The 22nd annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities was held this week in Orlando (if you’re reading this on Sunday, Jan. 30, you can still catch the last day of the street festival.)
The festival is in Eatonville, Zora’s hometown, just north of Orlando, Florida. (If you don't know much about Zora, read this brief bio).
And the events have a big impact on Orlando (at least to me). Every year the festival organizers bring writers, academics, musicians and artists to town to give talks, exhibit their work and perform. The people who are featured are luminaries in their field. It’s one of the best times of year in Orlando if you are, like me, a person who is intensely interested in and passionate about the African diaspora.
On Jan. 26 I went to Eatonville to hear Tara Betts (poet and writing professor, NYC) read at Club Koha. Tara participated in the VONA writing retreat in 2010 and I met her there. She tells stories with her poetry, powerfully. I have been looking forward to her event at the Zora Festival for two months.
And her reading was wonderful. The club was a great venue for the reading and was preceded by a reception opening the festival. The food was wonderful, done by a new empanada truck which will launch in Orlando soon (hopefully very soon – the Moroccan lentil empanadas are worth tracking).
In addition to hearing Tara read and getting a copy of her collection, Arc & Hue, I met and made new friends at the event. Poetry + friendship + food = win.
Today our family went to the street festival, which I go to nearly every year. The festival features artists, vendors and music (Ashford & Simpson headlined this year).
I was so excited to see the Haiti pavilion – a section with booths for a group of Haitian artists. There were many pieces of metalwork. I have one from a previous, non-Zora event, and it is one of my favorite and most beautiful things. Today I bought another and my kids chose it. The new piece is painted and fits perfectly with our sea-themed bathroom.
One of the reasons I love the festival is for, don’t judge me, the shopping. There are so many things that I don’t see often in Orlando (African inspired clothing, music).
Sometimes, honestly, I wonder how many people actually have read any of Zora’s work at the festival. And I think about how vendors and pop music connect to her work – novels, anthropology, history.
Today it seemed very clear. As I spoke French to Haitian artists, bought a mudcloth and denim skirt from an African designer, and purchased a CD of Zouk music from Congo (the gentleman next to me was Congolese), I felt like the festival definitely aligns with who Zora was.
She was global, a writer and thinker who could see the connection from Florida work camp songs and Negro spirituals to Haitian spiritual practice and herbal medicine.
We are all connected and the art and cultural pieces at the festival, as well as the diversity of the people, represent an opportunity for us to remember how we are family. A dispersed family, but with some roots in common.
Our walk through the festival today was wonderful and fun. And I will keep sharing stories and music and art with my children so they can see how they are connected as well to the African diaspora.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Open Mic opportunity for writers and artists
Last year I posted a couple of items to Lisa Hsia's open mic blog. They were the beginnings of stories and I needed feedback. And people are still reading and posting comments to the stories. It's a wonderful forum for writers and Lisa has spots available if you'd like to post work - she also accepts artwork. Here's what she says about the Open Mic:
Art blog's Open Mic looking for contributors!
Greetings! My name is Lisa Hsia and I write a daily weekday blog about my journey as a writer and artist. Every Friday, I host an Open Mic for artists, right on the blog. Usually there's a featured guest post, and other artists are invited to add their own work in the comments. We have had all kinds of things on the Open Mic in the past: paintings, sketchbook pages, funny essays, poetry, first-draft fiction. Read previous Open Mics at http://satsumaart.wordpress.com/category/friday-open-mic/ It’s a great opportunity to share your work in a public forum without stress or having to actually perform in front of people! The Open Mic received an enthusiastic reception when I started it last year; you can read a little more about it on Anthem Salgado's awesome "Art of Hustle" blog: http://www.artofhustle.com/2010/12/synergy-art-of-hustle-artists-unite/
I'm now looking for guest posts for Fridays in 2011. Will you contribute? Here's how it works:
1. You choose a date for your guest post. I'm also happy to schedule posts well in advance if you like a deadline to work toward.
