THE COLLEGE LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION      

www.clascholars.org July 22, 2015 Note from the Editor By the time you receive this Note from the Editor, The College Language Association Journal will be current! Since my report to you during the business meeting of our April 2015 convention in Dallas, Texas, CLAJ has published two complete volumes: 57 and 58. Just in time for those new to the College Language Association and for those who appreciate being reminded, Volume 57 offers a priceless historical retrospective on the journal’s beginnings—complete with a series of passionate intellectual debates on its distinct mission and the flavor of its content. These early issues also reintroduce today’s CLA members and subscribers to key exchanges that we now know led to major changes in the way we teach, research, and write about literary productions by and about peoples of color. The first two issues of Volume 58, Guest Edited by Cheryl Wall, invites us to celebrate and direct critical attention toward Maya Angelou’s expansive and multifaceted career on the global stage with an extensive and revealing interview and a series of incisive critical essays on several of her best and lesser known works. Ironically the latter half of this volume pricks our consciousness about distinctly different implications of life and death within the African American community. While we celebrate Angelou’s accomplishments during a life well lived in 58.1-2, in 58.3-4, we, in effect, mourn and rail against the loss of increasing numbers of African American youth whose violent deaths, often at the hands of America’s law enforcement, deprive them of any such possibilities. I am keenly aware of other warring tensions between CLAJ Volumes 57 and 58—a somewhat unsettling and paradoxical condition that perhaps can be better understood through the lens of Sankofa principles. In one sense, CLAJ is strengthened by its efforts to recover key aspects of its history, yet in another, it stands at the crossroads equipped with its proud past and hard-pressed to find ways to put it to use in light of the urgency of now. Just moments before settling in front of my computer to commit these thoughts to the screen, I received an email query from a brand new CLA member who wrote, “I am a new member of the CLA. I presented research at and enjoyed the convention in Dallas this past April. I wanted to know if there are any publishing opportunities available for members.” I want to take this opportunity to publically respond to this email—first, with an invitation to read Volume 57 in its entirety to learn CLAJ’s noteworthy history and, second, with an unequivocal “Yes!” to the query about “publishing opportunities.” This “Yes!” also extends to all CLA members, many of whom have spent a significant part of their summer hiatus engaged in travel, intense research and writing on a host of fascinating topics. Now that your CLAJ is back to publishing on time and in real time, please know that the journal not only provides CLA members “publishing opportunities”, but it also thrives on your submissions. Volume 59 of the journal, which is now taking shape, will attest to this! See you in Houston in 2016! Sandra G. Shannon, CLAJ Editor

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