On Fire!! Sparks Interest in Literary Exploration
The second issue of On Fire!! A Literary Journal of the African Diaspora will premier on Monday, November 10, in the Bart Luedeke Center Cavalla Room from 7 to 9 p.m. A compilation of poetry, narratives, photography, interviews and fiction that details the African-American experience through the perspectives of the authors, On Fire!! has taken Rider by storm since its debut in April 2008, says creator and editor-in-chief Rance Robeson II.
“The response has been great, everything I could’ve hoped for,” said Robeson, a junior English major at Rider and a United States Army combat veteran of the war in Iraq. “I think we started strong in the first issue, but this is a big step up. I hope to see as many people as possible on November 10 to enjoy a night of excellent literary artistic exploration that promises to heat things up.”
Composed of Rider students, New York-based performance artists and community leaders, the contributors to On Fire!! have worked together to create a journal Robeson says gives a new voice to people of color at Rider and well beyond campus. “I don’t want it to be something that is just campus-based,” he said.
To that end, Robeson is off to a solid start. Even after just one issue, On Fire!! is poised for a major breakthrough, thanks in part to a chance encounter Robeson enjoyed with renowned feminist playwright and poet Hattie Gossett, who will be the featured artist in the journal’s Fall 2008 issue.
“I went to her book signing in Harlem in April 2008, right after the first On Fire!! came out, and explained to her what I was working on,” explained Robeson of Gossett, a co-founding editor of Essence magazine, who spent 2001 as the David Randolph Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at The New School in New York and is a former Yip Harburg Fellow at New York University.
To his surprise, Gossett told him that she, too, had studied for a time at Rider. “She asked me to go get a copy of On Fire!! from my car, and when she was finished looking at it, asked if she could sign it for me.”
Sensing a remarkable opportunity, Robeson extended an offer to Gossett to contribute some original work to the next edition of his fledgling journal. After saying she would consider it, they exchanged phone numbers and that was the last he heard until late June.
“She called me to let me know she was doing a book signing in Trenton, and to ask if my offer was still on the table,” Robeson said, adding that Gossett’s association with his publication lends immeasurable credibility to On Fire!! “When Hattie Gossett asks if she can publish work in your journal, you say ‘yes!’”
Ezra Mabengeza agrees. A native of apartheid-era South Africa now residing in Brooklyn, Mabengeza is an actor and model who has appeared in the television drama ER, as well as commercials for Gatorade and Mountain Dew, also appeared in the recent Spike Lee film release Miracle at St. Anna. He befriended Robeson at the Harlem home of poet and performance artist Jade Banks, whose stirring works highlight the debut issue of On Fire!!
“We really hit it off,” Mabengeza recalled. “We had some great conversations and knew that something very soulful was taking place.” Over a series of meetings, Robeson began to show his new friend some of his poetry, while Mabengeza offered some photographs he had taken in South Africa. Four of the shots were featured in On Fire!!, and another one of his photos will occupy the cover of the Fall 2008 edition. He says the significance of On Fire!! cannot be overlooked.
“I grew up in a place that was very politically charged, and I remember being in school thinking that this is where we are supposed to be shaping our minds, but instead, it’s chaos,” he said. “So to have an institution like Rider say that there is relevance to what this person is doing – to opening up perspectives – and to be a part of it, is outstanding.”
The beginning of the fall semester found Robeson creating a writing workshop for On Fire!! submissions. “It’s strictly informal,” he said. “Really, I wanted to help a few of the people who submitted pieces for the first journal, but didn’t make the cut.” Robeson, along with guest instructors like Banks, wants to help aspiring writers tap into their voices and learn to shape their work for the appropriate audiences. “I want students to leave here and do great things,” he said. “That’s the goal, and that’s what On Fire!! is really all about.”
