Sunday, February 12, 2012
Say It Loud
As an associate member of PEN, I look forward to reading my issue of the PEN America journal, a collection of essays, poems and short stories by writers from around the world.
In the current issue, Rian Malan -- a South African author, journalist and songwriter of Afrikaner descent -- recounts his teen years as a devotee of rock and roll during the Apartheid era. As a fan of The Beatles, Malan was upset by the official ban of Beatles music (when John Lennon remarked his band was more popular than Jesus), and decided to do something about it. Under cover of darkness, he and his friends spray-painted graffiti on a block long concrete wall in the white suburbs with the caption, "Say it Loud--I'm Black and I'm Proud." Later, as a fan of the local Otis Waygood Blues Band, Malan and other garage rockers horrified their Afrikaner parents with amplified Negro rhythm and blues.
Rian recently participated in the 2011 PEN World Voices Festival, as well as The Moth: True Stories Told Live, in New York City. Malan is now a contributing editor to Rolling Stone, and lives in Cape Town.
In the current issue, Rian Malan -- a South African author, journalist and songwriter of Afrikaner descent -- recounts his teen years as a devotee of rock and roll during the Apartheid era. As a fan of The Beatles, Malan was upset by the official ban of Beatles music (when John Lennon remarked his band was more popular than Jesus), and decided to do something about it. Under cover of darkness, he and his friends spray-painted graffiti on a block long concrete wall in the white suburbs with the caption, "Say it Loud--I'm Black and I'm Proud." Later, as a fan of the local Otis Waygood Blues Band, Malan and other garage rockers horrified their Afrikaner parents with amplified Negro rhythm and blues.
Rian recently participated in the 2011 PEN World Voices Festival, as well as The Moth: True Stories Told Live, in New York City. Malan is now a contributing editor to Rolling Stone, and lives in Cape Town.
