Odie Hawkins is one of the original members of the Watts Writer's Workshop (founded by Budd Schulberg) that was established in the wake of the Watts Rebellion/1965. His mentors were John W. Bloch, Louise Meriwether, Robert Lewin and Harlan Ellison. He started his writing career with the invaluable assistance of Dr. Margaret Burroughs, the founder of the DuSable Museum of African-American History, in Chicago, Illinois. Hawkins takes credit for originating the Pan-African Occult genre, as exemplified by his books: "Shackles Across Time", "The Snake, 20/20" and "Snake Doctor". He is in the following documentaries: "Burn Motherf*cker Burn" directed by Sacha Jenkins and "Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp" Directed by Jorge Hinojosa. Professor Justin Gifford invited him to be one of the panelists at the Modern Language Association (MLA) Conference at the Hilton, LA Live. Hawkins was a participant in a California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) event, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the "Watts Rebellion" that is usually labeled "a riot". Mr. Hawkins has agreed to let this university archive his works. "I feel privileged to be able to write books about what's goin' on." www.odiehawkins.com www.amazon.com/author/odiehawkins