2. Sometime before the date of your post, you email me your piece, a short introduction, and a bio, and I do the rest. The piece can be anything: an image, video, or text. The intro helps establish context and piques readers' interest; you can compose the whole thing for me to use verbatim, or just give me bullet points and I'll put them together. It can be as short as one line or as long as several paragraphs. The same goes for your bio. If you have a photo of yourself, or link(s) for your website or blog, I'm happy to post those too.
3. After your post goes live, check in on Friday and over the weekend, and enjoy the discussion and applause!
Email me at satsumabug AT gmail with questions or to reserve your Friday spot!
Even if you're not currently ready for a guest post, I hope you'll visit the Open Mic some Friday to support your fellow artists. Feel free to pass on this call to anyone else who might be interested.
Thank you and happy art-making,
Lisa
Art blog's Open Mic looking for contributors!
Greetings! My name is Lisa Hsia and I write a daily weekday blog about my journey as a writer and artist. Every Friday, I host an Open Mic for artists, right on the blog. Usually there's a featured guest post, and other artists are invited to add their own work in the comments. We have had all kinds of things on the Open Mic in the past: paintings, sketchbook pages, funny essays, poetry, first-draft fiction. Read previous Open Mics at http://satsumaart.wordpress.com/category/friday-open-mic/ It’s a great opportunity to share your work in a public forum without stress or having to actually perform in front of people! The Open Mic received an enthusiastic reception when I started it last year; you can read a little more about it on Anthem Salgado's awesome "Art of Hustle" blog: http://www.artofhustle.com/2010/12/synergy-art-of-hustle-artists-unite/
I'm now looking for guest posts for Fridays in 2011. Will you contribute? Here's how it works:
1. You choose a date for your guest post. I'm also happy to schedule posts well in advance if you like a deadline to work toward.
2. Sometime before the date of your post, you email me your piece, a short introduction, and a bio, and I do the rest. The piece can be anything: an image, video, or text. The intro helps establish context and piques readers' interest; you can compose the whole thing for me to use verbatim, or just give me bullet points and I'll put them together. It can be as short as one line or as long as several paragraphs. The same goes for your bio. If you have a photo of yourself, or link(s) for your website or blog, I'm happy to post those too.
3. After your post goes live, check in on Friday and over the weekend, and enjoy the discussion and applause!
Email me at satsumabug AT gmail with questions or to reserve your Friday spot!
Even if you're not currently ready for a guest post, I hope you'll visit the Open Mic some Friday to support your fellow artists. Feel free to pass on this call to anyone else who might be interested.
Thank you and happy art-making,
Lisa
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Blacklitchat - Jabari Asim and Feb. guest
We had a wonderful #blacklitchat discussion on Twitter Sunday night with Jabari Asim about his story collection, A Taste of Honey. I really enjoyed the book and was in love with many of the characters. There are gangsters and saved people, kids, wannabe revolutionaries, artists and so many characters you want to know more about. The stories are set in 1968 so the events of that year are all around the little town of Gateway and make an impact on the good folks in town.
Jabari also gives readers more than a few surprises in the stories. It's definitely something to put on your to-be-read list if it isn't already.
You can read the transcript of the chat.
Jabari is working on a followup to A Taste of Honey, featuring one of the most dangerous characters. He also has a new children's book coming out about Booker T. Washington, Fifty Cents and a Dream.
Next up for #blacklitchat is Aminatta Forna, author of The Memory of Love. We'll have a discussion with her at 7 p.m. EST (a new time for us) Sunday, Feb. 6.
Save the date for Sunday, Feb. 20 as well - we'll do a special Black History Month chat with a guest author.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Erasing cultural history and avoiding the conversation
A new edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer comes out in February. (February!)
And I'm surprised and upset about the changes the editor has made. As the saying goes, I feel some kind of way about it.
Alan Gribben (Auburn University) edited the new versions for NewSouth Books. The 2011 versions will remove all mentions of the "n" word and replace it with "slave." Also edited: Injun Joe becomes "Indian" Joe and half-breed becomes "half-blood."
Gribben made the changes to make the books easier for teachers to use in the classroom. He says schools do not teach the books because of the offensive language.
I get it. I know that those words make people uncomfortable. I certainly don't like hearing the "n" word.
