Boston 21-23 March
After Philadelphia, I travelled to Boston for the NeMLA conference on the overnight train from Philadelphia again – and yes, more snow, but at least it was already stacked up on the side and I didn’t have to fight through it.
I had a taxi driver who tried, as they all did to make me feel guilty, (so that I will feel compelled to give a larger tip – doesn’t work) by declaring how heavy my case was when they picked it up. It was less than the air flight ‘standard’ of 23 kg a – I’ve carried heavier.
But this driver turned out to be a Sierra Leonean – we taled cassava leaves in coconut oil – his favourite, like mine is crain-crain. I was making him feel homesick he said.
There is a Sierra Leonean restaurant in Boston – in Dudley he told me. I asked him how he had ended up in Boston and as I suspected, had left the country because of the civil war – he’d gone to The Gambia first – Umaru was excited that I knew the country – he’d been a dj there in between his Sa Lone and Boston life – his second home he called it and would love to go back. So we parted, friendly, and he even carried my bags to the door of Anthony’s Town House for me – so much different from the experience I’d had at the beginning of the month, when a taxi driver in Boston stated that it wasn’t possible to take my cases out of his trunk because I didn’t have enough cash for a tip.
I spent most of the rest of the day finishing my paper. I had originally wanted and agreed to be on the Black British Women Poets panel and then had decided to also submit an abstract to the Dubois panel too. I read the outline of the proposal – not a sniff of internationalism or Pan Africanism which, if nothing else, is what I knew Dubois to be passionate about – so I sent in an abstract titled :‘Father of Pan Africanism’: The Soul of Dubois is in Ghana, not in America.
They liked it; accepted it – then I had to write it! Thanks to Nana-Essi Casely-Hayford and Akilah Karima whose powerful personal statements and stories helped me to frame my discussion; and thanks to Kwame Dawes too, who reminded me that there were other and earlier ‘fathers’ (mothers too more like, although ‘invisible). I made reference to those too, and referenced Nkrumah calling Dubois this name. Another timely reminder from publisher Woeli Dekutsey who said to me that unless we have literature for young people on our leaders, their work will not be remembered. He has recently written a book for young people on Nkrumah’s life and achievements. He said, “As for DuBois, on your next trip to Accra, just stop the next student in the street and quiz him/her about DuBois and you’ll be shocked!”
I started my paper reading the first half of the poem, “Ghana Calls’ :
Ghana Calls
By W. E. B. Du Bois
(Dedicated to Kwame Nkrumah)
I was a little boy, at home with strangers.
I liked my playmates, and knew well,
Whence all their parents came;
From England, Scotland, royal France
From Germany and oft by chance
The humble Emerald Isle.
But my brown skin and close-curled hair
Was alien, and how it grew, none knew;
Few tried to say, some dropped a wonderful word or stray;
Some laughed and stared.
And then it came: I dreamed.
I placed together all I knew
All hints and slurs together drew.
I dreamed.
I made one picture of what nothing seemed
I shuddered in dumb terror
In silence screamed,
For now it seemed this I had dreamed;
How up from Hell, a land had leaped
A wretched land, all scorched and seamed
Covered with ashes, chained with pain
Streaming with blood, in horror lain
Its very air a shriek of death
And agony of hurt.
Anon I woke, but in one corner of my soul
I stayed asleep.
Forget I could not,
But never would I remember
That hell-hoist ghost
Of slavery and woe.
I lived and grew, I worked and hoped
I planned and wandered, gripped and coped
With every doubt but one that slept
Yet clamoured to awaken.
I became old; old, worn and gray;
Along my hard and weary way
Rolled war and pestilence, war again;
I looked on Poverty and foul Disease
I walked with Death and yet I knew
There stirred a doubt: Were all dreams true?
And what in truth was Africa?
W. E. B. Du Bois, “Ghana Calls” from Creative Writings by W. E. B Du Bois (KrausThomson Organization Limited, 1985).
But I then had to select between the panels – and the diversity officer convincced me to do his – the Dubois panel – it was great – the whole panel was great – Donavon Ramon put it together very well, generating a great discussion – I learned a lot about Dubois and stepped out of my comfort zone to present on the more difficult of the two to reach for me.
The excellent panel “The ‘Soul’ of W.E.B. DuBois: Fifty Years Later.put together by Donavon L. Ramon (Member-at-Large, Diversity, Northeast Modern Languages Association) created much conversation and discussion afterwards from panellists and participants which is what you hope for!
The Black British poetry women’s poetry panel also went well, but I had to reserve my participation from ‘the floor’ since I’d chosen to be on the Dubois panel instead. We carried on the discussion outside the room – it’s clear that our self imposed task to promote Black British Literature is working – people are listening, talking, reading and writing about Black British writers much more than 10 years ago – and referring to them as ‘Black British’ instead of ‘post-colonial’ (or even post-post colonial or post-black’ for that matter) – How ‘Post’ can a people get?’ A discussion for another day!
Some of these papers we are hoping to publish with myself and Professor Modhumita Roy as co-editors. Keynote speaker for NeMLA, Dionne Brand attended the panel too, so we were really proud of that! We went with her and other women friends the night before to Island Creek Oyster Bar – as Dionne Brand he describes it – her only ritual!
Some part of life has obviously missed me as to me, an oyster is an oyster –
in the same way to some people a mango is a mango – except there are so many variations of both… I contend that knowing the difference between mangoes, is what distinguishes the Post Colonial writer from the Black British writer… A discussion for another day!
Black British Perspectives
http://www.sablelitmag.org/home/bbp/
Write Black Write British: From Post Colonial to Black British Literature
Ed: Kadija Sesay
http://www.sablelitmag.org/shop-books/
Woeli Dekutsey
PUBLISHER
Woeli Publishing Service
Woeli@woelipublishing.c
For his book aimed at young people on Kwame Nkrumah’s life and achievements