15 Books Published by Medgar Evers College on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

This issue of the Killens Review of Arts & Letters stems from the theme of the 17th National Black Writers Conference: All That We Carry: Where Do We Go From Here? Inspired by questions posed by Dr. Tiya Miles, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other Black intellectuals who have emphasized the value of Black collective action, the long arc of the Black freedom struggle, and the non-linear nature of progress, the editorial team solicited writing and visual art that represents how Black communities move forward when all around us is in disarray. We asked Black creatives to submit work exploring the motifs of legacy, memory, inheritance, hope, and pessimism, with an orientation toward the future and future generations of Black peoples. Our contributors answered this call gorgeously.

Due to their abundant divergences, the pieces in this issue preclude a neat editorial introduction. Yet, Jasper Joyner’s poem, “san·ko·fa,” issues a directive that reverberates throughout the work featured: With discernment and care, we must go back and retrieve the memories of our collaboratively constructed pasts to face our present(s) and future(s) honestly. As essayist Roger S. Glass intimates, in “In My Ancestors’ Footsteps,” not even ignorance of history saves us from its influence.

Certainly, the study of history is facilitated by record-keeping. Several contributors, including Debra Jean Ambush whose art commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, remind us that Black archival practices are crucial. Creating and preserving historical records for ourselves, for our communities, and for posterity is one of our most pressing social responsibilities. However, we must remember that records also facilitate reckonings. As we relish the feelings of pride, hope, and reverence that these pieces evoke, I also want us to save room for the reality that inheritances, including well-intentioned gifts, often carry pain, violence, fear, and uncertainty about the future into the lives of their beneficiaries. The past, as our contributors highlight, is never to be romanticized.

Given the issue’s theme, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that my editorship marks a new leg of the journal’s history. Clarence V. Reynolds, the Killens Review’s longstanding Editor-in-Chief and Director of Literary Programs at the Center for Black Literature, has retired. Assuming his editorial title, I am simultaneously honored and apprehensive. The force of Clarence’s dedication, generosity, and brilliance means that I am inheriting a journal boasting a dynamic community of writers, artists, and, most important, readers. I have big shoes to fill.

Unequivocally, a deep consideration of the past also necessitates an acknowledgement of the journal’s namesake, John Oliver Killens. In addition to bequeathing us his oeuvre of Black literary genius, Killens mentored a community of Black writers who continue to carry his beliefs in the transformative power of Black writing and expressive culture. One of these heirs of Killens, Keith Gilyard, became my dissertation advisor. Like John Oliver Killens, Keith Gilyard served on the faculty in the English Department of Medgar Evers College, the same department in which I am undertaking a career in academia and the editorship of this journal.

Killens Review of Arts & Letters, Fall/Winter 2022-2023
Jubilee: A Celebration of Voices Throughout the African Diaspora

The Year 2020: Looking Back for Healing, Looking Forward with Hope

Since 2003, the Center has sponsored Tales of Our Times, the publication of the Dr. Edith Rock Writing Workshop for Elders, in collaboration with Siloam Presbyterian Church. The Elders Writing Workshop is “intended to preserve the memoirs of African Americans whose lives span a major part of the twentieth century and beyond.”

The writing workshop began as the Writing Project for Older African Americans with the purpose of gathering information from older Black Americans whose history is likely to be distorted or lost for lack of original documentation. The specific purpose of the writing workshop is to encourage older African Americans to recall the past and to help them turn their recollections into inspirational memoirs and stories. Many African Americans of older generations, some descendants of enslaved Africans, made huge sacrifices, such as leaving their families and migrating to other parts of the country with the hope of a better life; others faced challenges in the forms of discrimination, racism, and segregation during their journey and even after they were settled.

The workshops are designed to encourage elder African Americans to turn their memories into creative and original stories describing the ordinary experiences and events that have shaped their lives and contributed to our collective history. Workshop themes have included memories from World War II; remembrances of the Civil Rights Movement; recollections of the founder of Siloam Presbyterian Church, one of the Brooklyn churches used in the Underground Railroad; and memories of international travels.

This is their 5th anthology. Their stories reveal the roots of American culture, as we know it today. Their stories in turn become our history.

Killens Review of Arts & Letters, Fall/Winter 2021
The Beautiful Struggle

The tumultuous events that have occurred over the past eighteen months are inconceivable. With the global health pandemic, national and international issues of racial and social unrest making headlines, life as we knew it has been drastically altered. The Fall/Winter 2021 issue of the Killens Review of Arts & Letters explores the ways in which writers, poets, and artists of various genres found inspiration over the past year and a half when matters of personal safety and self-preservation, affected by nationwide and world affairs, became a primary concern.