But as a mother, writer, Southerner, African American and literature geek (and all my other selves), I say this is a wrong and even damaging way to think about literature. And I'm very concerned that, if Gribben's volume gains traction, it will become the only version of Twain's novels that we read.
And it will be the wrong version, altered from the author's intended text. Altered in a way that pretends that the words Twain wrote were not actually in use during his time. Altered to make it "easier" to teach - meaning it will help teachers avoid providing deeper context to explain how stories reflect the cultural and historical moment; how writers weave in imagination and realism; and what has happened since Twain's lifetime to shape how we say, write and hear the "n" word, "injun," "half-breed" and other offensive terms.
In making the work "easier" to read, Gribben takes away some of the big lessons that we can find in reading.
And I think that "easier" really means that teachers won't have go take some uncomfortable questions from students, but also teachers, administrators and school boards can take the easy way out when parents challenge the book.
Wouldn't it be better to teach Twain's work as part of learning about American cultural history and give students a better grounding in what our country was like for people who didn't look like or live like the founding fathers?
Perhaps by seeing the words used in literature it will help everyone understand what's at stake when those words occur in contemporary popular culture.
I certainly don't want my own children reading sanitized versions of literature. They can read the books as they were written and we certainly would help them understand how the work fits into it's historical period and what has happened to change the way we talk to and about one another.
I want them educated and readied for the world, not raised with a cleaned up version of their own American cultural history.
Read more about the new editions in stories posted at NPR and Publishers Weekly.
And I'm surprised and upset about the changes the editor has made. As the saying goes, I feel some kind of way about it.
Alan Gribben (Auburn University) edited the new versions for NewSouth Books. The 2011 versions will remove all mentions of the "n" word and replace it with "slave." Also edited: Injun Joe becomes "Indian" Joe and half-breed becomes "half-blood."
Gribben made the changes to make the books easier for teachers to use in the classroom. He says schools do not teach the books because of the offensive language.
I get it. I know that those words make people uncomfortable. I certainly don't like hearing the "n" word.
But as a mother, writer, Southerner, African American and literature geek (and all my other selves), I say this is a wrong and even damaging way to think about literature. And I'm very concerned that, if Gribben's volume gains traction, it will become the only version of Twain's novels that we read.
And it will be the wrong version, altered from the author's intended text. Altered in a way that pretends that the words Twain wrote were not actually in use during his time. Altered to make it "easier" to teach - meaning it will help teachers avoid providing deeper context to explain how stories reflect the cultural and historical moment; how writers weave in imagination and realism; and what has happened since Twain's lifetime to shape how we say, write and hear the "n" word, "injun," "half-breed" and other offensive terms.
In making the work "easier" to read, Gribben takes away some of the big lessons that we can find in reading.
And I think that "easier" really means that teachers won't have go take some uncomfortable questions from students, but also teachers, administrators and school boards can take the easy way out when parents challenge the book.
Wouldn't it be better to teach Twain's work as part of learning about American cultural history and give students a better grounding in what our country was like for people who didn't look like or live like the founding fathers?
Perhaps by seeing the words used in literature it will help everyone understand what's at stake when those words occur in contemporary popular culture.
I certainly don't want my own children reading sanitized versions of literature. They can read the books as they were written and we certainly would help them understand how the work fits into it's historical period and what has happened to change the way we talk to and about one another.
I want them educated and readied for the world, not raised with a cleaned up version of their own American cultural history.
Read more about the new editions in stories posted at NPR and Publishers Weekly.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Things I'm loving right now
Jevon Bolden's Black Book Tweets round up - a great way to catch up. If you tweet about Black books, let her know.
Pearl Cleage has a book coming out this year *happy fan dance!* It's Just Wanna Testify and it's coming out in my birthday month AND I'll be in Atlanta in May. I hope I can see her do a reading there.
The Zen Habits web site. I read this site a few years ago and knew it was good, life hacking and improving content. But I didn't heed what I read. I'm going to try to do better this year. I have a lot of things to work on and, because I really can't abide self-help books, this is perfect for me. Wisdom in small chunks.
