Killens Review of Arts & Letters (Fall& /& Winter 2016): Embracing Difference

Fall& /& Winter 2016 “Embracing Difference”

Under the theme “Embracing Difference,” the Spring 2016 Killens Review includes works that center race and differ¬ence in the works of writers and artists. Featured writers include N. K. Jemisin, Victoria Brown and David Barclay Moore along with artists Andre Wagner and Llanor Alleyne whose narratives and artwork embrace race and differences from the perspective of politics, sexual identity, history, and cultural heritage. Our 13th National Black Writers Conference, which formed the backdrop for this issue, provided a forum for conversations that underscored ways in which writers stand determined in their mindset and commitment to create both imaginative and impactful stories while working under challenging sociopolitical circumstances.

The recent death of James Alan McPherson, the first Black writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, for his 1978 anthology Elbow Room, is a reminder that writers of the African diaspora have been “writing race and embracing difference&tdquo; for decades.