Orville Lloyd Douglas
Orville Lloyd Douglas (born on September 26 1976) is a Canadian poet and writer. Douglas' work typically concentrates on class, gender, race, pop culture, and sexuality.
Biography
Early life
Douglas was born in Toronto, Ontario to Jamaican-Canadian parents. He graduated from York University with a BA degree in history in June 2004.
Career
In April 2005, Douglas' first volume of poetry, "You Don't Know Me," was published by TSAR Publications with typographical and spelling errors. On July 13th 2005, a termination agreement was agreed upon between Douglas and TSAR Publications and the rights of "You Don't Know Me" reverted back to Douglas. "You Don't Know Me" is no longer in print. Although Douglas was distraught over the quality of the poetry collection, it still reached an audience in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, England, and the United States. The poetry uncovers the hypocrisy and double standards that affect the lives of gay black men in relation to identity, family, mainstream racism, gay racism, love, and homophobia.
In April 2007, Douglas' poem "Dear Langston Hughes" was published in the first Canadian gay male anthology "Seminal." Douglas' poem deals with a fictionalized passionate love affair between Douglas and Langston Hughes during the Harlem Renaissance. A conflict emerged with Arsenal Pulp Press over payment. Douglas refused the contract and the case has not been resolved.
In April 2007 Douglas poem "Africville" was published by the University of South Dakota literary journal "The Vermillion Literary Project." The poem "Africville" pertains to the removal of an all black settlement in Halifax Nova Scotia by the authorities during the mid 1960s.
On May 17th 2007, Douglas fifteen minute radio documentary "The Good Son" was broadcast across Canada on the CBC Radio One program Outfront. The first section of the documentary was an interwoven quilt of Douglas reading his poetry and interviewing his father. The second part of the documentary was a monologue as Douglas exploring issues such as homophobia in the black community, heterosexual marriage, family discord, and society's racism against young, gay black men.
On June 9th 2007, Douglas' piece "Shades of Blackface" was published in the New Zealand Herald. The article deals with what he calls the hypocrisy of mainstream Hollywood and casting controversy over the film "A Mighty Heart." Angelina Jolie, a European-American actress, was cast as Mariane Pearl despite the fact that Pearl is of multiracial ancestry of which African is one. Douglas argues since Pearl looks more of African descent then of European descent a woman of mixed race ancestry such as Thandie Newton should have been chosen for the role. Douglas' perspective is due to what he feels is Hollywood's racism, Jolie was considered more of a box office draw and more marketable to a mainstream audience despite the fact she looks nothing like the real Mariane Pearl. Douglas also mentions the incredible struggle African-American women have in Hollywood in finding quality leading roles.
On June 21st 2007, Douglas followed up with the article "Is White The New Black?" which was published in the Vancouver British Columbia alternative newspaper The Georgia Straight. The piece is an expansion of Douglas' thoughts about "A Mighty Heart."
Douglas' work has been published in Canadian publications such as the Toronto Star, Xtra!, NOW, Word Magazine and the Georgia Straight. His work has also been published internationally in the the New Zealand Herald which is based in Auckland, New Zealand. His American publication credits include Venus magazine, Urban Mozaik, Honey magazine, Arise magazine and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Bibliography
Radio documentaries
- "The Good Son" - CBC Radio - 2007
Essays
- "Shades Of Blackface" - New Zealand Herald - 2007
- "Is White The New Black?" - The Georgia Straight - 2007
Anthologies and literary journals
- "Dear Langston Hughes" - Seminal - 2007
- "Africville" -Vermillion Literary Project - 2007
Poetry
- 'You Don't Know Me' - 2005