Carleen Brice is taking a blog hiatus in January. Luckily for us, she gave good links for finding book recommendations while she's gone. (Carleen is author of Orange Mint and Honey - the basis for the Lifetime Original movie Sins of the Mother and the novel Children of the Waters).
via Carleen: Go On Girls! book list for early 2011
The APOOO books in 2011 list.
And Carleen shouts out #blacklitchat as well (Jan. 23, 9 p.m. ET with Jabari Asim).
Pearl Cleage has a book coming out this year *happy fan dance!* It's Just Wanna Testify and it's coming out in my birthday month AND I'll be in Atlanta in May. I hope I can see her do a reading there.
The Zen Habits web site. I read this site a few years ago and knew it was good, life hacking and improving content. But I didn't heed what I read. I'm going to try to do better this year. I have a lot of things to work on and, because I really can't abide self-help books, this is perfect for me. Wisdom in small chunks.
Carleen Brice is taking a blog hiatus in January. Luckily for us, she gave good links for finding book recommendations while she's gone. (Carleen is author of Orange Mint and Honey - the basis for the Lifetime Original movie Sins of the Mother and the novel Children of the Waters).
via Carleen: Go On Girls! book list for early 2011
The APOOO books in 2011 list.
And Carleen shouts out #blacklitchat as well (Jan. 23, 9 p.m. ET with Jabari Asim).
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Passing or not? Does it matter?
This article in the NYTimes about a new edition of Jean Toomer's Cane, caught my eye. Dr. Henry Louis Gates and Dr. Rudolph Byrd (shoutout to Emory!) write that Toomer was passing during his life according to what they found while researching the new edition.
I've long been interested in the idea of passing - not as an ideal, but as an intriguing condition. What was it like to be able to shift across the very clear dividing line of race?
In the 90s, during a brief stay in France, I sat in on an American literature class and Cane was one of the texts. The class was for undergraduate students and while I had no status at the university, I asked the professor if I could visit the class just to listen. (I also sat in on a class about Edgar Allen Poe).
One of the moments that I remember from the class is hearing a French student, who looked to me to have some African lineage somewhere in her history, ask "what is miscegenation?"
It was very interesting to hear the professor explain it and remark on how interesting is that Americans have a name for that kind of mixing. Hmmmm.
I wonder if there is some professor who will teach it this spring or fall and whether the idea of Toomer passing will affect the discussion in a university classroom over there.
It's the kind of discussion and questioning that I miss from the world of academia. Finding new ways to look at things as well as support for your theories and having an impact on the way we understand history and culture.
And, of course, passing narratives make for engaging stories.
Unfortunately I don't have a good recall of Cane. Maybe I'll re-read it someday. I'd like to see if it reads differently now that Gates and Byrd say Toomer was passing. Of course that knowledge changes the way I read it - Toomer was always himself and we'll never know what was happening inside his mind and heart.
Does the work change because our understanding of the author's life changes?
What other books have you read that are so affected by what you know about the author?
I've long been interested in the idea of passing - not as an ideal, but as an intriguing condition. What was it like to be able to shift across the very clear dividing line of race?
In the 90s, during a brief stay in France, I sat in on an American literature class and Cane was one of the texts. The class was for undergraduate students and while I had no status at the university, I asked the professor if I could visit the class just to listen. (I also sat in on a class about Edgar Allen Poe).
One of the moments that I remember from the class is hearing a French student, who looked to me to have some African lineage somewhere in her history, ask "what is miscegenation?"
It was very interesting to hear the professor explain it and remark on how interesting is that Americans have a name for that kind of mixing. Hmmmm.
I wonder if there is some professor who will teach it this spring or fall and whether the idea of Toomer passing will affect the discussion in a university classroom over there.
It's the kind of discussion and questioning that I miss from the world of academia. Finding new ways to look at things as well as support for your theories and having an impact on the way we understand history and culture.
And, of course, passing narratives make for engaging stories.
Unfortunately I don't have a good recall of Cane. Maybe I'll re-read it someday. I'd like to see if it reads differently now that Gates and Byrd say Toomer was passing. Of course that knowledge changes the way I read it - Toomer was always himself and we'll never know what was happening inside his mind and heart.
Does the work change because our understanding of the author's life changes?
What other books have you read that are so affected by what you know about the author?
