Literature &
Oral Tradition
"It is not enough to come together in celebration of our culture and heritage, unless we know why we are meeting on this very significant occasion. As artists and academicians we have a very clear definition of our work and the purpose which that work is intended to achieve. - It is not enough to produce these works which reluctantly have been accorded praise , works which we ourselves know are worthy of that praise. But in the work itself, must be the germ of a re-birth of consciousness, a discovery of ourselves, as we are today, and as we ought to be..."
Austin Clarke, Forward 1992 CELAFI Catalogue
CELAFI 1992 & 1997's literary programs brought national and international published and unpublished writers to the fore, in readings, print, workshop, panels discussions and interactive dialogue.
Oral Tradition:
Dub Poetry, Storytellers, Comedy, and now RAP (Rhythmic America Poetry) have historically been the artistic response to political, social and economic realities. The oral tradition has evolved into a rich hybrid and has reached new levels of popularity across North America. CELAFI programs paid homage to this heritage in a series of performances and presentations.
LITERATURE PROGRAM, 1992
Literature at CELAFI is programmed in collaboration with Harboufront Reading Series.
Artistic Director: Ayanna Black
VOICES
VOICES: Canadian Writers of African Descent
HarperPerennial, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.
Ayanna Black, Editor
ISBN 0-00-647413-6
Pre CELAFI Publication Launch: Community Gallery, Harbourfront Centre
June 1992
"We come from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Ghana, Haiti, Guyana, Nigeria, Canada, the United States and South Africa. As writers, we push the limits of literature and redefine images of representation. In the process, we create our realities. We are a new generation of griots - town criers, or spiritual messengers whose stories have been transferred to the printed pages. Despite the diversity of our cultural backgrounds, we write out of a collective African consciousness - a consciousness embodied in the fabric of oral traditions, woven from one generation to the next, through myths, storytelling, fables, proverbs, rituals, work-songs, and sermons meshed with Western literary forms...."
Ayanna Black - Forward, 1992 'Voices'
15 of Canada's most influential and innovative writers present original poetry and short fiction that reach deep into African tradition and push through to new forms.
The Authors:
Molara Ogundipe-Leslie - Garlands to the Beheaded One, Because We Are Mad; Norma De Haarte - Little Abu:The Boy Who Knew Too Much; Afua Cooper - And I Remember, Memories Have Tongue, Lovetalk; Cyril Dabydeen - Phoenix, Multiculturalism, I am not; Lawrence Hill - So What Are You, Anyway?; George Elliot Clarke - Casualties, April in Paris, April 19, 19-, Marina: The Song of Lee Harvey Oswald, to Milton Acorn, April 3-4, 1968; Austin Clarke - Letters of the Law of Black; Nigel Darbasie - Winter Stroll in Tipaskan, The Oracle of Babylon, Conceiving the Stranger: Rozena Maart - Conceptualizing the Immaculate; Ayanna Black - I Write Imaginary Stories; Claire Harris - Under Black Light; Cecil Foster - Going Home; Makeda Silvera - Her Head a Village; Frederick Ward - Kitten Face; Dany Laferriere - Why Must a Negro Writer Always Be Political;
LITERARY READINGS: A Callaloo Of Words
Harbourfront Centre
Monday, July 7, 8pm
A Callaloo Of Words
Program of Literature Readings
Africa, its people and their diasporic descendants represent a dynamic diversity, to which the existence of words like: African-Canadian” and “African-America” attest. Hence the various African literatures, cast together into the pot of this conference, must be tasted as a callaloo –
The literary equivalent of the thick soup of crabmeat, greens, and seasonings which gave so many Africans everywhere the strength to escape their bonds.
Enjoy. No extra spice required.
