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Griot: a Contemporary Poetry Journal Celebrating Black Female Voices in Pioneer Valley

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Griot: a Contemporary Poetry Journal Celebrating Black Female Voices in Pioneer Valley Griot: A Contemporary Poetry Journal Celebrating Black Female Voices in Pioneer Valley Written by Stacey Cusson on Behalf of Amherst Artists & Writers 12/18/17 5 Cedar Street Westborough, MA 01581 December 18, 2017 Ms. Nicki Jacobs Director of Grants & Contracts Officers National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Literature 400 7th Street, SW Washington, DC 20506-0001 Dear Ms. Jacobs, I am a student from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and it is with great pleasure that I submit this grant proposal to you on behalf of Amherst Artists & Writers (AWA) located in Amherst, Massachusetts. AWA is a non-profit, international arts organization dedicated to the principle that everyone can create art. We hope that by working with the National Endowment for Art’s program, Art Works Literature, we can create a platform for black women’s voices in Pioneer Valley. In response to the lack of representation of black women authors in the publishing industry, I came up with the idea of publishing a literary journal dedicated to celebrating these marginalized voices. I am an English major receiving my certificate in Creative Writing and attaining a minor in African-American Studies. Along with my experience as an Editorial Assistant for jubilat, my knowledge of grammar, style, organization, and effective communication will allow me to handle the responsibility of creating the new journal. By partnering with AWA which “was founded in 1983 with two missions: to publish and support the work of emerging and established writers; and to cross boundaries of class, race, and other difference by using writing as a tool of empowerment, giving voice to the silenced,” our two organizations can expand the notion of what is possible and valuable in a poem and can enlarge the American literary canon. This proposal seeks $44,188.87 in the form of an Art Works Literature grant to develop and publish a poetry journal focused on black women’s voices. We appreciate your consideration of our proposal, and look forward to the opportunity to create a platform for black voices in Pioneer Valley. Please feel free to contact me by either calling (508) 377-2002 or emailing me at [email protected]. Respectfully, Stacey Cusson, Grant Author Table of Contents 1. Statement of Problem ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Definition of Problem ....................................................................................................................... 1 2. Statement of Request ............................................................................................. 8 3. Description of Proposed Work ............................................................................. 9 3.1 Objectives of Project and Methods Used to Achieve Them .............................................................. 9 3.2 Schedule .......................................................................................................................................... 10 4. Description of Available Facilities ..................................................................... 12 5. Qualifications of Personnel ................................................................................. 13 5.1 Names, Positions and Relevant Backgrounds of Employees ........................................................... 13 5.2 Names and Positions of Remaining Staff ........................................................................................ 15 6. Budget .................................................................................................................... 16 7. Summary and Conclusion .................................................................................. 18 7.1 Benefits ........................................................................................................................................... 18 7.2 Comparison to Similar Projects....................................................................................................... 19 7.3 Reassertion of Seriousness of Problem and Urge to Action ............................................................ 21 8. Appendix of Figures and Tables ........................................................................ 23 8.1 Figures ............................................................................................................................................ 23 8.2 Tables.............................................................................................................................................. 23 9. Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 24 1 1. Statement of Problem 1.1 Definition of Problem In the United States, over 33 million people are foreign born. Displaced groups often struggle to find places that engender a sense of attachment, define their identity, and sustain their well-being. Thus, it is important to create a space for displaced groups such as African Americans to self-identify. One region in the United States that is home to displaced African Americans is Pioneer Valley. Springfield, the largest city in the county and the third largest in MA, has historically been a magnet for immigrants looking for economic opportunity. During The Great Migration, “the Valley became a destination for thousands of black migrants fleeing the Jim Crow south and looking for a better life” (Armstrong). The African American demographics surrounding the Five College Consortium are as follows: Springfield 21.61%, Amherst 5.03%, Holyoke 4.43%, and Northampton 2.79% (“Diversity Map of Massachusetts”). Also, the demographics of the University of Massachusetts Amherst is 4.4% African-American (“Race/Ethnicity of Undergraduate Students”). Given the size of the population in Pioneer Valley, there should be proportionate representation of black voices—especially in literature where they can form identities. One study reported that While all racial/ethnic minorities are underrepresented when compared to the general US population, the numbers show that some groups, such as Black/African Americans, are more severely underrepresented. This mirrors trends among children’s book authors. In 2014, just 2 percent of the books tracked by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center were by black authors (Low). While this study highlights the underrepresentation of black writers through children’s books statistics, there is also a lack of diversity in poetry. Another study reported poets published in Poetry magazine within the last 50 issues are 90.72% white (Barryman). 2 Poetry magazine isn’t the only source to disproportionately represent black voices. Another study reported that “nearly 90% of the books reviewed by The New York Times are written by white writers” in 2011 (“Books Reviewed in New York Times”). Ultimately, a Figure 1: White vs. Non-White Poets Published in Last 50 journal based in Pioneer Valley that focuses on Issues of Poetry Magazine black voices and places them in conversation with black poets from around the country would ameliorate these problems of underrepresentation and isolation within the literary landscape. As the project helps one community, it can be expanded outward to other regions. However, there is also the problem of the gender-gap in literature. Since 1950, when the U.S. National Book Awards were established, only one quarter of the prizes in its fiction category have gone to women: “Katherine Anne Porter was the first woman to win the fiction prize in 1966 for the Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. In 1983, Alice Walker became the first black woman to win the prize for her groundbreaking novel The Color Purple” (Mohdin). The same article discusses how The Nobel Prize for literature, set up in 1901, which encompasses all languages, has been awarded to women just 14 times, the first of them being Swedish author Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf in 1909. American novelist Toni Morrison became the first (and so far only) black female laureate in 1993 (Mohdin). Thus, not only are black writers underrepresented in the literary world, women are too. For gender that comprises 51% of the U.S. population, there is unequal representation of their work. Often, “it’s assumed that women writers will not write anything important—anything truly serious or necessary, revelatory or wise” ("Sexism in Publishing”). As the figures below suggest, 3 these sexist views are still prevalent within the publishing community and its effects are reflected in the past winners of major literary prizes. Figure 2: Winners of Major Literary Prizes 2000-2015 Figure 3: Number of Major Literary Prizes Awarded to Women In the period 2000-2015, 41 prizes were won by women and 48 by men—a disparity, yes, but far less than the one that exists between the prize-winning books that can be said to have a male- driven narrative versus a female one as Figure 2 suggests. Again, for Figure 3, the disparity is reflected in major awards, such as the Nobel Prize. According to the Center for American Progress, “…women of color will make up 53% of the [female] population by 2050” (Ahmad and Iverson). The following graph represents this future trend. While it is clear that women of color Figure 4: Prediction of Female Population in 2015-2050 will make up the majority of women in the future, the systemic, economic and cultural obstacles they endure persist. Drawing attention to where disparities exist in the literary landscape is an important step towards making
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