Friday, December 31, 2010
Farewell 2010
As always, we end up spending the last days of the year in reflection and planning. Or at least we should.
I haven't been doing any focused work on what I want to accomplish in 2011, it's been more daydreaming for me. This weekend I will carve out time to actual name the goals and begin building plans.
Tayari Jones has prompted me to remember what I did right in 2010 - and hold on to that. So that will be another layer of my reflection.
I looked back at my blog posts from 2010 and these were the top 3:
No Makeup Week
What's that ripping sound?
Thoughts on publishing for Black audiences
Thank you for reading along with me this year.
I'm excited about my reading life in 2011 and especially #blacklitchat. We'll kick off the year Jan. 23 at 9 p.m. ET by discussing Jabari Asim's short stories in A Taste of Honey. Jabari has agreed to join us for the discussion.
Have a wonderful, safe New Year's Eve.
I haven't been doing any focused work on what I want to accomplish in 2011, it's been more daydreaming for me. This weekend I will carve out time to actual name the goals and begin building plans.
Tayari Jones has prompted me to remember what I did right in 2010 - and hold on to that. So that will be another layer of my reflection.
I looked back at my blog posts from 2010 and these were the top 3:
No Makeup Week
What's that ripping sound?
Thoughts on publishing for Black audiences
Thank you for reading along with me this year.
I'm excited about my reading life in 2011 and especially #blacklitchat. We'll kick off the year Jan. 23 at 9 p.m. ET by discussing Jabari Asim's short stories in A Taste of Honey. Jabari has agreed to join us for the discussion.
Have a wonderful, safe New Year's Eve.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Favorite books from 2010
Last week Tina McElroy Ansa co-hosted the monthly #blacklitchat discussion that I moderate with Dee Stewart of Dee Gospel PR.
Our topic for December was favorite and best books from 2010. Tina shared some of her favorites with us and the readers on Twitter who participated shared their favorite books. We also talked about what makes a book a classic.
You can check out the chat transcript here.
And here are some of the books that were named during the chat - a very good reading list or gift list to start from if you want to build a library of contemporary Black literature. (Also a great way to use any bookseller gift certificates you received).
(Please note, this list isn't in a particular order.)
32 Candles, by Ernessa T. Carter
Substitute Me, by Lori Tharps
Glorious, by Bernice McFadden
Taste of Honey, by Jabari Asim
Kiss the Sky, by Farai Chideya
Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
The Long Fall, by Walter Mosley
That Thing Around Your Neck, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Perfect Peace, by Daniel Black
Butterfly Rising, by Tanya Wright
Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor
Black Water Rising, by Attica Locke
Big Machine, by Victor Lavalle
Color Blind, by Precious Williams
Looking for Tina Turner, by Jacqueline Luckett
Wading Home: A Novel of New Orleans, by Rosalyn M. Story
Bitch is the New Black, by Helena Andrews
The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, by Heidi Durrow
the Drama High series (YA), by L. Devine
Before I Forget, by Leonard Pitts
Till You Hear from Me, by Pearl Cleage
Powder Necklace, by Nan Ekua Brew-Hammond
Dork Diaries (kid lit), by Rachel Renee Russell
Our topic for December was favorite and best books from 2010. Tina shared some of her favorites with us and the readers on Twitter who participated shared their favorite books. We also talked about what makes a book a classic.
You can check out the chat transcript here.
And here are some of the books that were named during the chat - a very good reading list or gift list to start from if you want to build a library of contemporary Black literature. (Also a great way to use any bookseller gift certificates you received).
(Please note, this list isn't in a particular order.)
32 Candles, by Ernessa T. Carter
Substitute Me, by Lori Tharps
Glorious, by Bernice McFadden
Taste of Honey, by Jabari Asim
Kiss the Sky, by Farai Chideya
Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
The Long Fall, by Walter Mosley
That Thing Around Your Neck, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Perfect Peace, by Daniel Black
Butterfly Rising, by Tanya Wright
Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor
Black Water Rising, by Attica Locke
Big Machine, by Victor Lavalle
Color Blind, by Precious Williams
Looking for Tina Turner, by Jacqueline Luckett
Wading Home: A Novel of New Orleans, by Rosalyn M. Story
Bitch is the New Black, by Helena Andrews
The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, by Heidi Durrow
the Drama High series (YA), by L. Devine
Before I Forget, by Leonard Pitts
Till You Hear from Me, by Pearl Cleage
Powder Necklace, by Nan Ekua Brew-Hammond
Dork Diaries (kid lit), by Rachel Renee Russell
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Letting go of the expert goal
I've been curious about wine for a long time. But I rarely ordered or bought wine because I didn't know what I was doing.
