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Nafisa_goma Regular Poster Username: Nafisa_goma
Post Number: 232 Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) | Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 04:57 pm: |
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34th Annual African Literature Association Conference (ALA) Western Illinois University April 22nd-27th LINK: http://www.wiu.edu/ALA2008/ Last year's "FIRST FEATURED WRITER" was NAWAL EL SADAAWI, Egypt and the year before that CHINUA ACHEBE ---this year the "FIRST FEATURE WRITER" chosen by the association President is KOLA BOOF! Only 7 Featured Writers are chosen to make KEYNOTE ADDRESSES, so this Kola's highest honor ever to not only be chosen, but chosen "FIRST FEATURE WRITER". 6,000 Black/African Scholars from around the world attend the conference each year. DETAILS: The 34th Annual African Literature Association Conference April 22 - 27, 2008 Conference Theme: “African and African Diaspora Women Writers, Global Challenges and Cultural Identity” Subthemes *African Literature and Human Rights *African Language Literature, Cinema and the Global Hegemony *Readers, reading and (critical) interpretations *Viewing Gender through the Lens of African Literature *Women in Literature, Film & Cinema, and the Media *African Literature, Environment Politics and HIV/AIDS Crisis in Africa *African Immigrant and New World writers: British, French, Italian, German and other European and American/Latin American *Pedagogy in African and African Diaspora Literatures *Indigenous African Theorizing: Oral Traditions and the Arts *The opportunities and challenges of the digitally connected globe: African literature, culture and performance *Children’s Literature in African Traditions *Any other interesting topics in the wider discipline of African and African Diaspora literature The ALA 2008 conference theme celebrates the creativity, versatility, and vibrancy of Women of Africa and the African Diaspora by foregrounding their writings, oratures, and creative imaginations through all forms of literary genres, performance explorations, cultures, languages, styles, critical paradigms and more. Yet, this conference, in accordance with ALA tradition, is open to all the areas and approaches of literatures from Africa and its diaspora, in all its traditions and interdisciplinary scholarships. http://www.wiu.edu/ALA2008/
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Nom_de_plume Regular Poster Username: Nom_de_plume
Post Number: 64 Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) | Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 01:49 am: |
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I read that Kola was or will be at Hue-Man bookstore up in Harlem real soon, and am going to try to see this devil in the flesh. *chuckle* Will she be posting again in the meantime? Which of her books do you recommend I start with? |
Nom_de_plume Regular Poster Username: Nom_de_plume
Post Number: 65 Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) | Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 01:53 am: |
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Oh, and that panel reminds me of a Baldwin essay I read about a similar conference in Paris that he attended. It's called Princes and Powers! Sounds interesting. |
Nafisa_goma Regular Poster Username: Nafisa_goma
Post Number: 234 Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) | Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 11:14 am: |
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Hello Nom_de_plume, I work very closely with Kola Boof. Kola is not appearing at HueMan Bookstore, she is appearing at the Schomburg Center on Sept. 16th at 4 pm in the Langston Hughes Hall. Kola always recommends that people read "Flesh and the Devil" first as it's her most accessible book but still literary. No, from what she told me, she won't be posting anymore.
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Nafisa_goma Regular Poster Username: Nafisa_goma
Post Number: 235 Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) | Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 11:24 am: |
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Nom_de_plume, The ALA Conference is held in different countries at a different University each year, so it's very likely that James Baldwin was at the ALA Conference in Paris as you stated. Two years ago they held the conference in Ghana. The "Featured Writers" are by INVITATION ONLY and are chosen by the University's Conference President, so Kola got picked by the college, Western Illinois University who is hosting it in 2008. |
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