The National Black Writers Conference convenes at Brooklyn's Medgar Evers College

By Tanangachi Mfuni
Amsterdam News
(April 5, 2006) Hailing from Washington D.C., Mississippi, Texas and even England, writers, scholars, and publishers convened at Medgar Evers College for the eighth National Black Writers Conference (NBWC).

The conference opened last Thursday with a tribute to Chicago publisher Haki Madhubuti and Hurston-Wright Foundation founder Marita Golden for their singular efforts to advance Black literature.

Over 40 literati and 700 attendees participated in the four-day event, according to NBWC coordinator Dr. Brenda Greene, who heads the Center of Black Literature at Medgar Evers.

For seasoned writers, publishers and editors the conference was a bed to sow kernels of wisdom as well as an opportunity to size up the next generation of writers.

''I was impressed with the young writers and very impressed with where they're going with their work,'' said Madhubuti, among the notables who hosted seminars at the conference. Others present included Quincy Troupe, who conducted a poetry workshop, and husband and wife novelists Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, who sat on panels. Young adult author Walter Dean Meyers and Staceyann Chin of Def Poetry Jam were also on hand to host student workshops.

''Our conversations cut across generations,'' said Greene, who planned a diverse parcel of workshops and seminars. One seminar featured octogenarian writers who shared autobiographical sketches. In another, members of the Urban Word NYC Teen Poetry Slam performed spoken word selections.

Under the theme ''Black Literature: Expanding Conversations on Race, Identity, History and Genre,'' the conference took a closer look at quickly growing genres in Black literature.

The symposium ''Christian Literature: Is It Christian or merely cultural?'' invited Rev. Johnny Ray Youngblood among other panelists to discuss the phenomenon of Christian literature. Meanwhile writer Sheree Renee Thomas hosted a workshop exploring Black speculative fiction.

For up-and-coming artists like Clairesa Clay the conference provided a forum to meet authors long admired.

''To meet Samuel Delaney, to be in the presence of him and to know this person is just as human as I am is amazing,'' said an inspired Clay of the sci-fi novelist in attendance at NBWC.
Clay says exposure to other writers was beneficial: ''You see authentic models, role models, people who are still on that journey too.''

For longtime conference attendees like Troy Johnson, founder of the African American Literature Book Club (www.aalbc.com), the conference showcased Black literature often obscured from the public.

''So much good literature is out there but people aren't aware of it,'' Johnson said.

Still for others like poet Monica Hand, the conference was a time for introspection.

''I was really moved by the sense of responsibility [I have] as a writer and how important it is to build a bridge between social responsibility and personal [responsibility],'' said Hand.

Celebrating its eighth year, NBWC is becoming a mainstay in Brooklyn. This year the conference that named Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, its honorary chair received proclamations from Borough President Marty Markowitz and Council Members Letitia James and Charles Barron.

The literary fest was co-created nearly 20 years ago by the late novelist John Oliver Killens and Dr. Elizabeth Nunez, chair of Medgar Evers' English department. The AmNews was among the conference's media sponsors.

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