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“Writers On Writing” Radio Show
April 18, 2021 at 7:00 pm
About the Episode
Dr. Brenda Greene interviews African American literary scholar Dr. Mary Helen Washington. This interview continues the discussion on Paule Marshall at the 2021 National Black Writers Biennial Symposium hosted by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. Greene and Washington discuss the value and importance of documenting the work of Black women writers, the themes in the texts of Black women writers, and Washington’s edited collections of scholarship on Black women writers. Washington also discusses her current project, a biography of Paule Marshall, Marshall’s activism and the significance of her novels and short stories on the Western canon. Washington highlights the young scholars who are expanding the field of African American literary criticism and encourages young scholars to become involved in saying the names of unsung Black women writers and conducting research on their work.
About the Guest
Dr. Mary Helen Washington is an African American literary scholar and author of numerous books on the Black female experience. Washington’s career as an author established her as an important voice in African American literature. Her books on cultural criticism and literary criticism include The Other Blacklist: The African American Literary and Cultural Left of the 1950s (Columbia University Press, 2014) Black-Eyed Susans (Anchor, 1975), Midnight Birds (Anchor, 1980), Invented Lives: Narratives of Black Women 1860-1960 (Anchor, 1988), and Memory of Kin: Stories About Family by Black Writers (Doubleday, 1990). She is the 1988 recipient of the Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and has received honorary Doctorate degrees from Bridgewater State College, Emmanuel College, Notre Dame College, Regis College, and Marygrove College. Washington is currently working on a biography of Paule Marshall.
Listen on the radio at WNYE 91.5 FM.
Email writers@mec.cuny.edu for more information.
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