The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library has been using its Twitter account to create a conversation about black literature leading up to an event Friday.
As part of its ongoing celebration of Black History Month, the Neal-Marshall Library is playing host to “BlackLit: A Commemoration of Black Literature.”
BlackLit is a celebration of black writers from all genres and eras. Readers will be presenting excerpts from iconic pieces of black literature.
Deloice Holliday, head of the Neal-Marshall Library, said this is the first year of BlackLit and that the library is open to making it a recurring event.
“The theme serves two purposes: first, to introduce attendees to Black American literature, and second, I’m told from the young among the staff, that if something is ‘lit,’ it means that it will be a very awesome experience,” she said in an email interview.
BlackLit rounds off a month of music, lectures and other events put on by the Neal-Marshall Library and various venues across campus.
The event encourages members of both the IU community and Bloomington to participate in the event by reading excerpts from their favorite black writers or by reading personal work.
Because people often become so busy with day-to-day life, Holliday said BlackLit was created to remind people of the pleasures of literature.
“Not only is a program such as this one important during Black History Month, but it’s always a good idea to read and to want to learn about cultures and heritages of all who live and work in the community,” she said. “As for IU, we are all about the business of teaching and learning.”
Barbara Ann O’Leary, who works for the IU Cinema and plans to attend BlackLit, said events like it help build a sense of community.
“I think events like this are a great way for people to expand their awareness about literature,” she said in an email interview. “I particularly like that the event invites community members to bring excerpts from classic and modern literature as well as making space for writers to share their own work.”
The event will offer time between readings for open discussion and reflection.
Due to the volume of writers, O’Leary said she doesn’t know what to expect from Friday’s readers.
“I have a feeling the #BlackLit event will be full of surprises,” she said. “There’s so much rich material to draw from.”
