Winter 2026 - 44.1

The Interviews: A Special 50th Anniversary Issue

As we began contemplating our 50th anniversary, the treasure trove of interviews published in the journal were my very first thought. Starting with the first issues, Callaloo published the reflections of some of the most important writers, artists, scholars, and musicians from across the African diaspora. Each of these conversations is a time capsule. We get a glimpse of what these writers were thinking and feeling about their early work, or how they looked back on their careers. It’s a real treat, for instance, to read an issue like Volume 19.2, which was published in 1996. From that one issue alone, we’ve included three separate interviews with Edwidge Danticat, Elizabeth Alexander, and Sharan Strange.

This issue also serves as a memorial to some of the late giants of Black literature. We pay homage to Chinua Achebe, Octavia Butler, Aimé Césaire, Lucille Clifton, Maryse Condé, Keorapetse Kgositsile, Greg Tate, Derek Walcott, and Margaret Walker by revisiting their interviews.  We’re excited that this issue will offer some of our new, younger readers a chance to discover these important Black writers, and that those who have been with us will have a chance to revisit interviews with their favorites.

–Kyla Kupferstein Torres