Finding Fiction by Aliya S. King
My well is dry. I’ve been writing professionally since 1998. And in thirteen years, I’ve never experienced this. I sit down to write each morning and there’s nothing there. I piece together a few sentences in a novel that doesn’t move me, just to say I did so. But it feels hollow and false. (And I find myself rolling my [...]
Getting to Know: Betty
By: Maya Davis Betty Lindley, a visual artist, has deep roots in Philadelphia. Since the mid-70s she has produced theatre and promoted the arts. A fixture in the arts community in Philadelphia, I asked her about her role at Art Sanctuary. How long have you worked at Art Sanctuary? Twelve years How did you begin working at Art Sanctuary? I [...]
Getting to Know: Debra
By: Maya Davis If a person calls Art Sanctuary she will be greeted by a pleasant voice, ready to direct your call. This voice belongs to Debra Powell-Wright. Thus it is fitting that she is the first person interviewed for the Art Sanctuary’s “Getting to Know Us” series. How long have you worked with Art Sanctuary? I [...]
Black Professionals Got Talent
by Maya Davis Tonight Art Sanctuary will be hosting a talent show featuring the men and women that normally work from nine to five. I interviewed Timothy Shepherd, Art Sanctuary’s production manager, who has been coordinating the event as well as preparing the talent for their big night. The acts include amateurs as well as professional amateurs but all of [...]
A Fine Morning: Can You Hear God Crying? by Philadelphia Teacher David Thomer
A few weeks ago I had one of those right-place-at-the-right-time opportunities that prove that the universe is not devoid of a sense of good timing. The Art Sanctuary invited a group of Parkway students to attend a special student matinee performance of selections from Can You Hear God Crying? The finished work is expected to premiere in Philadelphia in June, but composer Hannibal Lokumbe and a group [...]
Music. Breath. Life.
Music. Breath. Life. Jamal Dickerson, who directs the Camden Creative Arts High School band, first met Hannibal last week after playing at a funeral and rushing back to school. At the funeral, Jamal said, the mother of the deceased, a 25- or 26-year-old man, called the young men to come stand with her. Once they did, she told them that [...]
The New York Times reviews Lorene Cary’s Newest Novel
Check out Roy Hoffman’s review of Lorene Cary’s novel ‘If Sons, Then Heirs’ for The New York Times.
In Memory of Leslie Edaile Banks by Lorene Cary
Leslie Esdaile Banks passed from this life on August 2, 2011. She wrote more than forty books under the names Leslie Esdaile, Leslie Esdaile Banks, Leslie E. Banks, L. A. Banks, and Alexis Grant. She wrote romance, TV-tie-in novels, crime/suspense, crossovers, comics, a graphic novel, nonfiction essays, and short stories. She was one of the most professional writers I’ve ever [...]
Can You Hear God Crying – See the Journey
Award wining trumpeter & composer Hannibal Lokumbe shares insight, inspiration & invitation to evolve and empower while composing Can You Hear God Crying, for performance this year in Philadelphia…