Archive - History of Black Writing Blog
The Banner image for the HBW Blog, which was published from 2011-2021.
Black Literary History Making
The HBW Blog published regularly for ten years from 2011-2021 at the URL https://projecthbw.ku.edu. During that time, it served as a major forum for the exchange of information and ideas, as well as a robust network for scholars, teachers, and students from different disciplines around the world.
Guest contributors include leading scholars and writers, but most of the posts were conceived of, researched, and written by HBW's staff of undergraduate and graduate students. Its content consists of feature editorials, book reviews, memorials, and coverage of HBW programming. Altogether, 95 writers contributed more than 750 posts.
The HBW Blog Archive is searchable by topic, month and year, and contributor name.
| Blog Post/Link | Date |
|---|---|
| Exploring the Tight Bond between Music and Poetry Whether found in Amiri Baraka mimicking piano chords in “In Walked Bud” or in quoting the 1970s Hit “Be Thankful for What You’ve Got (Diamond in the Back)” like Allison Joseph does in “Thirty Lines about the Fro,” music has a home in poetry. Melodic tunes tend to set the mood and evoke just the right feeling the poet needs to convey a story. The previous two examples and so many more exemplify this idea, but just as music enhances poetry, so too does the artistry of poetry add to music. Such is the case with rapper Kanye West’s “Never Let Me Down.” Whether found in Amiri Baraka mimicking piano chords in “In Walked Bud” or in quoting the 1970s Hit “Be Thankful for What You’ve Got (Diamond in the Back)” like Allison Joseph does in “Thirty Lines about the Fro,” music has a home in poetry. Melodic tunes tend to set the mood and evoke just the right feeling the poet needs to convey a story. The previous two examples and so many more exemplify this idea, but just as music enhances poetry, so too does the artistry of poetry add to music. Such is the case with rapper Kanye West’s “Never Let Me Down.” .. | |
| Musical Influences on Black Writing Music serves as a backdrop for black writing and informs character interactions, novel settings, reader responses to novels, short stories, and poetry. For instance, consider James Weldon Johnson’s the Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man and how issues of black identity were related to ragtime. .. | |
| Report of Black Literary Suite: New York Edition On, Thursday, October 6, 2011, The Project on the History of Black Writing (HBW) presented showing of selections from the “100 Novels” project in the Memorial Union, Governor’s Room. Black Literary Suite: New York Edition was the third public exhibit sponsored by the HBW. This is a walk-through, multimedia exhibit, allowed visitors to use MP3 players to listen to commentaries and view displays related to the period. .. | |
| Kevine Reeves–s.m.i.l.e. HBW Guest Blogger Kevin Reeves, in his blog post, reminds our readers of the importance of young writers having models. Reeves writes, “Young writers need models. Early in my apprenticeship my predecessors fed me greatly.” .. | |
| Colson Whitehead, zombies, and afrofuturism Colson Whitehead’s previous novel The Intuitionist and John Henry Days lent themselves to afrofuturist examinations. In particular, the novels covered issues about the intersections between race and mechanical technologies... | |
| Call to War: The Cancer Journals Phillis h. Rambsy is an attorney and educator. In addition to her work in the fields of law and education, Phillis also studies, writes, and speaks about theological issues as well as issues concerning health and wellness. Phillis is powerfully committed to encouraging individuals to attain lives that are spiritually, physically, and mentally healthy. .. | |
| Top 10 list for Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist Every year that I’ve assigned Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist, folks in the classes who have some initial difficulties with the book want to know what made me choose it. For some reason, I typically stumble through answers. Over the years, I’ve developed a list to that addresses their questions. I think. Perhaps. Maybe. .. | |
| The Coverage of…. Zone One By Colson Whitehead On February 1, Colson Whitehead announced on his twitter page: “Ok: My new book is called Zone One & it comes out 10/18. It concerns the rehabilitation of NYC after the apocalypse.” February 1, The GalleyCat blog (“The First Word on the Book Publishing Industry”) posted a short entry “Colson Whitehead Unveils New Novel on Twitter” by Jason Boog... | |
| Colson Whitehead & the Upper Floors “Literary reputations may not always rise and fall as predictably as elevators,” noted Gary Krist toward the end of a February 7, 1999 review of The Intuitionist. “But if there’s any justice in the world of fiction, Colson Whitehead’s should be heading toward the upper floors.”.. | |
| Colson Whitehead, Zone One, and Publishing History October 18, will mark the release of Colson Whitehead’s novel Zone One. His previous four novels and one work of creative non-fiction, The Colossus of New York have helped make him one of our leading literary figures. Whitehead has distinguished himself as a really inventive writer, and with this upcoming “zombie” novel, he seems to further stretch the boundaries of the kinds of topics that a prominent African American novelist might address... |