ICYMI: The Last 2 Weeks in Black Writing (6/29 - 7/12)

- HBW was saddened by the passing of author, journalist, educator and GEMS subject John A. Williams, whose invaluable contributions to African American letters cannot be overlooked.

- Houston A. Baker reminisced about his relationship with Williams, who was "NOT...an easy person to get along with" but who served as "an exemplar of what can be achieved in the creative writing life."


- Maryemma Graham reflected on the life and work of Margaret Walker on the 100th anniversary of Walker's birth, both celebrating her accomplishments and lamenting her relative obscurity.

- Poet Claudia Rankine talked to The Guardian about the inspiration behind her collection Citizen and the power of refusing to ignore acts of covert racism.

- Slate explored Frederick Douglass's 1852 Fourth of July speech (really given on the fifth of July), originally given to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, New York.

- Poet Nikki Finney reads a beautiful original poem about the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina State House. The video features footage from the removal.

- Ta-Nehisi Coates spoke to NPR about his new book, Between the World and Me, which addresses his son about the toll of being black in racist society. In this insightful review, Shani O. Hilton points out that Coates's book is really about being black and male in racist society.

- Dolen Perkins-Valdez spoke with Book Riot about her new novel, Balm, set in Civil War-era Chicago.

- Until August 26, you can listen to live recordings of all of August Wilson's American Century Cycle, performed by astounding vocal casts.

A Reflection on the Life of John A. Williams by Houston Baker

John A. Williams was NOT, as anyone who had extensive dealing with him knows, an "easy" person to get along with. Somebody on Creation Day uploaded the "John Model" with seven times the necessary and sufficient supply of surly paranoia. I think few who spent any long time interacting with John would radically dispute this characterization.

When I was proudly and with the marginal hubris of a totally young self saluting myself on the publication of my anthology Black Literature in America, I got a nocturnal telephone call on our home's landline from John. "Is this Houston Baker?" the low-boiling voice of the caller inquired. "Yes," I answered. "This is John Williams and I just want to know where you got your information from. How could you repeat the misinformation of misinformed white people who have talked about my academic credentials?" What?!  What John was objecting to was my biographical sketch of his life and career. He went on to tell me if I was going to be successful, I needed to get my facts straight.

Margaret Walker at 100: The Century that Belonged to Her (July 7, 1915 – July 7, 2015)

“I didn’t know what poetry was until I heard her read ‘For My People.’”

“Reading Jubilee was a life changing experience for me.”

“I will never forget the speech she gave at my high school graduation.”

“Hers was the best class I took in college.”

People who are over 50 might make such comments. People under 50, however, are likely to have no such stories, no memories centered on Margaret Walker. She died in 1998, but had she lived, July 7, 2015 would have been her 100th birthday.  She would have celebrated royally, for nobody loved pomp and circumstance more than she did.

In Memoriam: John A. Williams (December 5, 1925 - July 3, 2015)

[by Matthew Broussard]

HBW mourns the loss of John A. Williams, who passed away on July 3, 2015.

John Alfred Williams was born on December 5, 1925, in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1950, he earned a B.A. from Syracuse University in English and journalism, and then Williams worked as a journalist for publications such as Ebony, Jet, CBS, and Newsweek. Williams later taught at the City University of New York, the University of California-Santa Barbara, Boston University, and Rutgers University where he was the Paul Robeson Professor of English.

Williams was also a prolific and renowned author of fiction and nonfiction.