February 9, 2012

by Paulette Beete

Some of the 2011 Cave Canem Fellows with instructor Carl Phillips (back row, 2nd from right). Photo by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

You might not expect Pompeii to figure significantly in the history of African-American literature, but it was a visit to the ancient buried city that inspired the name for Cave Canem, the Brooklyn-based poetry organization for African-American poets. It all started with a dream, more specifically, poet Toi Dericotte’s dream to create a retreat for African-American poets where they could meet each other and write and learn together. When Dericotte shared this wish with fellow poet Cornelius Eady and his novelist wife Sarah Micklem, the pair enthusiastically agreed to make the workshop a reality.

As Cave Canem Executive Director Alison Meyers explains, “While vacationing in Pompeii, they found a fitting symbol for the safe space they planned to create—the mosaic of a dog guarding the entry to the House of the Tragic Poet, with the inscription, ‘Cave Canem’ (Beware of the Dog).” She adds, “In designing the logo for their new enterprise, Micklem introduced a telling visual metaphor by breaking the dog’s chain.”

Since its first retreat in 1996—for which Dericotte, Eady, Elizabeth Alexander, and Afaa Michael Weaver donated their time—Cave Canem has grown into a poetry powerhouse, offering not only the highly competitive annual retreat, but also community workshops, a first-book prize, and poetry readings, among other activities. We spoke with Meyers about the organization—recipient of a 2011 NEA grant—which she describes as, “a protection for poets and a catalyst for unleashing vital, new voices into the literary world.”

NEA: Why does the literary field need an organization like Cave Canem?

ALISON MEYERS: Big question! Perhaps it’s useful to approach it from the other side: what would our field look like without Cave Canem, or similar organizations, or our predecessors, in the mix? I think less engaged, less textured, and certainly less representative of the breadth and depth of poetry production in the United States. It’s not that African-American poets (and other marginalized voices) haven’t always produced—of course, this is a long and rich history. Contemporary poets connect with Cave Canem as a site for community building and aesthetic “safety,” the place where you can write your poems, the poems you need to write, and often discover new strategies for making them stronger. Through the collective impact of Cave Canem poets’ work in the world, Cave Canem has evolved to the point where there’s increased visibility for black poets. For example, you invited me to do this interview—a kind of “validation” that Cave Canem is achieving its mission.

Why do we continue to need Cave Canem? Because racism and classism infect our culture, and literature is a key art form for cultural transformation. The literary world needs many diverse voices in order to tell the whole story, the whole truth of our American culture and history. Cave Canem’s presence in the field helps keep these imperatives on the literary radar screen.

NEA: Can you describe a typical Cave Canem retreat?

MEYERS: For the past several years, we’ve held our June retreat on the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus, our home for a week. The retreat begins with an Opening Circle where everyone can introduce her/himself and share expectations or concerns. Throughout the retreat, 54  fellows work in groups of nine, studying in rotation with six faculty members in three-hour daily workshops; participants produce six poems in as many days. Our 2012 faculty are Toi Derricotte, Cornelius Eady, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Nikky Finney, Terrance Hayes and Angela Jackson. A guest poet–—this year, Amiri Baraka—gives a talk on craft. The retreat includes three “lightning round” readings, each with 18 fellows—extraordinary four-minute readings when the community as a whole discovers, celebrates, validates, and is moved, enlightened, and entertained. Two faculty readings are highlights of the retreat, one on campus, the second under a tent on Pittsburgh’s Northside streets, courtesy of City of Asylum/Pittsburgh, our event co-sponsor. Historically, second-year fellows design and host a celebratory ceremony for the graduating class of third-year fellows. Other aspects of the retreat include mentorship, fellow-led workshops on themes from professional development to craft, informal dialogue, and socializing. Read the rest of this entry »