This inspiring issue includes an essay from Dr. Richard Gillum that offers a perspective on structural racism and the legacy of slavery in health care; filmmaker, author and poet S. Pearl Sharp shares her account of an experience she had while engaging with a “house-less” woman in Los Angeles; and Nathaniel G. Nesmith shares his interview with legendary visual artist Otto Neals during the lockdown. The issue also includes an excerpt from The Minister Primarily, a previously unpublished novel that was written in the 1960s by the late masterful storyteller John Oliver Killens. Among the visual work in the issue, are works from artists include Stacey Billups, who said, “During that time of uncertainty, creating artwork helped to ease my anxieties about the events that were occurring both globally and locally. I was motivated to create works that evoke those emotions that center us through our struggles, love, joy, togetherness, and serenity.”

This is the most current issue. View a pdf of the cover and table of contents

Fall / Winter 2019 “Playwrights and Screenwriters at the Crossroads.”

The Fall 2019 edition of the Killens Review of Arts & Letters: Life at a Crossroads stems from the theme of the 2019 and the upcoming 15^th National Black Writers Conference: “Playwrights and Screenwriters at the Crossroads.” The goal of this edition of the Killens Review was to invite contemporary writers across literary genres, poets who work in various forms, and artists who create in various mediums to share the ways in which they meditate on facing a challenging time in their lives and find ways to resolve these challenges. As we continue to face political, social and economic upheavals in our communities, countries and beyond, the writers and artists in this issue of the Killens Review of Arts and Letters provide us with ways to move forward.

The adage “The more things change, the more thy remain the same” is fitting when we step back and take a look at the current social and political climate. It’s 2019, and as we commemorate 400 years of the beginning of American slavery and celebrate the milestones that have been achieved there is still much hard work to be done in the constant battle against the inequalities and injustice that peoples of the African diaspora face in order to have our diverse cultural, beliefs, and humanity recognized and respected for the richness they brings to the world.

View a pdf of the cover and table of contents

Fall / Winter 2018 “Gathering at the Waters Vol. II”

The Fall/Winter 2018 issue of the Killens Review of Arts & Letters continues with the theme from Fall/Winter 2017, “Gathering at the Waters,” and presents stories and artwork that explore ways in which writers and artists express interrelationships between family and community. This issue features an excerpt from the panel discussion “Gathering at the Waters: A Call for Healing” that took place during the 2018 National Black Writers Conference. It gives only a glimpse of the dynamic conversations that were centered on the ways writers see literature as a healing mechanism. There is also a short story from How Are You Going to Save Yourself, the compelling and hilarious debut collection by author JM Holmes. Also in this issue are captivating images from photographers Shawn W. Walker and Christopher Lopez, who were inspired by the importance of sharing ideas and messages of healing. A selection of original fiction and poetry round out the issue.

Fall / Winter 2017 “Gathering at the Waters Vol. I”

As we honor the centennial birth of poet, mentor, and humanitarian Gwendolyn Brooks this past year, her poem “Paul Robeson” reminds us of the importance and interconnectedness of family and community. She ends the poem saying:

…that we are each other’s
harvest: we are each other’s
business: we are each other’s
magnitude and bond.”

The theme of “Gathering at the Waters” connotes bringing together family and communities to look at the ways in which we affect and are part of each other’s lives. The Fall/Winter 2017 issue of the Killens Review explores “connecting family through literature and art” in the works of Black writers and features narratives that tell of healing, nurturing, cleansing, and reflection in the times we live in. The issue offers an excerpt from Whatever Happened to Interracial Love?, a collection of poignant short stories that were written by the late Kathleen Collins, who was known for her groundbreaking film Losing Ground The issue also includes fiction by J. Malcolm Stewart and an excerpt from Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lines by Dick Gregory. Spotlighted is photography by Texas Isaiah, who was named one of the “12 African American Photographers You Should Follow Right Now” in Time magazine, and work of award-winning painter Njideka Akunyili Crosby.

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.

Fall / Winter 2015 “Memory and Myth”

Memories have a magical power: they can stir our imaginations and deepest emotions.

