With hundreds of writers, and with a countless number of books to his credit, renowned poet and publisher Dr. Haki Madhubuti was celebrated recently at the 50th anniversary of the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards Ceremony at the New School. Dr. Madhubuti was saluted, along with author Sandra Cisneros, with Achievement Awards by committee co-chair Jacob Appel. Dr. Madhubuti and Third World Press (TWP) were recipients of the Toni Morrison Achievement Award by the NBCC, which was launched in 1974, seven years after TWP was established. TWP is the largest independent Black-owned press in the U.S.
“Third World has played a crucial role in ensuring the publication and continued availability of the works of major Black writers including Gloria Naylor, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Pearl Cleage, and, most notably, Gwendolyn Brooks,” Appel said. “In addition, the press offered an essential platform both for new voices and for a range of writers who did not initially receive the attention they deserved from major publishers.”
Upon receiving the award, Madhubuti reached into his pocket, pulled out a fifty dollar bill and gave it to Appel. “It’s not for you Jacob, but for the NBCC and its fifty years.” He then recounted the beginning of his writing career, one encouraged by his mother and facilitated by the libraries where he discovered the writings of Richard Wright. “I was sixteen and art saved my life,” he said, before noting that his wife of 55 years, Safisha, accompanied him to the ceremony.
Dr. Madhubuti could not waste an opportunity to comment on the current administration, and like Lauren Michele Jackson, who received the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, he offered a few words about the plight of the Palestinians, waving a copy of his most recent publication, “For Gaza’s Children.” Then he lashed out at the current president. “I love my country but I find it difficult to accept the fact that we have a criminal in the White House,” he said. The current president was, to his way of thinking, a Neanderthal, though that may have been an insult to early creatures.
“I want you to help me as I read my poem called ‘Art,’” he said, referring to a work from his book “Liberation Narratives,” asking the audience to repeat that word in a call-and-response pattern. “Magnify your children’s minds with art,” he said. “Introduce your children to the cultures of the world through art, energize their young feet, spirits and souls with art, keep them curious, political and creative with art…” This went on for several stanzas.
“And finally, and this is consequential, the quality of the art determines the quality of the responses,” he said.
The response from the crowded auditorium was loud and sustained.