Thirty Years of Callaloo

Thirty Years of Callaloo Percival Everett (bio) There is no journal or magazine like Callaloo and insofar as the journal is an extension of an individual mind, the product of a unique vision, the amplification of a pure and complete love of a subject, I can make the claim also that there is no one like the founder of Callaloo, Charles Rowell. I was asked to write something about the journal for the celebration of this important birthday and my first thought was "I'm just sick of Charles Rowell making me do work for him" and my second thought was "I can't wait to write something." In a world marked by mediocrity, in politics, in art, in culture, Charles is a shining example of tenacity and dedication to excellence. And he is always a pain in the ass. For administrators, he is that guy who wants more money, more money, more money. For those of us who have worked with him, he wants time, time and more time. But what we all see, artists and administrators alike, even when we hate to see him coming, is that it is all for the journal and therefore for art itself. No one sacrifices more for Callaloo than Charles. One might imagine that every page of every journal has given Charles a paper cut and that every time he has placed that small injury to his lips and tasted the metal of his own blood. I will not write much here. I have said it all before and I do hate repeating myself. But I would be remiss if I did not make clear one more time that Charles Rowell is Callaloo. By simple sequent calculus: If Callaloo is a treasure then Callaloo's creator is a treasure. Callaloo is a treasure. Therefore, Callaloo's creator is a treasure. Charles Rowell is Callaloo's creator. Therefore, Charles Rowell is a treasure. All of this rests on the truth of one premise in particular, that Callaloo is a treasure. I will not make an argument for that. Some things are self-evident. Percival Everett June 2006 Los Angeles, CA Percival Everett Percival Everett is author of more than fifteen books of fiction, the most recent being American Desert, Damned If I Do, and Wounded. He is a Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California, where he chaired the Department of English from 1999 to 2004. Copyright © 2007 Charles H. Rowell

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• Author and Title Index to Callaloo Volume XX (Whole Numbers 110-113)

  Florence S Davies•Callaloo•2007

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