In 1992 I visited Turkey as a Visiting Writer accompanying the photographic exhibit of Black women notables published by Brian Lanker, I Dream A World. I spent ten days traveling in Turkey meeting scholars, writers, and cultural activists.
The photo below is of me talking with a group of Turkish writers.
I visited university literature classes where the students had read and fallen in love with Zora Neale Hurston!
This trip was so broadening and exhilarating as I discovered the popularity of Black writers all over the world.
Marita Golden is the author of over 20 works of fiction and nonfiction. She is Co-founder and President Emerita of the Zora Neale Hurston/ Richard Wright Foundation. As a teacher of writing, she has served as a member of the faculties of the MFA Graduate Creative Writing Programs at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University and served as a Distinguished Visiting Writer in the MA Creative Writing Program at John Hopkins University, and at the University of the District of Columbia. She has taught writing workshops nationally and internationally to a variety of constituencies and is a writing coach, workshop presenter, and literary consultant.