The PuLSE Institute, Detroit’s independent anti-poverty think tank, is launching the PuLSE Literary Circle (PLC), an online forum series that will feature regular community conversations and interviews with authors and showcase books that are making impact on the literary landscape.
PLC will be devoted to promoting critical literature that represents a diverse cultural landscape and will be open to authors and members of the community, who will receive regular updates about new books and authors. Under PLC will be PuLSE Outlook, which will feature exclusive Q&A interviews with authors about their work. The literacy circle is also establishing PuLSE Impact List, which will periodically publish books that are creating impact through the ideas espoused by the Institute.
“Books have long been the treasure trove of knowledge, passed down from generation to generation, as not only documentation of the social plight that has plagued many nations, but also as a testament to the enduring spirit of humanity that dares to challenge and imagine a better future,” said Attorney Tina M. Patterson, the president of The PuLSE Institute. “ In this year of 2020, we have seen too much of the worst of the human experience, from the failed leadership of the COVID-19 pandemic that costs hundreds of thousands of human lives worldwide, to the global social unrest caused by the perpetual lack of respect for black humanity.”
Patterson underscored the fact that writers can create social change.
“As profoundly stated by the grand Kenyan writer and noted advocate for African liberation Ngugi Wa’Thiongo, “The Scars of History Are on Every Writer.” Authors have a duty to tell the truth about the conditions of their time, and books serve as the unofficial keepers of record as references for future generations to utilize in the continued quest for human progress. From a formerly enslaved Frederick Douglass, who taught himself to read and wrote three autobiographies, to literary powerhouses of the Civil Rights Movement, such as Maya Angelou and James Baldwin, books have long served as part of the intellectual machine that powered the most critical social movements in history, with the power of the written word standing the test of time,” Patterson said. “ As such, The PuLSE Institute is honored to launch the PuLSE Literary Circle as a vehicle to maintain the intellectual thrust so critical to social change and to continue the legacy of written documentation of history through books as a key for future knowledge seekers who aspire to change the world.”
Bankole Thompson, the editor-in-chief of The PuLSE Institute, said institutions have a central role in promoting knowledge that empowers communities.
“PuLSE Literary Circle must be viewed as a bold commitment to engage and foster high quality conversations about creating social transformation,” Thompson said. “We must not shy away from reading and learning about new ideas that are aligned with our dedication to explore strategies and models to effect social change in our communities. That is why this project is crucial because we are going to be spotlighting books that touch on diverse subjects and authors that need to be heard.”
Thompson added, “We must not only be in the business of accumulating knowledge. But we must also be in the business of the distribution of knowledge, which is fundamental to any genuine effort geared towards changing the unbearable socioeconomic conditions that many have been relegated to before COVID-19, and now find themselves facing extreme difficulties during this pandemic.”
C. Paschal Eze, the chairman of the Board of The PuLSE Institute and a former longtime book editor welcomed the initiative.
“There might be little known books out there that bear resplendent ideals and refreshing ideas that can significantly improve the human society. So, what if we uncovered and made those hidden treasures better known and appreciated? What if we helped their fine authors gain needed traction? And what if new authors – young and old – were birthed in the process? Yes, ideas rule the world but certainly not the ones hidden in your neighbor’s books,” Eze said.
For more information about PLC or to recommend authors and books for our conversation series email info@thepulseinstitute.org.