- George Elliott Clarke, Artistic Director
CELAFI 1992 Literary Series featured:
Ayanna Black
Dionne Brand
Jan Rynveld Carew
Austin Clarke
George Elliott Clarke
Afua Cooper
Nigel Darbasie
Daria Essop
Cecil Foster
Norma De Haarte
Claire Harris
Karen Hill
Lawrence Hill
Lisa James
Bushra Junaid
Danny Laferrière
Martha Kumsa
Nise Malange
Jack Mapanje
Tolowa M. Mollel
Grace Nichols
May Optiz
Molara Ogundipe-Leslie
Makada Silvera
Janis Shinebourne
Samuel Selvon
Carol Talbot
Fredrick Ward
WORD POWER: Keeping The Oral Tradition Alive
Harbourfront Centre
July 10 -12
There was once a time where storytellers b ought the news, tellers were healers and entertainers, tellers advised on the ways of the world, and passed on the history. Come with us as we see and hear that time lived again… As literacy, literature, and communication dominate conversations of the day, CELAFI welcomes everyone to Harbourfront Centre – excerpt Word Power introduction
Word Power participants:
Marcia Brown
Alwin Bully
Calvin Butler
Jesse Cook
David Collins
Emerita Emerencia
Amah Harris
Jeff Henry
Ricardo Keens-Douglas
Nomadlozi Kubheka
Nise Malange
Dick McLean
Mapopa Mtonga
Jean Small
Kevin Sinclair
THINK – Theatre In A New Key
Tricia Williams
The Spirit Lives On
Brigantine Room, Harbourfront Centre
Monday, July 7, 8pm
A special evening in memory of some of the provocative feminist writings of Toni Cade Bambara (USA), May Optiz (Germany), Audre Lorde (USA), and Pat Parker (USA). The Spirit Lives On, celebrates their works through the voices of five Canadian authors: Dionne Brand, Makeda Silvera, Karen Hill, Hazel Palmer, and Judith Orban.
Admission: $8
LITERATURE PROGRAM, 1997
Literature at CELAFI is programmed in collaboration with Harboufront Reading Series.
Artistic Director: Ayanna Black
CELAFI Literary Tribute to Austin Clarke
Tuesday, July 8, 8pm, Brigantine Room, Harbourfront Centre
this engaging evening features speakers including Cecil Foster, Roy McMurtry, Barry Callaghan and Stella Algoo-Baksh.
Admission: $8
Mainstage Reading Series
Brigantine Room, Harbourfront Centre
Mainstage Reading 1
Thursday, July 10, 8pm
Hilton Als (USA) and Mairuth Sarsfield (Montreal)
Admission: $8
Mainstage Reading 2
Friday, July 11, 8pm
Jean "Binta" Breeze (Jamaica) and Gerrard Etienne (Montreal)
Admission: $8
The Loft
The Loft
Saturday, July 12, 8pm
Nigel Thomas, Christopher Curtis and others in an all-Canadian reading.
Admission: Free
ORAL TRADITION & STORYTELLING PROGRAM
CELAFI Tellabration: A celebration of the spoken word.
Tellabration Coordinator: Itah Sadu
The Story Book Hut
Celebration Theatre at Harbourfront Centre
Saturday, July 12, 2-6pm
Programmed in association with Harbourfront Centre and the Yoruba Community Association.
2 days of performance by various storytellers, capturing youthful audience with their colourful stories and melodious song. Kids can get involved with many of the segments, including Yuroba folktales.
Story Book Hut Coordinator: Bola Adetunji
READINGS
Literary Reading Series
Community Gallery at Harbourfront Centre
Saturday, July 12, Noon
Featured:
Nigel Thomas
Christopher Curtis
Joel Desrosiers
Who's Sleeping With Little Jack Horner
The Loft at Harbourfront Centre
Saturday, July 12, 9 pm
The Storytellers School of Toronto presents a night of tall tales and calypso with Ricardo Keens-Douglas, Yvonne Forbes, Dick Lochan, Mark Trinidad, Lady Pearl, and special guest Pat Dillon (Montreal), Dick Smith with the Hot House Band Syncona and more.
Hosted by Sandra Whiting.
All God's Children Wear Travelling Shoes
Bethel Worship Centre
Sunday, July 13, 11am
The launch of the African Canadian Storytellers Group, worship and stories with the congregation at Bethel Worship Centre, with Tellers Rita Cox and George Blake.
Coming Together
Brigantine Room at Harbourfront Centre
Sunday, July 13, 3-5pm
A ceremony of tellers and tales with George Blake, Emerita Emerencia, George Anang'a, Luleka Keyi, with special guests Shirley Smith and Juanita Smith.
All Circuits Are Busy
Yuk Yuk Supper Club
Sunday, July 13, 8:30pm
CELAFI and The Nubian Disciples proudly presents a night of women in comedy with Toronto's Satori Shakur, Montreal's Pat Dillon and Detroit's Tashan. Headliner Koko Nikki Crosby plus others.
Admission: $10