'Darfur Anthology' benefit party set for Thursday at ECC
The Writers Center at Elgin Community College will host a publication party for "The Darfur Anthology," from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the dining room of the Fox Valley University and Business Center on the ECC main campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. The public is invited to this free event.
A short program will include comments by ECC President David Sam, selected readings from the anthology, a visual presentation by ECC's Spartan Design Club and a raffle. Copies of the anthology will be available for purchase. Refreshments will be served.
"The Darfur Anthology," a collection of work from 33 authors associated with the ECC Writers Center, was created to raise funds to benefit the millions of Sudanese residents displaced by the conflict.
The project began in spring 2006 when English professor Rachael Tecza and graphic design professor Connie Orbeta spoke with a group of students about an appearance by actor George Clooney and his father on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." The show featured the Clooneys discussing their trip to Darfur and the genocide taking place in Darfur, a province of the African nation of Sudan.
The conflict began in February 2003, when ethnic African tribes rebelled against what they considered decades of neglect and discrimination by the Arab-dominated Sudanese government. The government is accused of retaliating by unleashing a militia of Arab nomads known as the janjaweed, a charge it denies.
Tecza said the students wanted to do something to help. She mentioned "Sarajevo: An Anthology for Bosnian Relief," a similar book project that helped raise money for Bosnian relief during that conflict in the 1990s.
Key to the project was the work that was donated by writers who had given readings for the Writers Center over the last 20-plus years. Tecza, who is the center's co-coordinator, said 33 authors responded, donating more than 50 selections of poetry and prose. ECC published the book, and it was printed by Hagg Press of Elgin.
Writing students helped to compile the authors' contact information, process the letters, log in and load the submitted material, and send out the completed books to contributors. Orbeta, faculty adviser to the Spartan Design Club, a select group of ECC graphic design students, was onboard the project from the beginning. She and the students donated their talents to design the anthology, including the cover. Orbeta also created the sculpture that will be raffled off at the publication party to raise additional funds.
The book is for sale at $20 at the ECC Bookstore on the Main Campus and at Town House Books and Cafe in St. Charles, and also at Writers Center events to be held this year at ECC. All book proceeds will go to the International Rescue Committee, an organization that serves refugees and communities victimized by oppression and violent conflict worldwide.
Tecza said she's proud of all the people who were involved in the project: students, faculty, administrators, staff and the board of trustees.
"We have received support from every corner of the college," she said. "It is a true community effort."
For information, contact Tecza at (847) 214-7578 or rtecza@elgin.edu. To purchase the anthology, call the ECC bookstore at (847) 214-7395 or Town House Books and Cafe at (630) 584-8600.