Before Columbus Foundation

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The Before Columbus Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Ishmael Reed, Victor Hernández Cruz, Shawn Wong and Rudolfo Anaya[1] to be "a multi-ethnic organizing dedicated to promoting a pan-cultural view of America,"[2] especially through the promotion of multicultural writers.[3]

One of its best-known activities is the awarding of the American Book Award, which differs from other awards in having no first and second-place awards, but honoring everyone the Foundation finds worthy of acknowledgment[3]. Similarly, there are no categories of fiction, poetry, drama, etc.; the only category distinctions are for Lifetime Achievement, Editor, Children's Book, Journalism and Special Publishing awards.[1] The Foundation and the Awards were created partly in response to perceived racism, sexism and elitism in other major literary awards.[1]

In 1992, the Foundation published two anthologies of award winning selections (one poetry and one fiction)[1] as textbooks through W. W. Norton & Company, thus helping to make multicultural literature more available in the classroom. It also publishes a catalog of multicultural literature.[4] The Foundation also hosts educational activities promoting the reading and teaching of multicultural literature.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Darryl Dickson-Carr, "Before Columbus Foundation," The Columbia Guide to Contemporary African American Fiction p.44, accessed through Google Book Search
  2. ^ online bio of Reed
  3. ^ a b "The American Book Awards"
  4. ^ The Yardbird Reader and the Multi-Ethnic Spirit, by William J. Harris. MELUS 8:2, Ethnic Literature and Cultural Nationalism. (Summer, 1981), pp. 72-75.
  5. ^ Preservation Park, Oakland website

[edit] See also

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