GEN: Chester Himes conference

[Ken Umbach <kumbach@UNLIMITED.NET>]

Hi ... this is a little off topic, but I hope will be of value.

The 4th Annual Chester Himes Black Mystery Writers Conference and Awards
Ceremony took place yesterday, Saturday, May 15th.  Despite some program
changes (some people were unable to be there) it was an informative,
varied, and entertaining conference.  Two quick observations.  (1) As
Walter Mosley stated forcefully, the most important key to making kids
readers is for them to see their PARENTS reading.  (2) The African-American
presence in the mystery genre is strong, varied, growing, and endlessly
interesting.  It is also the subject of a great deal of careful thought and
study.  That presence extends from mysteries and suspense stories for kids
through tough-as-nails novels for adults.

The next conference, the 5th in the series, will be on Saturday, May 20,
2000, in Oakland.  As always, although the conference focuses on Black
writers, EVERYONE is welcome.

I mention this because many librarians are on the lookout for suitable
works by African-American writers, if I can judge my messages on LM_NET
that I have seen over the last couple of years.  Someone from the school
library community might want to make a point of attending next year's
conference -- or even helping to plan it.  This could facilitate developing
a list of worthwhile books and of authors recommended for inclusion in
school (and public) libraries -- and authors who might be suitable speakers
for schools.  Murder mysteries are problematic, of course, as they by
definition involve murder and often include language and characters that
many would find objectionable.  But they are popular, entertaining, and
sometimes have surprising depth.  Barbara Neely's books, for example, have
a lot going on besides the plot.  (Some think the plot is secondary to a
lot of sharp social observation and analysis.)

I plan to post information on the next conference at my own Web site, as
the conference does not yet have its own.

If you ever get a chance to hear Walter Mosley (whose work by the way is
not limited to the mystery genre, notwithstanding his being pigeonholed as
a mystery writer), do take the opportunity.

Ken

--
Kenneth W. Umbach, Ph.D., Policy Analyst
California Research Bureau, California State Library
900 N St., Suite 300 -- Sacramento, California 95814
E-mail: kumbach@unlimited.net or kumbach@library.ca.gov
Phone (voice) 916-653-6002 (fax) 916-654-5829
Personal Web page and selected papers: http://members.unlimited.net/~kumbach
This message reflects my opinion, not that of my employer or anyone else.

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