Killens Review of Arts & Letters
Overview
John Oliver Killens Chair
The Killens Review of Arts & Letters, published by the Center for Black Literature, is a journal dedicated to supporting the mission and work of the John Oliver Killens Chair. The objective of the Chair is to provide short residencies for literary writers/activists who embody the vision and spirit of the late John Oliver Killens. Through the Killens Review of Arts & Letters and the John Oliver Killens Chair, writers and students will have opportunities to create and expand the canon of literature produced by writers of color.
John Oliver Killens, author, activist, social critic, educator, and former writer-in-residence at Medgar Evers College, spent four decades writing and working to support Black writers and their work. He was the founder of the legendary Harlem Writers Guild, a workshop that strongly influenced such writers as Maya Angelou, Lonnie Elder, Paule Marshall, and Sarah E. Wright. Killens is probably best known for his first two novels, Youngblood (1954) and And Then We Heard the Thunder (1962), the latter of which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His other works include Black Man’s Burden (1965), collection of essays; ’Sippi (1967); The Cotillion: or, One Good Bull Is Half the Herd (1971), which was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and became the basis for the 1975 play Cotillion that was produced in New York by Woodie King’s New Federal Theatre; Great Gittin’ Up Morning: Biography of Denmark Vesey (1972); A Man Ain’t Nothin’ But a Man: The Adventures of John Henry (1975); and the posthumously published The Great Black Russian: The Life and Times of Alexander Pushkin (1988).
In addition to his novels, Killens also wrote for the cinema and the stage. He penned the screenplay for the 1969 film Slaves and authored the play Lower than the Angels, which was produced in New York in 1965. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1960 film Odds Against Tomorrow and co-authored the play Ballad of the Winter Soldier (1964).
In 1988, supporters of Killens, including Percy Sutton, Gwendolyn Brooks and others, provided seed money to establish the John Oliver Killens Chair at Medgar Evers College. The funds have been used by the Center for Black Literature since 2003 to support literary projects including the Elders Writers Project and a writers-in-residency program with renowned poet Sonia Sanchez.
Mission
“We want the world to be different. This is what we do every time we type one line on a page. We are out to change the world, to make people live better with each other. I can state it almost that simply.”
Author John Oliver Killens shared these inspiring words with an audience after a public reading for the publication of his landmark book Youngblood. In this spirit, The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College has launched the Killens Review of Arts & Letters, a twice-yearly literary journal dedicated to supporting the mission and work of the John Oliver Killens Chair at Medgar Evers College.
The Killens Review of Arts & Letters will include essays, short stories, creative nonfiction, art, poetry, and interviews by noted and emerging Black writers. It will provide established authors and artists, as well as emerging writers, poets and artists, and educators and students, opportunities to create and expand the canon of literature produced by writers of color. It is important that we continue to provide and remind the general public, students, faculty, and those in the literary and publishing communities about the significance of the broad range of works produced by Black writers.
Inaugural Issue, Spring/Summer 2010
“Let’s Do Lunch” by Herb Boyd
“Toni Morrison, Recreating the Master Narrative: An Essay”
“Why African-American Children’s Literature?” by Lynnette C. Velasco
Submission of Material
The Killens Review of Arts & Letters, a literary journal, seeks short stories, creative nonfiction, essays, poetry, and artwork related to the various cultural, sociopolitical, and historical experiences of writers and people of color from the African Disapora.
Please e-mail material to writers@mec.cuny.edu with “Killens Review” in the subject heading. Please include your name, telephone number, and e-mail address on the first page of your submisssion.
Or mail material to the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, 1650 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11225.
The Killens Review of Arts & Letters is published twice a year by The Center for Black Literature (CBL) at Medgar Evers College, of the City University of New York, 1650 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11225, 718-804-8883. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the CBL. The Killens Review of Arts & Letters cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or artwork.
The Center for Black Literature Staff
Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Executive Director, bgreene@mec.cuny.edu
Maeshay k. Lewis, Executive Assistant to Executive Director, mlewis@mec.cuny.edu
Clarence V. Reynolds, Assistant Director, Clarenciov@msn.com
Bernadette Sandy, Administrative Assistant, bsandy@mec.cuny.edu