For this issue, we invited writers and artists to explore themes of cultural and social memory as well as myth in literature and art. Several poets, novelists, and artists recounted and shared memories about ancestors and feelings that are deeply meaningful to their lives. As far as myths were concerned, some examined and unearthed mythical ideas that exist in certain cultures and they present¬ed stories and imagery in lyrical and imaginative ways for readers to interpret. Included in this issue is the essay “What’s in a Name?” by W. B. Garvey; a touching story titled “How to Write Your Grandmother’s Obituary’ by Irvin Weathersby; and poetry by Ursula Rucker, Julian Randall, and E.J. Antonio. The Portfolio “The Synergy of Myth and Memory” spotlights the photography of Moses Djeli.

Author and poet Tracy K. Smith notes that wanting to write about her mother’s death was the impetus for her newly released memoir, Ordinary Light. The late Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez said that “the heart’s memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good.”

Every age has created myths to help us understand the mysteries of the universe and the human condition. Mythologists and writer Joseph Campbell inform us that myths are public dreams and that dreams are private myths.

In the Fall 2015 issue of the Killens Review of Arts & Letters, we to explore the theme of cultural and social memory and myth in literature and art.

Spring / Summer 2015 “The Next Wave”

With this issue of the Killens Review, we consider “The Next Wave” of writers and artists whose works are in some way influenced by today’s cultural, social, and political issues. In the essay “Calling Me by My Name,” Sophfronia Scott looks back at her name and she reminds us of the importance of taking a deep look at ourselves and that this oftentimes can begin with our name. Reflecting on the poetry of Langston Hughes and Jayne Cortez, Todd Craig connects contemporary music to their timeless poetry. Author and poet Quincy Troupe shares the seed of a work whose idea first came first to him during a trip to Guadeloupe years ago and that he had set aside until recently. Also included in this issue, along with our selection of poetry and visual art by Titus Kaphar and Kia Chenelle Dyson, are excerpts from The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson and Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga by Pamela Newkirk.

In 1926, Langston Hughes noted that “We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame … We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves.”

It’s been nearly 90 years since Hughes offered his credo, and writers across the African diaspora have been and continue to create bold and imaginative narratives in works covering a wide range of genres that have fulfilled his call.

Fall / Winter 2014 “Bring It Forward: Activism In Literature Today”

The Fall 2014 issue of the Killens Review acknowledges the importance of the literary works of writers and poets whose works were shaped by tumultuous times in our society. In a series of essays, writers Keith Gilyard, Rashidah Ismaili, and Arthur Flowers reflect on the work of author John Oliver Killens, who truly believed in the power of the written word. In her essay “Octavia E. Butler: A Biblical Parable Theorist,” Rev. Richetta Najuma Amen offers an engaging perspective on the works of Butler and the spiritual and layered meanings represented in her powerful and cautionary narratives. Our look at the Kamoinge Collective is also noteworthy, as the group of renowned photographers celebrated its five decades of camaraderie and sharing of beautiful and positive images last year. Also included in this issue is an original short story about gratitude by writer Lorna Goodison; an excerpt from novel Into the Go-Slow by Bridgett M. Davis; and Dr. Ron Daniels provides a poignant essay on the unjustified killings of young, Black men in America.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the late John Oliver Killens was considered a premiere writer-activist. While many of his books, such as Youngblood, reflect honest and realistic portrayals of African-American experiences, there was also the vibrant tone of activism in his telling of the story. Literature and art and politics may have their own distinctive ideals; however, when combined with an activist spirit at its heart the resulting work is powerful and memorable.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision,and this summer marks the 50th anniversary of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Mississippi Summer Project, known as Freedom Summer, in which civil rights organizations including the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized a voter registration drive aimed at increasing voter registration in Mississippi. More than 1,000 people exhibited their activists’ spirit and voices to oppose social and racial injustice in the South.

Thinking back on these historic events in which activism was galvanized, it calls for reflection upon the ways activism has impacted art and literature – then and now.

Fall / Winter 2013 “Impact Beyond Boundaries”

Out of Print

In March 2012, poet, essayist, and activist Louis Reyes Rivera made his transition. Rivera published four books, including Scattered Scripture (1996), for which he received the 1997 poetry award from the Latin American Writers Institute. He also edited and contributed to more than 200 published books, and coedited Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam with Tony Medina. We honor the courageous spirit and mission of the late Rivera in this edition with the essay “On the Passing of a Major Revolutionary Poet, Louis Reyes Rivera,” by Tony Medina. The issue also explores how our natural surroundings and the environment inform the literature that we write. We also present a story by Stephanie Powell Watts, winner of the 2012 Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence for her debut novel, We Are Taking Only What We Need. We also feature artwork by Elvira Clayton, along with new fiction and poetry.

