Tayari's Blog: Bebe Moore Campbell, RIP
Posted by TayariJones on November 27, 2006 02:20 PM
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Current Events
I've just received word of the passing of sister-writer, Bebe Moore Campbell. It wasn't even a year ago that we mourned the passing of Octavia Butler. As Sweet Honey in the Rock would say, "They are falling all around me."
How do you honor a writer's transition? You can do it by writing the hardest and truest story you can. Sister Bebe never took the easy route with her work. Her first novel, Your Blues Ain't Like Mine, took a look at the lynching of African-American men and with this work she did more than just preach to the choir. She opened her heart and her imagination to see how hate and violence diminish everyone it touches. Her last work, 72-Hour Hold, looked at the pain of mental illness. She pulled back the curtain on this condition that we don't like to talk about. She showed that mental illness and institutionalization affects us too, and it isn't like a movie.
Sister Bebe is gone, but not forgotten. Memorialize her today and tomorrow and your writing tables. Make the time to fortify our literary tradition. Tell your truth and tell it well. Witness in the memory of Bebe Moore Campbell. Be brave and be thorough. Employ your gorgeous gifts to celebrate our sister and her important work.
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There are 4 comments on "Bebe Moore Campbell, RIP". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.
Comment #1, by Kamilah ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
We will miss you, Bebe. We are grateful for what you left behind, for what you showed us through your skilled lens and effort, your care.
November 27, 2006 03:03 PM
Comment #2, by carleen
I'm just devastated! We've lost such an important, empathetic, beautiful voice. Thank you Tayari for the words about honoring Bebe by honoring our own writing. We owe her that.
November 27, 2006 06:30 PM
Comment #3, by Ladylee
This is such a shock. I had the chance to see her speak about her book 72 Hour Hold back in August 2005. That book changed my whole outlook on mental illness in our community. And she was such a powerful speaker and activist... What a loss.
November 28, 2006 07:35 AM
Comment #4, by Jackie
Oh, my. This is a real shocker. I have all of her books, was even looking forward to her next one. I immediately googled her name for everything written so far about her death. Tayari, your instruction to memorialize her in our writing is good advice. As I went through all of the websites, I was astounded to learn that she didn't publish her first work of fiction until she was 42 years old. That is a stunner. It feels like she has been around forever with her writing. What an impact she had in just 14 years. Something to think about...
November 28, 2006 11:10 AM