Sunday, December 13, 2015

This is not an exhaustive list

The lists of poets, the timelines, and various other compilations on my site are never exhaustive. Instead, they often represent works-in-progress or fragments of ongoing projects. And sometimes...no, most times, the lists are subjective and focus on the works and writers I've been thinking about. Which is to say the lists and timelines and all are limited and have room to grow.

When there are glaring over-sights and omissions or incorrect information, please feel free to drop me a line and assist me in adjusting.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The effort is appreciated. Perhaps we can collaborate on a list that has greater breadth. It seems that, more important than an "exhaustive" list, a list that represents the current publishing, honors, and awards culture would be most accurate and useful. Setting criteria for which awards are included on the list may be a consideration if not a review of important honors and awards that don't appear here. We have a fine literary journal (Crab Orchard Review) open book contest but no PEN Award (nor quite a number of other open book awards from top presses). I think this list is a great start, certainly "some" of the great awards secured by black women writers appear here. But to publish a list as fairly complete (even if not exhaustive) which leaves off a significant population of black women writers may be a great disservice to the accomplishments of dozens of significant artists. We are less limited than a list like this might suggest despite the good intention of its author. The list poses a great opportunity for a community art project which canvases the community to more accurately catalog and archive the many accomplishments of black women writing in the 21st century. Cheers -- Ruth Ellen Kocher

H. Rambsy said...

Thanks for the comments. And I understand.

I mostly published this entry as a placeholder, one I'll frequently link to whenever I run a list. Over the years, I've noticed that I usually receive the most feedback, especially from poets, when I publish lists as opposed to writings on individual poems and poets. Folks feel some kinda way, I suppose, about feeling left out. I can certainly dig that.

But there's something else. I really wish there were more people blogging about African American poetry. It would do more than ensure "greater breadth." It would also offer more perspectives. I focused on many poets whose works have come to my attention. I imagine others have been exposed to additional poets.

My own lists will and always grow though. So much depends on time and resources.