Literary Tour Comes to UTSA

By: Kalia Malone

Posted: 10/30/06

While students outside were celebrating Best Fest here at UTSA, others were inside the Liu auditorium celebrating the African-American contribution to literature. The Divine Literary Tour, made up of 23 authors under different Black Greek letter organizations, travels the country giving back to the community by sharing the diversity and richness of African American literature. The panel, brought to campus by Professor Fredrick Williams, discussed the responsibilities of black authors and the inspiration that led them to write.

Authors Thomas Brooks, Katherine D. Jones, and Toschia Moffett, as well as Professor Williams, brought intelligent and sometimes controversial perspectives to the panel discussion, engaging students to think about what it is that they read and write as well as give clarity to why people choose to become authors.

Thomas Brooks, award winning author of "A Wealth of Family," chose to communicate his experiences through writing with the hope of reaching children who, like him, are adopted and faced with difficult decisions regarding their birth parents and the journey to find their identity. With a background in Engineering and Business, Brooks would not seem to be a likely candidate to assume the role of narrator. Defying stereotypes he eloquently creates "a perspective of searching for self" that he hopes will cross all barriers that individuals face, including adoption and race. "I found out I was adopted when I was 11 and it messed me up pretty bad for about 3 weeks." He later revealed that he did not learn that he was of a multicultural heritage until he was twenty-five years old when he began the journey of finding his birth parents. His word to young writers is to "use a schedule - write everyday, treat it like a job" and to practice "Functional Excellence" meaning write what you want but write well.

Delivering "romance with a twist", Katherine D. Jones is preparing to release her fifth book with a sixth close to follow. Born the second of four sisters, self expression was in her makeup but she originally wanted to be a lawyer or ambassador. Unlike many aspiring authors, Jones never considered writing as a career until a difficult pregnancy kept her in the hospital for five and a half months. Faced with nothing to do, she began writing a novel. "Love Worth Fighting For" a FBI suspense romance set in New Orleans, Louisiana was her first endeavor. "I want to take the reader away for a while - to take their mind off of whatever is going on," said Jones. Her most important responsibility as an author comes with the job of giving a good story. While she doesn't feel led to discuss global issues directly, Jones does build her books around strong women who demand what they themselves give to relationships. When asked for advice for potential authors she said simply, "If you start the book - finish the book."

Organizer of the Literary Tour, Toschia Moffett expresses herself through fiction as well as non-fiction. "I was disappointed by the African American authors I read." Moffett wanted to find a median between the non-typical, well-off characters and the stereotyped downtrodden and 'ghetto' representations she came across. Author of "You Wrong for That", she plays off the real and assumed life drama that people face daily. Moffett's non-fiction, however, deals with issues closer to home. "Colored Folks don't Vote, They just have Babies", to be released in about a year is a political commentary on Black America and deals with stereotypes within the black community. A more current work is "From Zora to Diddy; An Academic Comparison and Contrast of the Harlem Renaissance and the Hip-Hop Renaissance" which takes a look at the black artistic movements then and now.

UTSA Professor, Fredrick Williams, author of "Beyond Redemption," allowed the guest lecturers do most of the talking but let the student audience know that he takes his chosen art form very seriously. Williams said that black authors have a responsibility to defy the typecasting given to their communities and that unfortunately they don't have the luxury of pure artistic freedom. He also shared a view that everyone else on the panel agreed with when he said, "If you're writing to get rich, don't write." Williams is a professor of African American Studies and active member of the San Antonio community.

For more information on these authors and their work, visit www.thedivineliterarytour.com