Toni Morrison, the author of “Beloved” is coming to Brooklyn for Medgar Evers College’s 10th National Black Writers Conference, a  four-day literary event, which begins on March 25. This year’s theme: And Then We Heard the Thunder: Black Writers Reconstructing Memories and Lighting the Way.

Medgar Evers College’s Center for Black Literature and the conference organizers have put together an impressive roster of events, which include both local authors and writers, agents and publishers from America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.

A long list of discussions and readings include  “Politics and Satire in the Literature of Black Writers” and “The Impact of Hip Hop and Popular Culture in the Literature of Black Writers.” Also:  “Impact of the Internet: Blogging, Publishing and Writing” and  “Editors, Agents, Writers and Publishers on the Literature of Black Writers.”

Professor Brenda Greene, who runs Medgar Evers College’s Center for Black Literature, says the conference is targeted toward the general public. as well as writers, scholars, editors, agents, faculty, and students of all ages.

While most of the events are at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, other events are being held throughout the borough, such as a poetry reading with Chin and Willie Perdomo at the Brooklyn Public Library’s central branch in Grand Army Plaza. Here’s some information from the conference’s website:

The Tenth National Black Writers’ Conference, first presented in 1986 as a result of the visionary leadership of the late John O. Killens, will be held March 25-28, 2010. Toni Morrison, will be the Honorary Chair. The theme of the National Black Writers’ Conference is And Then We Heard the Thunder: Black Writers Reconstructing Memories and Lighting the Way. Through a series of panel discussions, roundtables, author readings and storytelling, the National Black Writers’ Conference will use the metaphor of thunder, memory and light to examine the historical representation of the literature of Black writers and the representation of new and future directions for contemporary and emerging literary voices.

… The 2010 Conference will prove to be a “first” in that this premier Black writers’ event will have the distinction of celebrating its tenth anniversary while being chaired by the prize-winning renowned Black author during a time when the first Black American president is in the White House.