Hey folks,
I posted this on several of my social media feeds yesterday. I wasn’t looking for likes or follows. That wasn’t my intent. I wanted to show a solution to all of the negativity surrounding us recently. I only hope the message below shows that and begins to lead to a better way for all of us. I love you all. Take care.
Charles L. Chatmon
President, Chatmon’s Books
“Mr. Chatmon, did you enjoy your time as executive director of the L.A. Black Book Expo?”
There is no one answer, right or wrong on this subject. I will say that my first year was probably the best. I enjoyed holding it at the Expo Center which to me was the perfect place to hold it. After that year, that’s when it became a challenge. If you reader, seen my comments on #LABBX before, rest assured I do not regret my decision of assuming control of the Expo from the late, great Dr. Itibari M. Zulu who passed away last year. He sent an email to me in 2006 after the LABBX for that year was cancelled. He accepted a job out of state and because of my work with the California Writers Collective, I accepted his request and began right to work on the event.
If one were to ask me what did #LABBX do to my writing career? I will have to say it suffered a setback. Truth be told, #LABBX basically steered me away from writing more books at that time. The Voices of South Central was already in its third year plus I have attended all of the local literary events I could, but felt #LABBX was needed to help promote my fellow authors in L.A. There weren’t too many literary festivals outside the Black Writers Festival at the Howard Hughes Center and the Black Writers on Tour. As far as my creativity in writing more books, I feel now #LABBX took me away from my primary goal of becoming a writer/author. I should have stuck with my dream and just said, “Thanks, but not interested.” If I had done that, I don’t know how much farther along I would be in my writing career right now. Perhaps I may have published another book or two.
Like I said I don’t regret my time as #LABBX executive director at all. I have met lots of interesting authors who are actresses, businesswomen, entrepreneurs, fellow visionaries, and just plain writing for the joy of selling a book and selling it. It was the sales part at the expo that often caused the most trouble (smile). I am a writer. I love it, enjoyed this ‘hobby’ since elementary school and with all my shortcomings, I love this literary artistry the most. I look back at this now and wonder what I would have done differently. What should I have said, what could I have done to make #LABBX a positive experience for everybody? Maybe I shouldn’t have listened to too many people who offered suggestions on the venue, how to increase the size of the crowd, what programs to add. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that and just kept it simple as when Dr. Zulu ran his portions of #LABBX. Perhaps I was too ambitious, maybe I wasn’t ambitious enough.
I know to this day I will be criticized, praised, however folks who were past exhibitors, attendees, or associates feel about their time at #LABBX. It doesn’t really matter anymore. I don’t plan on running another literary event, ever. The growth of digital platforms and our changing city of Los Angeles are taking care of that. It’s becoming a city now where someone who looks like me isn’t welcome. So that’s it. I guess in the final analysis, my answer now might be, I enjoyed my time at #LABBX. I can’t regret that. I only regret that it took away my momentum on the writing I was involved with. I’m glad Itibari chose me, definitely glad. I just wish it wasn’t at the cost of my writing career.
Charles L. Chatmon
Former Executive Director
Los Angeles Black Book Expo
Here’s part two of Poetry Night. I’m going to force you folks to listen to my poems darn it! (smile). I hope you enjoy what you hear and if you do, please let me know. Thanks!
Most of you know our owner is an accomplished writer and poet. Here he is sharing his written works with you. Please enjoy the following selections at your leisure. Thank you.
When you either watch your television sets or on the internet at home readers, you’ll witness the spotlight on the more successful best-selling authors. The veterans who made a name for themselves by the novels they wrote, or the sudden emergence of a newcomer (newcomer to the general public) with a story to tell for this current generation. Among them are the millions of lesser known writers who produce works but aren’t noticed by the public eye. The only avenues in which to gain an audience are book festivals, interviews with digital or print media, readings, everything else the famous authors don’t need to do; their fans are the ones with long lines in bookstores waiting for the release of their latest works.
As you may have guessed reader, the author of this essay is far from a famous author. Now when I began writing at an early age, it was for the love of writing a poem or short story. The idea of becoming as famous as Ray Bradbury, Langston Hughes or Isaac Asimov never occurred to me until much later in life. My goal was to be like Shakespeare, a writer whose works could be discussed for years and years. Based on my own experiences so far, I had no idea I would be in front of a camera discussing my work or opening a mobile bookstore, let alone be in charge of a Black Book Expo but I’m not as close to the eventual goal I aimed for nearly two decades ago. I’m still one of the millions of lesser known authors who keep writing in the hopes one day I will become a “famous author”.
