Wintergreen News | June 2026

SUMMER 2026 EDITION

A Letter from the Director:
A Frederick Douglass Moment

Kerry James Marshall, Bang,
1994.

When it is finally ours, this freedom, this liberty, this beautiful
and terrible thing, needful to man as air...
this man, superb in love and logic, this man
shall be remembered.

—Robert Hayden

As we approach the country’s 250th year of self-governance and the elaborate celebrations that are scheduled to mark the 4th of July, I am having a Frederick Douglass moment. In his oration delivered in Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, July 5, 1852, he levels a candid critique of this nation that is shamefully accurate in our times:

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.

[Click below to read the full reflection from Wintergreen’s Executive Director, Joanne Gabbin.]

Read More

Upcoming Events

Save the date for our next Welcome Table Talk: “Parables and Provisions: Feeding the Soil and the Soul”!

Join us on July 11, 2026 at 12pm ET for our next Welcome Table Talk discussion featuring writers Shauna Morgan (Wintergreen Women Writers Collective) and Malika Booker (Torch Literary Arts), moderated by Carmin Wong (Wintergreen Women Writers Collective).

RSVP here! You will need a free Zoom account to attend.

Save the Date: Torch Literary Arts, founded by poet Amanda Johnston, celebrates its 20th Anniversary: A Gathering of Flames on September 25-27 in Austin, TX. Featured speakers will include Sharon Bridgforth, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, (Wintergreen Woman) Patricia Smith, Crystal Wilkinson, Florinda Bryant, Ariana Brown, Nijla Mu’min, and Anastacia-Reneé. Space is limited. Tickets available now.

What’s New at Wintergreen?

Wintergreen Retreat: Over a sunny May weekend, Wintergreen Women gathered for their annual retreat to enjoy seaside rest, rejuvenation, and sisterhood. This year’s gathering continued Wintergreen’s decades-long tradition, which began in 1987 at a resort in Virginia to welcome poet and activist Nikki Giovanni. Many thanks to Wintergreen Retreat Committee Chair Latorial Faison for leading and executing this year’s retreat!

Pictured left to right, clockwise: Wintergreen Women Carmin Wong, Leah Glenn Price, Executive Director Joanne Gabbin, Sandra Govan, Tyechia Lynn Thompson, Graduate Student Fellow Jessica Halsey, Judith McCray, and Desiree Cooper.

And So We Gather: Wintergreen Women Leah Glenn, Latorial Faison, Joanne Gabbin, Opal Moore, and Hermine Pinson joined the Leah Glenn Dance Theatre to perform “And So We Gather,” inspired by Nikki Giovanni, at the Carver Community Cultural Center in San Antonio, TX. Read the full event recap.

Lauren K. Alleyne was awarded the Joseph Brodsky Rome Prize in Literature from the American Academy in Rome. As an awardee, Lauren receives dedicated time and space to work on her writing within a transdisciplinary community in Rome, Italy.

Wintergreen Graduate Student Fellow Jessica Halsey (pictured on the far right) presented her working paper titled “The Women Gather: Building a Network to Embrace Black Women Writers” at the MLA, CLA, and Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) conferences.

Maryemma Graham was featured on a recent episode of the Mississippi Humanities Council’s podcast Reflecting Mississippi. “More Than Jubilee: The Enduring Impact of Margaret Walker and Her Work” explores the legacy of Margaret Walker Alexander, her work, and the important role of the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University.

Congratulations to Marilyn Mobley whose book Toni Morrison and the Geopoetics of Place, Race, and Be/longing (Temple University Press) was awarded the Toni Morrison Society Book Prize!

Congratulations to Desiree Cooper whose anthology Black Summers: Growing Up in the Urban Outdoors (Wayne State University Press) was published!

At our annual retreat, Wintergreen was proud to share a portrait series by artist Gladys Sanders. In this striking series, Sanders explores the multi-dimensionality of the black woman through a lens of "Sunday Best" dignity and multi-media elements like beads, chains, and textiles. View the full collection.

Wintergreen is excited to announce a partnership with artist Karen J. Revis to develop 6 broadsides featuring poetry from Nikki Giovanni, Mari Evans, Margaret Walker, Lucille Clifton, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Toi Derricotte.

Wintergreen is now on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. Follow us to stay updated on news and events!

Wintergreen Library

Opal Moore’s recommendation: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad.

“This” refers to the genocide in Gaza and other atrocities of our era. El Akkad’s work was the winner of the 2025 National Book Award.

Joanne Gabbin’s recommendation: Makeshift Altar by Amy M. Alvarez.

The intimacy of Amy M. Alvarez's geographies in Makeshift Altar makes us believe we have been in these places before even if we haven't. Her poems in this brilliant debut collection are contemporary GPSs to our diverse cultural heritage.

Mehron Price’s recommendation: On Morrison by Namwali Serpell.

This brilliant work focuses on Toni Morrison’s vision for and execution of her work, highlighting her ambition, work ethic, and prescience. Serpell examines Morrison’s oeuvre from a craft perspective, analyzing her novels, short story, and critical essays with a deep admiration for Morrison that shines throughout her analysis.

Karl-Mary Akre’s recommendation: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.

This moving, multi-generational family portrait tells the story of twin sisters— one of whom decides to “pass” for white and one who refuses. As this tale deftly moves through time and space, Bennett asks us to consider the liminal spaces we all exist within, and what can truly be passed from mother to daughter and sister to sister.

Opportunities

Blessing the Boats Selections - Submissions open until June 15.
Black Writers Weekend - July 31 to August 2.
Harlem Book Fair - August 29.

Have a book recommendation, shoutout, or news to share with Wintergreen? Share it with us at info@wintergreenwomenwriterscollective.com to be featured in an upcoming newsletter!

A Letter from the Director:A Frederick Douglass Moment

When it is finally ours, this freedom, this liberty, this beautifuland terrible thing, needful to man as air... this man, superb in love and logic, this man shall be remembered.