Williams Libraries Receives Collections from Celebrated Poet, Scholar
Williams Libraries has received collections of books, manuscripts and record albums documenting the life and work of one of America’ most influential poets and scholars: Sterling Allen Brown, a Class of 1922 graduate of Williams College.
Brown’s family made the donation to the Williams College Archives, where the materials will be preserved, cataloged and made accessible to researchers in Special Collections. The gift includes Brown’s personal library, manuscripts, photographs and sound recordings, providing deeper insight into his legacy, especially his devotion to the development of a literature about authentic Black folklife.
“The Sterling A. Brown archive will be the cornerstone of our 20th-century American literary collections,” said Lisa Conathan, head of Special Collections. “With this generous gift, Williams Libraries has acquired an extraordinary resource for the study and teaching of African American poetry.”
“The acquisition of the Sterling Allen Brown collections is serendipitous, momentous, and timely,” said Rhon S. Manigault-Bryant, associate professor of Africana studies. “Brown was and continues to be an influential figure in African American literature and education. That his family has seen it fit for Williams Special Collections to steward his important body of work is an honor, and we anticipate that faculty, students, alumni, and researchers alike will engage his materials and learn a great deal about black culture, poetry, and the instrumental legacies of black educators, as well as the deep impact of a Williams education. It gives me and my colleagues in Africana Studies no greater joy than to celebrate this important homecoming.”
Funding to process and make this material accessible to researchers is supported by gifts raised in a campaign led by members of the Williams Black Alumni Network. In 1990, WBAN established the Sterling Brown Fund, which continues to support visiting professorships at the college named in Brown’s honor. Each year, a Sterling Brown visiting professor is invited to campus for a semester to teach an undergraduate course, to deliver a series of lectures that is open to the public, to work with students individually, and to contribute to the awareness and growth of the Williams community.
“Black alumni at Williams have a very long history of supporting the college and motivating important institutional changes,” said Sharifa T. Wright ’03, director for alumni diversity and inclusion. “The Sterling Brown Fund is a true testament to the importance of this community for the success and ongoing evolution of Williams. In 1973, Brown returned to campus after 50 years and spoke to the things he learned at Williams: ‘how to read, how to teach, how to think’; he also spoke of the things he could not learn at a then-segregated Williams: ‘the strength, fortitude, humour and tragedy of my people.’
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Source: Iberkshires.com
Obama’s Shares list of his favorite Music, Movies and Books of 2019
Barack is crazy about lists.
So every year, like clockwork he whips up a list of his favourite music, movies and books and this year was no exception.
Barack shared a music playlist for long drives and the gym.
A favorite books list to affirm his intellectual dexterity and a favourite movies list to simply show that he’s cool.
The music mix includes tracks by DaBaby, Frank Ocean, Summer Walker, Burna Boy, Kaytranada, Big Thief, and Snoh Aalegra among others. There are also mentions for Beyoncé, Rosalía, Lizzo, and Lil Nas X, all of whom appeared on Obama’s summer playlist back in August.
Speaking about the list of songs, Obama said: “If you’re looking for something to keep you company on a long drive or help you turn up a workout, I hope there’s a track or two in here that does the trick.”
The book list features books from joint Booker prize winner, Bernadine Evaristo, Jeff Walter, Susan Choi and a collection of interesting reads.
For movies, the list included Atlantics, Ford’s Vs Ferrari, The Irishman, Apollo 11 and a host of other movies.
We are not mad at Barack. With two Nigerian music artistes, Burna Boy and Rema, featured on the list, we are of the opinion that the list is a big hit.
Here’s the full list below.
WKMS Explores Music from Around the World with Two New Programs
This January, WKMS will add two new programs exploring music from across the globe and spanning all genres. Tune in to WKMS on January 5th to hear Imported and Afropop Worldwide.
Afropop Worldwide and Imported will return to WKMS on Sunday, January 5th at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively. Find more information on both programs below.
Afropop Worldwide, 9 p.m.
From PRX:
“Afropop Worldwide is America’s first and longest-lived weekly program on the music of Africa and the African Diaspora.
Hosted by Georges Collinet from Cameroon and produced by Sean Barlow for World Music Productions, Afropop Worldwide draws on an unprecedented array of reporters, artists, and cultural guides to present an hour that is authoritative, comprehensive, and hugely entertaining.
Says Billboard Editor-in-Chief Timothy White, “Serving as both keen entertainers and astute explainers in their programming of the absolute best of world music, the people behind Afropop Worldwide do a job that is impossible to overpraise.
Each carefully crafted broadcast features live concert tape, exclusive interviews, visits to musicians’ houses, urban ambiance from around the African Diaspora and recordings so rare you won’t even find them on Napster! Over the course of 15 years, the Afropop Worldwide staff has accumulated a unique archive of sound recordings, interviews, radio programs, multi-track concert recordings, photographs and out-of-print studio albums. Through its international network of artists, music professionals, fans, and supporters, Afropop Worldwide receives a never-ending stream of ideas, submissions, and inspiration.”
Imported, 10 a.m.
Looking for a show where you can find Vietnamese hip-hop and Polish-Ukrainian ska-punk in the same set? Sundays at 10 p.m., Matt Markgraf (WKMS’ former News Director) returns to the airwaves to host Imported, an international music show making its comeback on WKMS with fresh sounds from around the globe. From India to Ireland, from Spain to South Africa – you never know what you might hear on Imported.
Read more here
https://www.wkms.org/post/wkms-explores-music-around-world-two-new-programs#stream/0
Source: wkms.org
