What they're saying about the advance copy of IBWALA's new "N Word CD" ... "I bought the N Word CD, listened to it, and really enjoyed it.  My only complaint? I wish it were longer, and I wish it spoke more to the genesis of the word (I always believed it was a bastardization of the word 'Negro,' born out of slavery and twisted to signify worthlessness).  Please keep me posted for N Word, Part II." The purchase price is $12 per copy and $20 for 2 copies. Send payment (check/money order) to IBWALA, Post Office Box 43576, Los Angeles, CA 90043.

IBWALA is proud to partner with the UCLA Extension Department of the Arts on ArtsDay LA, a focused, day-long educational experience to be held on the UCLA campus on Saturday, March 8 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Free and open to the public, ArtsDay LA immerses you into your choice of several fields including creative writing, screenwriting, design communication arts, interior design, landscape architecture, and entertainment media.  Top instructors participate in linked informational sessions and demonstrate how you can go from “novice to professional” in your chosen field.  In addition, ArtsDay LA attendees can receive individualized course and career advisement throughout the event; enroll in most courses at a 10% discount; and network with fellow designers, writers, actors, cinematographers, directors, producers, and musicians, plus representatives from arts and entertainment-related organizations and businesses.  For questions about this event, please contact Marcus Hennessy at (310) 267-4888 or go to www.artsdayla.org

This month’s IBWALA Pasadena workshop will held be from 1-4pm on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at the San Rafael Branch of the Pasadena Library, 1240 Nithsdale Road (on the corner at Avenue 64) in southwest Pasadena.

 This meeting we will feature:

·       A screenplay by Calvin Birdsong
·       A screenplay by Danielle Dillard
·       Crossing the River Ohio, a memoir by Hazel Clayton Harrison
·       Work(s) by Cheryl Thomas
Novels, poems, short stories, screenplays and stage plays, and other works in progress will be read and discussed.  Manuscripts may be up to 20 pages, typed and double-spaced.  Bring as many as three to five copies to share at the workshop.  Participants may also submit to others in advance via e-mail.  Works will be presented in the order received.  That means first come, first serve!  Paid-up IBWALA members reserve priority. The roundtable waits. Hope to see you there. 

p.s. for further information contact Wayne at shopliftr@hotmail.com

IBWALA will host a holiday event celebrating the artistic vision and expression of local writers, musicians and visual artists in its latest Sunday Salon event, on December 16, 2007 from 2 to 4pm at St. Elmo Village, 4830 St. Elmo Drive, Los Angeles 90019. This event is free and the public is invited to attend. The afternoon will feature an open mic session with poets and rappers from the area sharing their wisdom in the spirit of unity or “umoja” – Kwanzaa’s first principle. If you are interested in participating in the open mic, please call (323) 964-3721 or email our poetry coordinator Kathleen Shaw at Kathleen_s64127@yahoo.com. If you are a musician and desire to perform, please contact our music coordinator Earl Wooten at (323) 964-3721 or ewooten@wfcentury.com. To ensure that we can accommodate your setup/technical needs, please contact our coordinators no later than December 12, 2007. For more information call IBWALA at (323) 964-3721 or St. Elmo Village at (323) 931-3409.

The International Black Writers & Artists – Los Angeles (IBWALA) Quarterly Board Meeting is Saturday – October 13, 2007 from 11am to 2pm at St. Elmo Arts Village in the Photo Gallery located at 4830 St. Elmo Drive Los Angeles, CA 90019. Please RSVP in advance to Wayne French at shopliftr@hotmail.com. General membership and other interested individuals are invited to attend as well.

This month’s IBWALA Pasadena literary workshop will held be from 1-4pm on Saturday,
October 20, 2007 at the San Rafael Branch of the Pasadena Library, 1240
Nithsdale Road (on the corner at Avenue 64) in southwest Pasadena.

There is one open spot available to the first member to make the request. Email shopliftr@hotmail.com.

Novels, poems, short stories, screenplays and stage plays, and other works in
progress will be read and discussed.  Manuscripts may be up to 20 pages, typed
and double-spaced.  Bring three to five copies to share at the workshop.  Participants may also submit to others in advance via e-mail.  Works
will be presented in the order received.  That means first come, first serve! 
Paid-up IBWALA members reserve priority. The roundtable waits. Hope to see you
there.

The "Truth Be Told-Conversations to Be Continued!" Sunday Salon is Sunday, October 21 from 2-4 pm, at the Village Health Foundation Community Room at Jewel's Catch One Club, 4067 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles (2 blocks east of Crenshaw Blvd.) There will be libations and light fare.

The afternoon will showcase works of Black, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Same-Gender Loving (SGL) and others in the literary, visual and performance arts. The first hour will offer spoken word presentations, prose, short film, displays of art and books, as well as conversations about being gay and the corresponding range of positive/negative challenges on artists and the art world. The second hour is for Q&A, as well as sharing. We ask that each attendee bring a memory, anecdote, or fact relevant to the salon discussion in addition to plenty of questions and enthusiasm.

For more information, call (323) 299-8215.

Check out this excerpt of the October/November/December edition of Black Expressions.