Newspaper Page Text
November 30, 1978
Molefi
by Sheryl Harkness
A black South African journal
ist told a group of mass communi
cations majors recently that
communications is important in
his country, that even the most illi
terate person can understand what
is being said on the radio.
Joseph Molefi, senior reporter
for a Lesotho radio station said
that this small radio station is
about the only access the people in
his country have to keep up with
what’s happening in their country.
He is on a three-week tour in the
United States visiting small radio
stations to gain better understand
ing of their operations. His visit,
sponsored by the U. S. State
Department, was also made to help
better international relations
between the United States and
Africa.
Molefi, who is politically exiled
from South Africa, said he is
responsible for reporting the
majority of the news to the people
because there are a very few
trained in the media in Lesotho.
He said there is a problem in get
ting trained people, because there
is no school that teaches in the field
of journalism in Lesotho.
CCLM
by Wanda R. Stansbury
The minds of writers, editors,
publishers, distributors and money
people met in an effort to
disseminate and gather informa
tion and ideas on improving
magazine and book distribution,
funding literature and reviewing
contemporary literature, all which
questioned the viability of small
press publications.
The conference, sponsored by
the Coordinating Council of
Literary Magazines (CCLM), a
national non-profit organization
serving the small press community
began Friday, November 17 at
Spelman College with a poetry and
fiction reading by Southern writers
David Bottoms, Rosemary Daniell,
Larry Rubin and Ahmos ZuBol-
ton — and CCLM national board
members Rudolfo Anaya, Toni
Cade Bambara, member of
SCAAW AND PAMOJA, a
writer’s workshop, Joe David
Bellamy, Maureen Owen, and
Ishmael Reed. The reading also
introduced a young up and coming
writer, Joyce Winters a senior at
Spelman College and member of
PAMOJA, a writer’s workshop.
Dr. Carroll of Spelman’s English
Department was host for the
ocassion.
The conference resumed on
Saturday, November 18, at the
John F.Kennedy School and
Community Center Auditorium
with a discussion on the improve-
mentnt of magazine and book
distribution. With emphasis on
small distributorship, the panel,
made up of Ishmael Reed, head of
the national CCLM board of
directors, Suzanne, Zavarin,
Sandy, of CCLM and Ahmos
ZuBolton, writer/editor/publish
er/distributor, addressed the most
difficult question of publishing,
the how to’s of marketing small
press publications. Most everyone
agreed on the need for small press
publishers and distributors to
develop selective mailing lists for
direct-mail advertising, better
The Wolverine Observer
Page 3
“We Can Turn It Around”
by Wanda R. Stansbury
The National .Organization of
Black University and College Stu
dents (NOBUCS) sponsored a
number of events during its annual
conference at Morris Brown
College.
What probably (hopefully)
stuck in the mipds of most .of the
students was a message by, corn-
median/lecturer, Dick Gregory.
During a luncheon at Morris
Brown’s.Middleton Complex, Gre
gory addressed black college stu
dents from across the nation.
Opening on a humorous note and
staying on it seemingly longer than
usual, Gregory first gave me a feel
ing of uneasiness because I had
always thought that if Dick Greg
ory had nothing to say then some-
tiling was definitely wrong.
Finally relaxing my nerves, but
pinching other’s, Gregory pointed
out the need for organization and
told the NOBUCS audience that
“no other [groups] are as impor
tant as you.” As future leaders of
the' black community; doctors,
educators, lawyers, business per
sons, etc..., black college students
under the direction and leadership
of NOBUCS, have the power to
“turn it around,” said Gregory.
Not as a pessimist but as a real
ist, Gregory doubts that NOBUCS
will truly organize and make the
impact that they have the potential
to make. Pleading to other student
affiliated groups, fraternities and
sororities, to organize on a more
constructive, community-oriented
basis, a member of Alpha Phi
Alpha fraternity himself, Gregory
said “I don’t see what you’re
doing.” “We’ve been blind folded
and whipped for 200 years,” Gre
gory added. Why do we continue
to do it to each other?
“We can turn it around,” uttered
Gregory, throughout his presenta
tion. Through organization or at
least “setting the spirit for those to
come” we can develop “money
making strategies in the black com
munity” that will perpetuate “pro
duction and distribution” of our
own goods and services.
