Black Rootedness Anthology
Black Rootedness Anthology
Black Rootedness, an anthology, is a culmination of workshops in Africa and America featuring the poets included, and shares experiences of foreigner/returnee, neo-African, borrower of phrases, and experimenter of styles that shape-and will continue to shape-the vibrant exchange between Africa and the Diaspora. Poetry is an artistic vehicle that allows this to happen with humility and pride; honesty and fear strive for a way to establish a meaningful dialogue after centuries of separation.
Founder Karla Brundage, conceived of the West Oakland to West Africa organization while living and working in West Africa from 2013-2016. As an African-American woman, she established West Oakland to West Africa with the mission of providing a connection to Africa for African-Americans, using poetry as a healing technology to traverse borders spiritually, if not physically. West Africa Poetry Exchange (WO2WA), which has facilitated cross-cultural exchange between Oakland and West African poets and the publication of three books Our Spirits Carry Our Voices, Sisters Across Oceans and the upcoming Black Rootedness collection. She has edited four collections including Oakland Out Loud (2007) and Words Upon the Waters (2006) both by Jukebox Press. Her poetry book, Swallowing Watermelons, was published by Ishmael Reed Publishing Company in 2006. A Bay Area based poet, activist, and educator with a passion for social justice. Born in Berkeley, California in the summer of love to a Black mother and white father, Karla spent most of her childhood in Hawaii where she developed a deep love of nature. Her musical loves include Hawaiian, West African, and Hip Hop sounds.