Author's conference in Charleston to examine modernism, Gullah

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

Toni Morrison is the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities Emeritus and special consultant to the director of the Princeton Atelier at the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University.

Honoring the first African-American woman to win a Nobel Prize for Literature, the Fifth Biennial Conference of the Toni Morrison Society will be held in Charleston for four days with a whirlwind of events examining the concept of modernism in Morrison's work and its connection to the Gullah culture.

Highlighting the conference to be held July 24-27 will be a tribute to Morrison led by Phylicia Rashad, the first African-American actress to win a Tony Award for best performance by a leading actress in a play (a 2004 revival of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun").

"Toni Morrison and Modernism" is the title of the conference, which Carolyn Denard, of Brown University and chairwoman of the Toni Morrison Society, says is especially appropriate to Charleston since it was the largest port of entry of enslaved Africans, and the fact that this year marks the 200th anniversary of the ban of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The College of Charleston will serve as host of the worldwide event, and Carolyn Morales of the college's Office of Institutional Diversity serves as conference chairwoman. Featured will be a marathon of harbor cruises, jazz and spiritual music concerts. Also, each day, panel discussions will examine the tragic imperative of enslaved Africans to "make themselves new" in order to survive. Panels and topics are listed at www.tonimorrison society.org.

Sponsored by the International Literary Society, the Morrison Society has about 600 members representing 12 countries, including Japan, Australia, Egypt and China. Denard says the public is invited to major events.

"However, all the individual panels probably will not be open to the public due to lack of space, and also because this is primarily a conference for scholars," says Denard, chair of the board of the Toni Morrison Society, a component of the American Literature Association that represents a number of major authors. The Morrison Society's mission is that of supporting the teaching, reading and critical examination of Morrison's works.

"Concerning the topic of 'modernism,' actually blacks were the first modernists as they created the Gullah culture; after all, when you have to leave your home, family and your traditions, you have to re-create yourself, and blacks were the first to do this. Therefore, we are looking at modernism in a different way and calling it diasporic modernism," Denard explains. "Trans-Atlantic slave trade predated modernism in Europe. When Gullah was invented, that was the first modernist moment."

Speaking by phone while visiting family in her native Mississippi, Denard says that between 250 and 300 attendees have registered for the conference, but she expects considerably more as the date grows near. "Of course, some people may register to attend just a day or two," she says.

Major activities open to the public include Morrison's talk concerning her new book, "A Mercy," at the Sottile Theatre.

Also, a water tour aboard The Spirit of Carolina will be led by Michael Allen, education specialist with the National Park Service at Fort Moultrie, who will chronicle the arrival and legacy of African-Americans in Charleston and South Carolina. Landmarks, sites, structures and islands that served as major gateways for enslaved Africans arriving to the Colonies will be identified during the cruise.

"Forty percent of the Africans who came into Charleston were taken through Sullivan's Island," says Denard. "In light of this, we will have the first 'Bench by the Road' project founded in 2006 in honor of Toni Morrison's 75th birthday. "We will place a 6-foot steel bench facing out toward where the slaves were brought in. Also, we will place a wreath in the water honoring those who died before reaching land," explains Denard.

On July 26, a banquet celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Toni Morrison Society will feature Rashad of television, stage and screen, who will lead a tribute to Morrison. The actress graduated from Howard University, where Morrison also earned her undergraduate degree.

"The banquet also is open to the public as space allows," Denard said of the gala event to be held at the Francis Marion Hotel. Tickets are $50.

Winding up the conference July 27 will be a talk by Karen Chandler of the College of Charleston's arts management program, who will speak on "Modernism, Jazz and the African-American Experience."

Following Chandler's talk, the Quentin Baxter Ensemble will play hymns, spirituals and jazz classics at a reception and closing brunch at the Francis Marion.

Jonathan Green

"Endless Marsh" is the title of a Jonathan Green painting that will grace the conference program cover.

As it turns out, Green and Morrison have had a mutual admiration society for years.

Reached by phone at his studio near Naples, Fla., Green says, "Ms. Morrison is a collector of my work, and I went to hear her speak at the Louvre in Paris on 'Modernity.' Then, she invited me to talk about modernism in the Gullah culture at the conference."

Green will speak on "Modernism and the Gullah People in Art and Life" at 11 a.m. July 26 at the Francis Marion.

Of Morrison's books, Green says "The Bluest Eye" (about an African-American girl who thinks her life would be perfect if she only had blue eyes), is his favorite "for personal reasons."

"The Gullah culture has played a great role in forming the Southern culture," Green says. "Also, it has greatly formed European culture with its textiles, pottery and ironworks. I want people to understand the tremendous sacrifice made by the children of the diaspora."

Reach Dottie Ashley at 937-5704 or dashley@postandcourier.com.