African Literature Association

ALA Latest News & Updates

note A preliminary program for the ALA Conference 2010 (to be held in Tucson, AZ (USA) at the University of Arizona, 10-14 March 2010) is now available online! Additional information on registration, accommodation, and travel details can be found elsewhere on the ALA 2010 website.

note The ALA stands with the people of Haiti and extends heartfelt sympathy over the massive earthquake that has hit the country with such tragic devastation and caused incredible loss of lives. Hope will never die among the living even as we mourn the lives lost. May the people of Haiti transcend the current, natural sense of grief and overwhelming hopelessness, and emerge more capable and resolute to put the pieces of their lives together and rebuild their country for a greater future.

We encourage our members to please donate generously to legitimate relief bodies and organizations accepting relief funds for Haiti and the victims of the earthquake (see list below). No amount is too little; every dollar counts. An official letter will go out presently to the Haitian authorities.

Websites for some relief funds organizations:

Yele Haiti - Supported by the Haitian-born Wyclef Jean. You can also text “Yele” to 501501 to make a $5 donation, and the donation will be added to your cell phone bill.
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund - The Obama administration initiative.
American Red Cross - Or text word "HAITI" to 90999 for a $10 donation which will be added to your cell phone bill.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - Or call toll-free phone number 1-888-392-0392.
CARE - In addition to delivering emergency health services, this group distributes food, hygiene kits and water to those in need. In order to make a donation, go to their website.
Oxfam International & Oxfam America - Click on the "Haiti Earthquake Response Fund".

note The African Literature Association mourns the passing of Dennis Brutus -- poet, activist, and former ALA president -- and extends its condolences to Dennis' friends and family around the world. Additional memorials can be read here and here.

note The editor of JALA invites submission of essays, reviews, and review-essays that reflect the range of primary materials, critical methodologies, and the many contending and complementary movements in African and African diaspora literatures and cultures. Deadlines for submissions are February 1 for the spring/summer issue and June 1 for the fall/winter issue. For more information, please read the JALA Submission Guidelines (pdf).