The Black Arts Movement in Chicago

62:04/63:01/02

Summer/Fall 2019

$20.00

The Black Arts Movement in Chicago—

 

Andrew Peart, Eric Powell & Gerónimo Sarmiento Cruz, Editors, Preface

“This special feature gathers documents from, and critical assessments of, the history and legacies of the Black Arts Movement (BAM) in Chicago. It makes no pretense to being comprehensive, or even representative, of BAM as a whole. Rather, we hope that it marks a beginning: of further dialogue; of the recovery of important texts and under-recognized figures; of continued celebration of and critical assessment of the richness and importance of BAM in Chicago, nationally, and internationally.”

Visit the BAM Web Companion to read selections from the issue, and to check out various supplementary materials, including photos, videos, and several music playlists.

Angela Jackson, Angels and Tricksters: Looking Back on the Black Arts Movement and Measuring Its Impact Now

David Lionel Smith, People You Need to Know

Andrew Peart, “And the translations began again”: Spiritual Exercises of Carolyn M. Rodgers 

Carolyn M. Rodgers, Translation Part One

Abdul Alkalimat, How OBAC Was Born: A Personal Memoir

Abdul Alkalimat, The Poetic Genius of Amus Mor 

Amus Mor, When Saxes Were King; Kiss of Creation; The Coming of John

Haki R. Madhubuti & Lasana D. Kazembe, A New Music Screaming in the Sun: Haki R. Madhubuti and the Nationalization/Internationalization of Chicago’s BAM

Haki R. Madhubuti, But He Was Cool or: he even stopped for green lights; The B Network; Claiming Language, Claiming Art

Thulani Davis, Thoughts Returned from Exile on Black Case Vol. I & II

Joseph Jarman, from Black Case Volume I & II: Return from Exile

Harmony Holiday, In Memory of His Seasons: Some Notes on Joseph Jarman and Our Terribleness

Kinohi Nishikawa, Reframing Blackness: The Installation Aesthetic of In Our Terribleness

John H. Bracey Jr., Black Chicago: Reflections on Art and Politics During the Era of Civil Rights and Black Liberation

Ayana Contreras, To Be Free: The Intergenerational Spirit of Black Chicago’s Creative Scene

Africa & Maggie Brown, Introductory Notes on the Texts of Oscar Brown Jr. 

Oscar Brown Jr., My Mission Is to Shine a Light on the World; Gang Gone Good; from Oscar Brown Jr.’s Memoir of Opportunity Please Knock: Working with the Blackstone Rangers; Grace of God; Music: The Liberating Force

Garin Cycholl, “a contract with/distance”: The Epic Shape of Sterling Plumpp’s Blues Lyric

Sterling Plumpp, Poet; Ritual; Language; Celebration

Reginald Gibbons, Remarks on the Passing of Cyrus Colter 

Cyrus Colter, After the Ball, Letter to Helen R. Houston

David Grundy, “everything that you do”: On the Poetry of Cecil Taylor 

Marguerite L. Harrold, Growing Up in Chicago House Music

Thabiti Lewis, Making A Documentary about Chicago and the Black Arts Movement: A Collaborative Effort

Accompanied by a visual portfolio that presents posters, photos, and manuscripts of the Black Arts Movement.

 

Poetry—

 

avery r. young, from skyscraper(s) & erything

Valerie Hsiung, from Outside Voices, Please

Daniel Woody, Black in America

Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Pegasus; Darkness

Cole Swensen, Garden of Ghosts; Birds

Aaron Coleman, Anthrophotograph; Collision Test Fool

Cai Qijiao, translated by Edward Morin, Dennis Ding & Fang Dai, A New Spring; A Poem that Wrote Itself

Yadollah Royai, translated by Kaveh Bassiri, Desert Stone; Forugh Farrokhzad’s Stone; Al-Razi’s Stone; Closed Umbrellas 

Huang Fan, translated by Margaret Ross, Blanket; Hat; Spoons; Nanjing Night Song

Marguerite L. Harrold, War Diary; Tea & Crumpets; For the Elder at the Velvet Lounge; Apprentice 

Tyrone Williams, Imperfect Angel

 

Fiction—

 

Anthony Reed, Listenings 

Reggie Scott Young, Overcomed

 

Letterbox—

 

Joshua Pollock, On the Infrarrealistas Issue and José Vicente Anaya

 

 

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