Literature, Culture & Critique: A Callaloo Retreat March 5–8, 2008, New Orleans, LA

Our subject . . . is not only our language or style of discourse, the aesthetics of content . . . but about . . . “intellectual division of labour” . . . that produces seemingly incommensurate forms (the critical/scholarly essay or book, for example, versus the short story, novel, poem, vignette, etc.), produces different strategies of reading . . . , different spaces of articulation (such as the annual conference of the Modern Language Association, a public reading at a coffee shop, or a reading sponsored by Cave Canem), different publication venues, and finally different forms of financial and social support. Most scholarly journals such as PMLA do not print creative work. In its commitment to producing both scholarly and creative work, Callaloo, of course, is one of the exceptions, which the writer Nelly Rosario has referred to as “our very own Babel.”

—Shona N. Jackson

I, for one, left the retreat knowing that each of the colleagues in attendance had given me a tremendous gift by encouraging me to push myself toward greater clarity. As I interact with them in the coming years—whether in person, by phone, or by simply reading their work—I know that my thinking will evolve and sharpen as a result. These critics and creators have positioned themselves in perfect cooperation with me by offering productive opposition. Put another way, our conversation stayed with me precisely because Callaloo once again did what it does best. It put the complexity and diversity of the African Diaspora center stage so that its thinkers could challenge each other to discover and extend our potential. Such rigorous intellectual engagement is possible precisely because we offer each other no easy conflation, no hallucination of unanimity . . . .

—Koritha Mitchell

Members of the Callaloo Retreat waiting for transportation to Tulane University.

Photo by Emily Raboteau © 2009