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90_HR0648
LRB9013319KBkbA
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to recognize the 8th Annual Gwendolyn
4 Brooks Writers' Conference, held October 15-17, 1998;
5 distinguished African-American writers will be inducted into
6 the National Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African
7 Descent, Inc. during the conference; and
8 WHEREAS, The annual conference provides an opportunity
9 for participants to network with authors and to take part in
10 discussion of the strengths and contributions of Black
11 writers and the impact of their work on society; and
12 WHEREAS, Keynote speakers for the conference will
13 include: Margaret Walker Alexander, Professor Emeritus at
14 Jackson State University, and author of "Jubilee and Richard
15 Wright: Daemonic Genius"; Amiri Baraka, author of 13
16 collections of poetry and the fictional work, "The Systems of
17 Dante's Hell"; Mari Evans, educator at Purdue University and
18 author of 2 musicals and 4 works of poetry; and
19 WHEREAS, Additional keynote speakers include: John A.
20 Williams, author of "The Man Who Cried I Am" and "If I Stop
21 I'll Die: The Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor"; August
22 Wilson, dramatist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his
23 plays, "Fences" and "The Piano Lesson"; and Nikki Giovanni,
24 poet and author of "The Genie in the Jar" and "Selected Poems
25 of Nikki Giovanni"; and
26 WHEREAS, The conference honors poet laureate Gwendolyn
27 Brooks, Chicago State University professor of literature; and
28 WHEREAS, The first honorees into the National Literary
29 Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent will include
30 noteworthy writers and authors, both living and deceased, who
31 have added to the cause of literature; and
-2- LRB9013319KBkbA
1 WHEREAS, Posthumous awards will be given to: James
2 Baldwin, Toni Cade Bambara, Frank London Brown, Sterling
3 Brown, Margaret Danner, Arthur P. Davis, Shirley Graham Du
4 Bois, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Leon Forrest, Hoyt W.
5 Fuller, Herman Gilbert, Zack Gilbert, Robert Hayden, Chester
6 Himes, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, John Oliver
7 Killens, Etheridge Knight, Audre Lorde, Ann Petry, Jean
8 Toomer, Dorothy West, and Richard Wright; and
9 WHEREAS, The living writers to be honored include:
10 Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret Walker Alexander, Lerone Bennett,
11 Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton, Cyrus Colter, Thulani Davis,
12 Mari Evans, Ernest Gaines, Nikki Giovanni, Toni Morrison,
13 Dudley Randall, John A. Williams, and August Wilson;
14 therefore, be it
15 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
17 congratulate the participants and award recipients at the 8th
18 Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Writers' Conference; to these
19 impressive men and women, we say thank you for contributing
20 to our literary library; and be it further
21 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22 presented to the chairperson of the 8th Annual Gwendolyn
23 Brooks Writers' Conference.