The literary world has changed quite a lot since my days of reading books in my local library. There are new forms of entertainment, other venues to snatch the eyeballs off the written page. The advances in technology relating to home entertainment make my goal a lot harder these days. Even before the days of social media, I faced a challenge by the same target audience I sold my books to. You put in all the hard work to write a piece of literature that hopefully gains a new reader only to find the readers themselves don’t finish the entire book and critique your works without even finishing it! There’s no greater frustration than to endure piecemeal criticism from a reader. This is what it’s come to in our modern day and time.
I see this in my writer’s workshops. When I continued the workshops from a group of authors whom I associated with, there would be a roomful of ambitious first-time authors ready to learn the steps of publishing a book. Two years ago, there were only a handful of potential writers in the conference room. Most of the attendees were from another class. After close to forty years, I will say the art of writing has changed dramatically. The nature of reading a book has changed from print to where you may be reading this essay from, on your phone or from your computer or tablet. The aim of storytelling has changed from basically telling a good tale to which everyone can learn from to a select target audience with tales of representation and other new genres you may have seen listed here on the blog before. There’s nothing wrong with that; every generation undergoes a change in the literary world. It’s no surprise the stories I used to read back then have little to no relevance now.
The literary scene has changed so much that most of the same authors I used to meet in our local literary events have stopped writing. Lack of profits, lack of support, whatever the reasons, these authors who put in the hard work of publishing a book, are now back to maintaining a living for themselves. They did not reach the status they hoped for when they wrote their books and in a way, that’s sad. It’s also part of the writer’s life. Rather than ‘give up the ghost’, I am still one of the few who continue this dream. Perhaps it will be here on the blog I will inspire a new author to write their book or an idea they can grow and help them with their literary vision. If I can do that, then I’ll accept it. Until that time, all I can do is write….and dream.
Charles L. Chatmon
Chatmon’s Books
Because it appears we’re in the middle of those Doomsday movies, let me share with you a tale from a legendary literary giant, Edgar Allen Poe. His Masque of The Red Death has been adapted in movie form several times. I would like to suggest the 1964 film with Vincent Price as the best adaptation of this story, although what I would like to show you is a shorter version of Masque for your viewing pleasure. You might see some similarities or not, but either way I hope you enjoy the effort from the YouTube user who posted this. A very timely tale for this year indeed.
Bonus: a trailer for that 1964 version I mentioned above. Take care and be safe!
From the pen of our days in V-town, here’s another entry from Sweet Home Vallejo…….(2009)
Recently, I sold copies of my book The Voices of South Central at the McCree-Goudeau Gallery in the Vallejo art district. I had a chance to sit down and listen to the experiences of Mr. Cleven ‘Goodie’ Goudeau. What I learned about this gentlemen I hope and pray our young people continue to emulate as he quietly recounted his journey from cartoonist to greeting card designer and producer of his own company, to the gallery he shares with his wife Jeanette. If you lived back in the 1960’s and 70’s, you may remember reading one of Mr. Goudeau’s greeting cards, very distinguishable from the Hallmarks or other brand name greeting cards in stores.
As I listened to Mr. Goudeau’s accounts of one Bay area newspaper refusing to hire him based on his skin color, to his first attempts of creating his cards without experience in the field and yet wound up a success because he fulfilled a need, to his travels around the world and the accolades he accomplished over time. I had a feeling of awe listening to him and another gentleman near Goodie’s age share stories about their challenges of racial prejudice, discrimination, and indifference.
The conservative phrase when it comes to people such as Goodie is to ‘raise yourself by your bootstraps’. For Goodie and those like him who overcome the odds and achieved a level of success, I appreciate all they’ve done and as I listened, I knew that with all our elders faced back then, I should have nothing, nothing to complain about. Our generation compared to those past, should pay attention and realize the struggle…will always be a struggle but never to give up regardless.
What we in this generation and those in the future must learn is to realize we do have the power to change our course in life, to manufacture products and services based on need rather than wanting things for ourselves. Goodie had no experience, no background in designing greeting cards, but he tried and from those few efforts built a line my older relatives recognize. We shouldn’t have to be pigeonholed into music or sports. That’s society’s game plan. What we can do is create more inventors, doctors, lawyers…even presidents. But this you have read before.
I salute men like Goodie for used his talents to create something positive for our elders and generations down the line. Reading his cards I was reminded that Black is Beautiful and it’s nothing to be ashamed about. It’s about pride; it’s about feeling good for one another when the world condemns you for who and what you are. It’s those messages we need to constantly keep on our minds and on our children’s minds. Let the world insist we create entertainers and athletes and nothing else. Then, let’s push ahead and defy those same voices by daring to dream, daring to live, daring to make a difference one for another.
Just like Goodie.
Note: to the family of Goodie and Jeanette, our condolences to their family. They are missed as they provided much needed help and advice to our endeavors.
