Perhaps the most profound expression of admiration of esteemed novelist, essayist and poet Ishmael Reed can be attributed to jazz giant Max Roach, who designated Reed "The Charlie Parker of American Fiction." Ishmael Reed
to give word
performancesStar-Bulletin staff
Reed will be appearing in several spoken word performances around Oahu through Sunday.
An English professor at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught for the last three-and-a-half decades, Reed has penned novels such as "The Free-Lance Pallbearers" (1967), "Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down" (1968) and "The Last Days of Louisiana Red" (1974). He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize as well as the National Book Award - twice - for his novel "Mumbo Jumbo" and "Conjure: Selected Poems, 1963-1970."
COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM
Novelist, essayist and poet Ishmael Reed comes to Hawaii for several readings and book signings this weekend.
Two albums have been reissued on CD by Rounder Records of the "Conjure" poems set to music by various composers, under the leadership of eclectic jazzman Kip Hanrahan. His songs have been recorded and performed by Taj Mahal, Eddie Harris, Bobby Womack, ex-Supreme Mary Wilson, Jack Bruce and Jimmy Scott.
Through Ishmael Reed Publishing, his own imprint, Reed has given voice to engaging and powerful - though largely ignored - writers of various cultures. His publishing company boasts the first book published by a Chinese-American (Shawn Wong's "Homebase") and the first book of poetry published by an Inuit ("There's a Lagoon in My Backyard" by Sister Goodwin).
In 2000, Basic Books published "The Reed Reader," a collection of his writing, including excerpts from all of his novels, selected essays, published and previously unpublished poetry, and two plays "Hubba City" and "The Preacher and the Rapper." This year, the Perseus division of the book publisher brought out Reed's latest collection of essays, "Another Day at the Front," and Thunder's Mouth Press published "From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas, 1900-2002."
The Web site www.ishmaelreedpub.com is the home of both of Reed's online literary magazines; Vines, which features writings of international students, and Konch, which includes contributions by writers like UH Professor of Ethnic Studies Kathryn Takara.
Takara will be joining Reed in several local performances this weekend. Here's the schedule:>> 7 to 9 p.m. today at the East-West Center, UH-Manoa campus
>> Noon to 2 p.m. tomorrow at Barnes & Noble, Kahala Mall (book signing and reading with Takara)
>> 4 to 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at Kapono's, Aloha Tower Marketplace (reading with Takara and Joe Balaz, accompanied by percussion and dance with Richard Hamasaki, Katana and Karla Brundage)
>> 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Windward Community College's Little Theatre (reading with Takara)
Click for online
calendars and events.
