personal, societal, and environmental issues in our lives. The Eleventh National Black Writers Conference will provide writers, scholars, literary professionals, students, and the general public with a forum for engaging in dynamic and spirited conversations, panel discussions, readings, workshops, and performances on themes related to migration, cultural memory, popular culture, and the natural environment.
Major funding provided by: National Endowment for the Arts
Media support provided by: African American Literature Book Club, AKILA Worksongs, Inc.
2012 NBWC Honorees
Ishmael Reed – John Oliver Killens Lifetime Achievement Award
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o – W. E. B. Du Bois Award
Nikki Giovanni - Gwendolyn Brooks Award
Dr. Howard Dodson – Ida B. Wells Institutional Leadership Award
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For information about the CBL contact:
Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Executive Director
Center for Black Literature
bgreene@mec.cuny.edu
