lectures

A Celebration of James Baldwin – A 20th Century Masters Tribute: an event sponsored by the writers group PEN American Center, in collaboration with the New Yorker magazine and the Schomburg Center, and included presentations by novelists Chinua Achebe, Russell Banks and John Edgar Wideman, critic Hilton Als, poet Amiri Baraka, scholar Eleanor Traylor, and biographers Arnold Rampersad and David Leeming, as well as readings by poet and performer Carl Hancock Rux, photographs by Sedat Pakay, and an archival recording of James Baldwin singing “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.”

A Celebration of James Baldwin – A 20th Century Masters Tribute

Amiri Baraka reads “Rhythm Travel” at the 2008 Beyond Margins Celebration.


Amiri Baraka Reads “Rhythm Travel”

The celebrated poet reads the seminal letter of political protest, in which she became the first and only person to date to refuse the highest honor bestowed upon an artist on behalf of the people. Background and discussion: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/05/16/adrienne-rich-national-medal-of-arts-letter/

Adrienne Rich declines the National Medal of Arts, 1997

PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world.  Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.


A Celebration of James Baldwin – A 20th Century Masters Tribute

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