The Nate Holden Performing Arts Heart will host the six distinguished voices of the Longwood Writers Workshop in celebration of their newly launched anthology, “A Gathering of Voices.” The e-book launch takes place on Saturday, April 19, at 3 p.m.
Described by Christopher D’Angelo Benson, Affiliate Professor at Northwestern College’s Faculty of Journalism, as “a strong assortment of compelling narratives which can be each granular and international, inviting us into an intimate reference to exceptionally well-drawn characters who provide a larger-than-life takeaway: the wealthy, multidimensional expertise of Black America,” the occasion will function reside readings, reflections, and dialog. “NCIS” actor and director Rocky Carroll, a Tony, Drama Desk, and NAACP Picture Award nominee, will average the afternoon.
The Longwood Writers Workshop started in 2018, based by award-winning actress and creator Denise Nicholas, greatest identified for her roles in “Room 222” and “Within the Warmth of the Night time.” After the success of her debut novel “Freshwater Highway”— a critically acclaimed work impressed by the Civil Rights Motion’s Freedom Summer season — Nicholas sought to rekindle the spirit of neighborhood and collaboration that had helped her full her e-book.
Having as soon as left faculty to hitch the Free Southern Theater and work on voter registration within the South, she understood the facility of collective storytelling. Bringing that very same spirit to her eating room desk in Hancock Park, she invited a gaggle of trusted friends — together with Charles Floyd Johnson, Denise Billings, Otto E. Stallworth, Jr., GW Williams, and Hattie Winston — to type what would turn out to be an ongoing writing workshop.
The workshop started with memoir writing however shortly advanced into one thing extra expansive. “We realized we had tales that didn’t fairly match into our memoirs—however that wanted to be instructed,” stated Charles Floyd Johnson, a three-time Emmy-winning producer identified for “NCIS,” “JAG,” “Magnum P.I.”, and “The Rockford Recordsdata.” The consequence, as creator Paul Levine describes it, is a “stirring anthology from half a dozen perspective writers whose distinctive voices communicate common truths.”
The e-book, which incorporates a foreword by Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad, is now out there by way of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and different main retailers. Structured like a stage play, the anthology unfolds in acts—“Childhood Recollections,” “When Love Is Not Sufficient,” “Hope and Perseverance,” “Knocking on Heaven’s Door,” “Remembered, Liked and Admired,” and “The Wrestle Continues”—with every part providing tales that discover legacy, id, and power.
Charles Floyd Johnson, for instance, contributes 5 essays. One revisits his childhood in a Delaware soda store, the place his fascination with tv first took root. One other—titled “Within the Center of the Night time”—recounts his battle with pancreatic most cancers through the COVID-19 pandemic. He additionally displays on encounters with icons like Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama, and shares a behind-the-scenes take a look at producing “Crimson Tails,” the George Lucas movie honoring the Tuskegee Airmen.
The anthology just isn’t historic, nor poetic, per se, however it’s undeniably wealthy with emotion and knowledge. As Nicholas explains, “Writing is rewriting, and rewriting once more. This e-book is the product of six years of revision, reflection, and trustworthy change.”
“Youthful creatives are navigating a really totally different trade immediately,” Johnson famous.
“However one factor stays the identical, expertise all the time wins. In case you consider in your self, work exhausting, and keep true to your voice, there’s a path ahead. That’s what this e-book is about—resilience, hope, and the facility of story.”
The April 19 launch occasion is free with RSVP by way of Eventbrite, although seats are restricted and anticipated to promote out. Books will likely be out there for buy on-site, and the authors will likely be out there to signal copies and meet readers.
To be taught extra concerning the Longwood Writers Workshop and “A Gathering of Voices,” go to longwoodwritersworkshop.com.
