We’re proud to celebrate Black History Month in February 2011. As an American-based magazine, we celebrate along with the rest of the country. Since our publication focuses on the literary, we decided a long time ago to extend the usual canon of dead white men to include all those who made literary contributions to our country. Thus, in preparation for Black History Month in two weeks, we’d like to take a minute to reflect on our articles that highlight the black literary canon and black history.
When I take submissions, I look for articles with unique perspectives and ideas, and the following article precisely hit the mark. From Turkmenistan to America: How I Found Langston Hughes by Sam Tranum describes how Hughes not only lit up the US, but also excited a classroom full of students learning English in Turkmenistan. And there’s a surprise ending I never saw coming.
We also have two articles entitled A New Kind of Renaissance: Touring Harlem and The Studio Museum in Harlem Presents Africa Comics. Both articles focus on the second “renaissance” of Harlem today and how black history still resonates through the streets in the northern part of Manhattan.
Literary Traveler also extends the African experience to other parts of the world with our articles on legendary black writers and African folktales. Check out The Oral Literary Tradition of Ghana: Folklore & Proverbs by Hannah May, who visits Ghana to discover her literary roots.
So take this icy and extremely cold day to explore black literary history. We wish all of our literary travelers a reflective and introspective Black History Month for February 2011.
~ Jennifer
