"So it was no surprise when a distinct mediocrity like Toni Morrison got the prize in 1993: an American, yes, which was a drawback, but at least Morrison was the right sex, the right color, and spouted the right opinions. Laureates like Toni Morrison, Dario Fo, and José Saramago cheapen the Nobel Prize." - found in the November 2004 Notes & Comments of the The New Criterion.

posted by zakia

You know that lovely and famous portrait: A Great Day in Harlem taken by photographer Art Kane? (Incidentally, it was recreated in 1998 with some 200 odd hip hop stars in a photograph commissioned by XXL Magazine and taken by the esteemed Gordon Parks.) Well, a new portrait of black British writers is drawing comparison.

posted by zakia

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

MIXED: An Anthology of Short Stories on the Multiracial Experience
(forthcoming from W.W. Norton – Fall 2006), edited by Chandra Prasad

Globally, the number of multiracial people is exploding. The United States alone currently counts over twenty million multiracial inhabitants. In states like California and Washington, more multiracial babies are born than any other race except Caucasian. Despite these facts, mixed-race people have long struggled for a distinct place on the identity map. It was only as recently as 2000 that the U.S. Census Bureau began to allow citizens to check off as many racial categories as are applicable—White, African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander. Previously, Americans were allowed to check off only one, leaving multiracial people invisible and unaccounted for.

Fortunately, a greater awareness of multiracial people is underway. MIXED serves to strengthen this awareness. Though multiracialism has recently become a popular aspect of many memoirs and novels, Mixed will be the first of its kind: a short story anthology with racial overlap as its compass.

I’m seeking submissions from both established and emerging writers who are themselves biracial or multiracial. Stories should be no fewer than 3000 words and no more than 6000. No poetry, nonfiction, or memoirs, please. Pieces should be original and unpublished. They should address either subtly or overtly what it is to be from a mixed-race background. This might mean the inclusion of a mixed-race character or the use of multiracialism as a metaphor or as a backdrop for other themes. Only the most deftly written, memorable, and compelling short fiction will be accepted—please don’t send work that is gratuitously violent, graphic, or didactic.

Writers whose stories are chosen will receive an honorarium. Please direct all inquiries and submissions (in the body of an email—no attachments will be opened) to Chandra Prasad at cprasad@snet.net. Please include, too, a brief biographical statement about your writing credentials and racial background. I look forward to reading your work!



posted by zakia

I'm heading to the YARI YARI PAMBERI: BLACK WOMEN WRITERS DISSECTING GLOBALIZATION Conferenc (OCTOBER 12-16, 2004) tomorrow and over the next couple of days. Check the site for more info owwa.org . Hope to see some folks there. Peace, Zakia Munirah

posted by zakia

I'm gearing up to reinvent coloredgirls and I'm looking for writers. Send me your pitches and queries on reviews of current literary fiction written by women of color (Asian, South Asian, African, Latina, black, international, etc.), critical essays on pop culture and interview ideas. Send email to wordgoddess@coloredgirls.com with your story ideas. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks Much, Zakia Munirah

posted by zakia

Alright, a few good books I've read recently: Caramba! : A Tale Told in Turns of the Card by Nina Maria Martinez. I got a review copy about a month or so back and I read it over the weekend. I really enjoyed it. I also read Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc. It was fascinating and depressing and exciting.
posted by zakia

This war is on my mind. Read coloredhoney's Dear Brown Women I Watched Fleeing the Bombs. via bklynvintage
posted by zakia

"Nowadays, with the president's brother a miscegenationist, and the right's favorite black man, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, married to a white woman, it's hard to find anybody who will publicly attack interracial romance, beyond the fringes of white supremacist Web sites -- and, of course, the popular black media. Take November's Essence magazine, a glossy geared to black women, which featured a major spread headlined "Bring me home a black girl" by contributing editor Audrey Edwards, laying out how and why she's indoctrinated her stepson not to date white women." Read. via Salon.


posted by zakia

Coming soon on coloredgirls.com, an interview with More Like Wrestling author Danyel Smith plus new book reviews! Peace.
posted by zakia

'"Couldn't Keep It To Myself," is a series of autobiographical stories written by 10 women at the Janet S. York Correctional Institution in Niantic who were participants in Lamb's writing workshop. The book details the women's lives and the events that led to their incarceration. It is scheduled for release at the end of the month.' Read. Via ctnow.com.

posted by zakia