Conversations in Color: Life and Legacy of Chester Himes w/Nancy Dixon, Michael Zell, and Jerry Ward скачать в хорошем качестве

Conversations in Color: Life and Legacy of Chester Himes w/Nancy Dixon, Michael Zell, and Jerry Ward

Recorded December 7, 2017. Conversations in Color is a free public cultural series created by the Amistad Research Center that features artists, educators, and community activists in talks about their work and its impact on social change. www.amistadresearchcenter.org The Life and Legacy of Chester Himes Considered the most influential author of African American detective fiction, the legacy of writer Chester Himes rests not only on his series of detective novels known as the Harlem Cycle, but on his entire oeuvre, which addressed themes that spoke to the turbulence of twentieth century America: the brutality of prison, miscegenation and sex, labor and race relations, and corruption. Himes was one of the most prolific Black writers of his time, yet he remains one of the least recognized in the United States, especially compared to his contemporaries Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison. Dr. Jerry Ward will be joined in a conversation with Nancy Dixon and Michael Zell about the legacy of Chester Himes and his place within African American literature. This event is being held in conjunction with the exhibition of Chester Himes’ papers, Lonely Crusade: The Life and Work of Chester Himes, currently on display at the Amistad Research Center. About Nancy Dixon Nancy Dixon is the Executive Editor of the New Orleans Tricentennial book, New Orleans and the World. She has written several articles and two books on New Orleans literature, N.O. Lit: 200 Years of New Orleans Literature (Lavender Ink, 2013) and Sallie Rhett Roman and the Times-Picayune, which won the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Book of the Year Award in 2000. In 2015, she received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, “Defining, Documenting, and Teaching Creole Culture.” Dr. Dixon is the Program Coordinator and professor of English at Dillard University. About Michael Zell Michael Allen Zell is a noted New Orleans-based writer. He is two books (Run Baby Run and Law & Desire) into his Bobby Delery series of New Orleans crime fiction/social novels, of which the L.A. Review of Books praised, "He delivers a successful entertainment, taking a buzz saw to the glamorous city New Orleans has purported to have become since Katrina, shining a light on the city’s myth, and, more globally, on the myth of authenticity." Roland Jefferson, the author of The School on 103rd Street said, "Run Baby Run shows the excellent writing and story-telling ability of Michael Allen Zell. A most enjoyable read." His first play, What Do You Say To A Shadow?, was named a 'Top 10 Play of the Year' in 2013 by the Times Picayune. His first novel Errata was named a Times-Picayune 'Top 10 Book of 2012'. He has lived in New Orleans since 2003. About Jerry Ward Jerry W. Ward, Jr., a retired Professor of English, Richard Wright scholar, and literary critic, lives in New Orleans. He taught for 32 years at Tougaloo College and 10 years at Dillard University. He has been the recipient of numerous professional honor and teaching awards. He was inducted into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent in 2001 and received the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award from the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration in 2011. A founding member of the Richard Wright Circle and co-editor of Redefining American Literary History (1990), Black Southern Voices (1992), The Richard Wright Encyclopedia (2008), and The Cambridge History of African American Literature (2011), he compiled and edited the anthology Trouble the Water: 250 Years of African American Poetry (Mentor, 1997). His poems and essays can be found in many journals. His most recent book is FRACTAL SONG:Poems ( Black Widow Press 2016). Work –in-progress includes Reading Race Reading America (social and literary essays), and Richard Wright: One Reader’s Responses. About Amistad Research Center: The Amistad Research Center (ARC) is committed to collecting, preserving, and providing open access to original materials that reference the social and cultural importance of America's ethnic and racial history, the African Diaspora, human relations, and civil rights. ARC houses more than 800 collections, including:15 million original manuscripts and rare documents ranging from the 1780s to present;2,000+ periodicals dating from the early 19th century; 250,000 photographs dating from 1859; 400+ oral histories by musicians, civil rights activists, writers, military figures and community members;400 works of African and African American art, including works by several internationally renowned 19th and 20th century African American masters; and 25,000+ monographs, books, articles and dissertations on the history of African-American and ethnic groups.