Encounters with James Baldwin Format: other

INTRODUCED BY STELLA DADZIE

Edited by Kadija George Sesay and Cheryl Robson

Celebrating the centenary of the birth of the trailblazing African American author, Encounters with James Baldwin is a wide-ranging volume of short essays, reflections, interviews and poetry. This moving collection demonstrates the significant legacy of the writer and activist who spoke truth to power during the era of the fight for Black civil liberties in the US, and after.

In this literary anthology, over 20 contributors reveal the influence of Baldwin’s thought, speech and writing to their personal journeys and their awareness of the need for social justice.

Contributors:

Fred D’Aguiar, poet and novelist

Nzingha Assata, founding member Afrikan Cooperative Union

Selina Brown, Founder, Black British Book Festival

Jason Delbecke, professor at Ghent University

Zita Holbourne, activist and performance poet

Jonathan Key, artist, designer and writer

Bill Mullen, professor at Purdue University

Sabrina Richmond, Writer and Performer

Tade Thompson, science fiction writer and artist

Michelle Yaa Asantewa, author, and educational consultant

ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THE INTRODUCTION

Stella Dadzie

Stella Dadzie was born in 1952 in London, United Kingdom, to a white English mother and a Ghanaian father, who was Ghana’s first trained pilot and served as a navigator in the RAF during the Second World War. Her early childhood was marked with challenges such as poverty, racism, and family separation, experiencing foster care in Wales, and facing constant upheavals due to racist landlords.

Stella co-founded the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD), which worked relentlessly between 1978 and 1982 to challenge the predominantly white domination of the feminist and women’s liberation movements of that era. Stella, along with her colleagues, aimed to address the distinct and often overlooked struggles faced by Black women within these movements.

Stella’s co-authored book “The Heart of the Race: Black Women’s Lives in Britain,” published in 1985, shed light on the multifaceted experiences and struggles of Black women in Britain. It went on to win the Martin Luther King Award for Literature in 1985, exemplifying the importance and impact of her work. The book was reissued in 2018, preserving its profound insights for new generations of activists and feminists.

Her work extended beyond the written word into practical action, contributing to the enrichment of curriculums and development of anti-racist strategies in educational and youth services. Stella’s poetry also found its place in publications, intertwining her activism with a passionate expression of lived experiences.

In 2020, Stella explored the resistance of enslaved women in her book “A Kick in the Belly: Women, Slavery and Resistance.” The work epitomises her persistent drive to unveil and explore the oft-neglected narratives of Black and brown-skinned women throughout history, validating their experiences and contributions.

One of her artworks is currently on display in Tate Britain’s exhibition ‘Women in Revolt’ celebrating the feminist movement from 1974-1990.

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Kadija George MBE, Hon. FRSL (born 1962), also known as Kadija Sesay, is a British literary activist, short story writer and poet of Sierra Leonean descent, and the publisher and managing editor of the magazine SABLE LitMag. Her work has earned her many awards and nominations, including the Cosmopolitan Woman of Achievement in 1994, Candace Woman of Achievement in 1996, The Voice Community Award in Literature in 1999 and the Millennium Woman of the Year in 2000. She is the General Secretary for African Writers Abroad (PEN International) and organises the Writers’ HotSpot – trips for writers abroad, where she teaches creative writing and journalism courses.

Sesay has edited or co-edited several books, including Burning Words, Flaming Images: Poems and Short Stories by Writers of African Descent (1996), IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain (with Courttia Newland, 2000),[5][6] Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 Poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa (Flipped Eye Publishing, 2005), and (as Kadija George) Six Plays by Black and Asian Women Writers (Aurora Metro Books, 2005), Write Black, Write British: From Post Colonial to Black British Literature (Hansib Publications, 2005). In 2007, she created the first SABLE Literary Festival in The Gambia, where she now programmes the Mboka literary festival and bookfair, which she co-founded in 2016.

Sesay’s first full collection of poems, entitled Irki, was published in 2013. Her poetry, short stories and essays have appeared in a range of publications, including the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.

In 2021, with Joan Anim-Addo and Deirdre Osborne she curated This is The Canon: Decolonize Your Bookshelf in 50 Books  highlighting alternatives by people of African or Asian descent and indigenous peoples.