Gregory concluded that “all
black people make it at the expense
of other black people,” so not only
is it necessary for black students to
organize constructively for pur
poses of survival but we have “obli
gations” to black people.
For those that think they’re in
colleges and universities across the
country because of SAT scores and
government grants must think
again. The energy that it took to
get us in will be needed for us to
“turn it around.”
Conference
Mari Evans, celebrated poet, attends CCLM conference.
book store bargaining and other
marketing strategies. It was aslo
agreed that there is a definite need
for the funding of small press
publishing and distribution. The
funding topic set the mood for the
next workshop that moved to a
more informal setting.
The “Funding of Literature”
workshop, moderated by Toni
Cade Bambara, introduced money
sources. Participants included
Corinne Anderson, assistant
director, Georgia Council for the
Arts and Humanities, Joseph
Cummings, literary agent for the
Council, and Anthony Turney
director, Southern Arts Federa
tion who all addressed the need for
artist to submit more proposals for
projects funding. They all alluded
to the fact that there are funds
available but there aren’t enough
applications and proposals being
submitted. On the question of
national funding, Mr. Turney,
(SAF) pointed out that “Southern
artists must be more sophisticated
and aggressive in their submission
of proposals to national funding
organizations.” Representative of
the Atlanta Bureau of Cultural and
International Affairs were not on
hand but are making considerable
contributions to the Arts and
Humanities in Atlanta. Also on
that panel were recipients of past
grants Rosemary Daniell, Poet,
Teacher—Poets in the Schools;
Gene Ellis, Poetry Coordinator,
Callanwolde Fine Arts Center;
Norman Finkelstein, Editor,
Atlanta Writers Co-op; Kay Leigh
Hagen, Pinion Press, director,
Forrest Avenue Consortium; Fred
Schultz, Community Coordinator,
North Carolina Arts Commission;
Pat Watters, writer; and Helen C.
Smith, reporter, The Atlanta-
Journal-Constitution, who prom-
iseds to give the Literary Arts in
Atlanta that greatly needed
Southern exposure.
Like sand in a fan, reviews and
critiques serve as a source of
exposure for publications, how
ever the major (status quo) literary
review networks more than often
do not give small press publica
tions their due space. The “high
fallutin” panelists, promised by
Ishmael Reed, in the final
workshop, “On Reviewing Con
temporary Literature,” were
representative of those networks.
Doris Grumbach (Saturday Re
view), Richard Lingeman (New
York Times—Book Review)and
John Jacob (American Library
Association Booklist) were among
the panelist and ail admitted and
sympathized with the lack of
coverage (reviews) of the small
press community and its publica
tions expressed that the situation
was out of their hands. They also
added that the overlooking of
small press publications is not an
overt attempt to discredit them but
the quasi- censorship is a result of
satisfying a situation in which “the
bottom line is the dollar.”
Contrary to some of their views,
Hoyt Fuller (First World), another
panel member, and member of the
small press community, responded
to another variable that affects the
lack of or misrepresentation of
black publications, racism. In a
society where racism is rampant it
is highly improbable for it (racism)
not to exist in the writing/publish
ing/reviewing industry. Fuller also
questioned the credibility of white
critics reviewing black books
about black life and pleaded that
“at least once in a while” black
critics should have a chance to
review black books on black life.
The workshop was moderated
by Ronald Suzinick of CCLM.
Members of the Southern Collec-
tivee 6f African American Writers
(SCAAW) Osker Spicer, Gumbo
Communications, Instructor-Clark
College, Alice Lovelace, Publisher;
and Jamil F. el-Shair, Grio
Publications, were vocal partici
pants in each workshop.
Mari Evans noted poet and
novelist, who had conducted
previous readings and workshops
at Spelman College also attended
the workshops.
Many thanks to the Freedom
food Co-op food concession
during Saturday workshops.
The conference ended with a
wine and cheese bash at Spelman’s
Manley Student Center. Spelman’s
President and Mrs. Stewart were
on hand as well as the workshop
participants and other invited
guests who, after making contacts
and exchanging address, indulged
in the ceremonies of party chit
chat.
Note: Ishmael Reed, brilliant
editor/novelist/poet/ publisher,
will return to Spelman in February.
For information contact the
English Department.
Hoyt Fuller, publisher First World, CCLM panelist.