LUIS REYES RIVERA PHOTOGRAPHED BY GEORGE MALAVE

Feature: What Do You Do to Help Change the
World? by Louis Reyes Rivera
Essay: On the Passing of a Major Revolutionary Poet,
Louis Reyes Rivera by Tony Medina
Tribute: To Louis Reyes Rivera by Tony Mitchelson and Angela Kinamore
Feature: Black Writers Reflect on Ecoliterature by Brenda M. Greene, Ph.D. (Read)
Essay: Rescue Missions and Environmental Justice in Toni Cade Bambara’s The Salt Eaters by Barbara J. Webb
Portfolio: Artist Elvira Clayton
Interview: Stephanie Powell Watts by Clarence V. Reynolds (Read)
Fiction: Family Museum of the Ancient Postcards by Stephanie Powell Watts
Feature: Excerpt from Gypsy & The Bully Door by Nina Angela Mercer
Poetry: by Dana Crum and Keisha-Gaye Anderson
Fiction: 1980 When We Were Kinds in JA by Sean Anderson

Fall / Winter 2012 “Reconstructing the Master Narrative”

The Fall 2012 issue offers stimulating dialogue on the topic of the expanding master narrative.

Essay: “Henry Dumas and John Oliver Killens: Activism Across Generations” by Jeffrey Leak (Read)
Fiction: “Arc of Bones” by Henry Dumas
Portfolio: Artist David Graves
Feature: Selected Proceedings from the 2010 National Black Writers Conference by Brenda+M.+Greene, Ph.D. (Read)
Feature: Black Writers Reconstructing the Master Narrative (Read)
Feature: The Impact of Hip-Hop and Popular Culture in the Literature of Black Writers
Poetry: By Tracy K. Smith
Portfolio: Jean-Michel Basquiat: A Dedication to His Growth as an Artist by Javaka Steptoe
Tribute: To Lynnette Velasco
Fiction: My Own Flesh and Blood by Ngwah-Mbo Nana Nkweti

Henry Dumas photograph courtesy of the Henry Lee Dumas Estate: Eugene B. Redmond, literary executor.Copyright 1968-2012 by Loretta Dumas and Eugene B. Redmond

Fall / Winter 2010 “The Power of Voice”

Out of Print

This issue of the Killens Review takes a look at the power and beauty of just a few voices that speak to us, for us, and about us. There is an exclusive interview with the late Obie Award-winning playwright Ntozake Shange, who shares the passions that drive her. A selection of poems by Carolyn M. Rodgers; and professor, poet and essayist Geoffrey Jacques takes a look at one aspect of the dynamic works by Amiri Baraka, “In the Tradition.” Photographer Jules Allen displays his voice through a series of captivating images.

Table of Contents

Essay: “Amiri Baraka and Poetic Obscurity” by Geoffrey Jacques
Interview: A Conversation with Ntozake Shange by Brenda M. Greene, Ph.D. (Read)
Excerpt: Some Sing, Some Cry by Notzake Shange and Ifa Bayeza
Poetry: A Rich Voice in Verse: Poems by Carolyn M. Rodgers; Movement by Keisha-Gaye Anderson
Portfolio: Photographer Jules Allen
Fiction: Ms. Cuffee by Sean Anderson

Spring / Summer 2010 “The World of Book Publishing”

Out of Print

The inaugural issue of the Killens Review of Arts & Letters was presented at the Tenth National Black Writers Conference, in 2010. Killens Review of Arts & Letters is a biannual, peer-reviewed journal that includes creative nonfiction, essays, poetry, short stories, art and photography by established writers and artists as well as works of newly discovered writers and those whose works have been overlooked in the Western literary canon. Published by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Eves College, the journal broadens the landscape of literary works produced by writers of the African diaspora.

The Killens Review of Arts & Letters was named for literary activist, author, and professor John Oliver Killens

Table of Contents

• Feature: Let’s Do Lunch by Herb Boyd
• Feature: A Select List of Literary Agents
• Feature: Ebb and Flow in Black Publishing by David Hatchett
• Excerpt: John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism by Keith Gilyard
• Essay:Toni Morrison: Recreating the Master Narrative by Brenda M. Greene, Ph.D.
• Excerpt: Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden
• Essay: Why African-American Children’s Literature? by Lynnette Velasco
• Feature: Blogging: The Democratization of News by Candice Newberry