Harlem Writers Guild

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Harlem Writers Guild (HWG) is the oldest organization of African-American writers, founded in 1950 by John Oliver Killens, Rosa Guy, John Henrik Clarke, Willard Moore and Walter Christmas.[1]

History

The Harlem Writers Guild was set up as a forum where African-American writers, many of whom felt excluded from the mainstream literary culture of New York in the late 1940s, could develop their craft.[2] The HWG was also part of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, and its rationale continues to be to develop and aid in the publication of works by writers of the African diaspora.[1] Other writers who have been associated with the HWG include Lonne Elder III, Douglas Turner Ward, Ossie Davis, Paule Marshall, Audre Lorde, Maya Angelou and Sarah E. Wright.[3]

In 1977, the HWG was honored by the United Nations (UN) Society of Writers.[1] The anthology Beloved Harlem Random House 2005), edited by William H. Banks Jr., former Executive Director of HWG, featured work by HWG members including John Henrik Clarke, Grace F. Edwards, Rosa Guy, Rachel DeAragon, John Oliver Killens, Walter Dean Myers, Louise Meriwether, Funmi Osoba, Diane Richards, Karen Robinson, Olubansile Abbas Mimik and Sarah E. Wright.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 History, Harlem Writers Guild.
  2. ↑ Gerald D. Jaynes, "Harlem Writers Guild", Encyclopedia of African American Society, SAGE Publications, Inc., 2005, ISBN 9780761927648. Online September 15, 2007. DOI: 10.4135/9781412952507, ISBN 9781412952507.
  3. ↑ C. Gerald Fraser, "John Oliver Killens, 71, Author And Founder of Writers' Group", New York Times, October 30, 1987.

External links

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