What we can do.

This issue of Black Issues Book Review invites us all to look back over the year in book publishing and to look forward to the holidays. We had just about finished editing this package of lively, mostly upbeat stories, when the unthinkable happened. A catastrophic hurricane virtually wiped out a great city and left a region in ruins. So it seems appropriate to reflect first on that.

Hurricane Katrina's toll in lives and human suffering remains incalculable. We watched as the horrors played out on television 24/7, read media accounts day after day and shared the anguish of those directly affected throughout the Gulf Coast region. The devastation of New Orleans was especially heartfelt. I had visited that beautiful destination a couple of times on business and the last time for pleasure to attend the Gospel Music Workshop of America at the very convention center seen daily on television as a shelter for many "forgotten" evacuees.

It would be hard to imagine a city that has contributed more to black culture and the world at large than New Orleans: the multiethnic heritage, the fusion of music that became jazz, the Creole/Cajun cuisine, the Mardi Gras parades, the funeral bands, the coexisting influences of Catholicism and voodoo, the charming architecture and so much more.

In the African American literary community, we wondered about the fate of our colleagues from booksellers to writers. Word came, for instance, that one writer and his family were safe but in need as it became apparent that their exile would be a long one. "It is clear to me that we won't be back in New Orleans any time soon, and New Orleans won't be New Orleans any time the remainder of this year," he wrote.

More likely it will be years before New Orleans can be reconstituted. Looking beyond the immediate physical needs of the survivors, we at Black Issues Book Review joined with Amber Communications Group, Inc. (ACGI) and other African American publishers in a book fund drive because that is something we can do.

"In the case of the Katrina Hurricane victims of New Orleans, we recognize the importance of reading for mental and emotional stability," wrote Tony Rose, publisher and CEO of ACGI, and Yvonne Rose, associate publisher. Reading can help pass the nine, perhaps help victims take their minds off their troubles, offer some small pleasure, and provide an opportunity to gain knowledge that can help them gain a new foothold on their lives.

"We can collectively comfort their stay, promote love of black literature, foster literacy among youth and let our people know the black literary community at large supports them," the Roses said.

The organizers urge independent publishers, book clubs, authors, literary services, libraries, editors and major publishing houses to submit books for the survivors. To donate, please e-mail [e-mail] or Heather Covington at [e-mail].

In addition, the American Booksellers Association has set up a fund to help damaged or destroyed bookstores. For more information, log on to http://news.bookweb.org/3787.html.

In the meantime, we invite you to explore this issue, from the inspiring interview with the legendary photographer Gordon Parks by Deborah Willis, herself a respected scholar in photography (page 22), to our holiday package (page 54).

Angela P. Dodson

BIBR Executive Editor