Eugene B. Redmond keeps literary ambitions – and instruction – burning in what might be dismissed as an unlikely area, the hard-hit black city of East St. Louis.
The St. Louis American’s 2009 Lifetime Achiever in Education, he formed the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club nearly 25 years ago to educate future writers, help them to express their thoughts and feelings, and to appreciate art.
“What it takes is concentration, presence and a writer who can mentor them and have some standing in the local, national and international community,” said Redmond, who also is professor emeritus of literature at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville.
“I started in the community.”
Redmond is a native of East St. Louis and was very close to the city’s adopted arts matriarch, the choreographer and activist Katherine Dunham. He has been around the world, as a widely published poet and editor, and talked up his hometown everywhere he went.
When he returned to the area, Redmond knew East St. Louis had produced many great artists and thought he could raise some world-class writers.
The club remains active in the community not to just get their name out but to help others express themselves through writing.
“We have workshops at schools, poetry readings at churches, and always let people know instead of dealing with problems internally they can express themselves through writing,” said Darlene Roy, club president and a founding club member.
The club’s March meeting addressed the theme “Bouquet of Kwansabas for the Sisterhood (A Conch/Us/Nest of Expressions for Women’s History Month).”
The Kwansaba is a literary form Redmond created, and he often invents words for effect, like “Conch/Us/Nest,” as in “consciousness.”
The event included an open mic and a dance performance to Nina Simone’s, Four Women. Al Henderson, an artist provided his collection of SIUE books, art and photography exhibiting women from different cultures called Visions of Women.
Reginald Petty, husband of artist Edna Patterson Petty, came out for his wife, who was feeling ill. He informed everyone that the younger generations need to be taught black history again.
“Even a teacher didn’t know who Shirley Chisholm was or who the radical group SNCC was and their importance,” Petty said, referencing the first African-American to seek nomination as U.S. president from a major political party and the civil rights group the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
“You need a mentor who understands where you’re trying to go in life but understands the true roots of East St. Louis,” Redmond said. “People should embrace someone who knows the tradition.”
The club is open to anyone in the St. Louis metropolitan area. If under 18, a parents or guardian must be present when attending the meetings/events. The meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of each month at SIUE/ESL Higher Education Center in E. St. Louis, Room 2083, with dues of $100 from September to May.
For further information, call (618) 650-3991.