And I am very (overly) worried about doing or saying something that shows I'm out of place in any way. So rather than ask questions of a server that might show I don't know all the right wine terms, I just order something else.
This year I'm working on getting over that as I start to visit local wineries and just try things and buy what I like.
As I do that, I continue to remind myself that it's not necessary for me to become an expert or to be able to talk about wine like a sommelier. This is something I'm doing for me, because it's fun and it gives me another way to look at Florida and anywhere else I'm traveling.
Letting go of the goal of becoming an expert (or the fear of show how little knowledge I have) is freeing. I have avoided many things just because I didn't want to show my ignorance. So I'm going to be asking dumb questions and tasting wine in the "wrong" way (I've probably already done that).
And I'm sure someone is going to smirk when I decide I like a particular wine but can't describe it other than to say it tastes great. I'm still going to have fun with it - already am - and do me.
Here and there I'm going to do some reading, maybe even take a class to learn more, but I won't wait to have the knowledge. This Wine 101 article in the WSJ about how to taste a wine is a first step.
Later this week I'll post something about my visit in November to Arrington Vineyards in Tennessee - which was a lot of fun.
And I am very (overly) worried about doing or saying something that shows I'm out of place in any way. So rather than ask questions of a server that might show I don't know all the right wine terms, I just order something else.
This year I'm working on getting over that as I start to visit local wineries and just try things and buy what I like.
As I do that, I continue to remind myself that it's not necessary for me to become an expert or to be able to talk about wine like a sommelier. This is something I'm doing for me, because it's fun and it gives me another way to look at Florida and anywhere else I'm traveling.
Letting go of the goal of becoming an expert (or the fear of show how little knowledge I have) is freeing. I have avoided many things just because I didn't want to show my ignorance. So I'm going to be asking dumb questions and tasting wine in the "wrong" way (I've probably already done that).
And I'm sure someone is going to smirk when I decide I like a particular wine but can't describe it other than to say it tastes great. I'm still going to have fun with it - already am - and do me.
Here and there I'm going to do some reading, maybe even take a class to learn more, but I won't wait to have the knowledge. This Wine 101 article in the WSJ about how to taste a wine is a first step.
Later this week I'll post something about my visit in November to Arrington Vineyards in Tennessee - which was a lot of fun.
Monday, December 13, 2010
More is merrier
Earlier this year I began playing around with an idea. The idea was to start a regular chat about books on Twitter. Specifically a chat focused on books by Black authors.
I loved the idea and sketched out a plan, including a list of books to feature in the first six months.
Then I sat on the idea and didn’t get started. I let myself become caught up in worrying about what if nobody showed up for the party.
A few months after I last touched the idea, Dee Stewart (@deegospel on Twitter) posted and asked if anyone would be interested in an African American book chat and what day would work for that.
I thought about that tweet and had two thoughts:
1. Dang – somebody is going to get “my” idea out before me.
2. Cool – maybe we could do the chat together. Nobody owns the idea. Sure would be easier to have a partner.
I’m so glad I went with the 2nd thought. Trust me when I say that seeing partnership first is something I’m working on.
Our partnership led to the first #blacklitchat conversation in
October (announced at Blogalicious 2010) featuring Ernessa T. Carter, author of 32 Candles. In November we read and discussed
Substitute Me, by Lori Tharps.
What I think is wonderful is that we are not the only Twitter or social media book club game around.
I’m so pleased that we’re in conversation with Tee C. Royal of the longstanding Rawsistaz book site and #blackbookchats discussions. The three of us have been talking about how our book chats are different, how we can cross promote and put more authors and books in front of more readers.
And recently Rae Lewis Thornton, blogger, AIDS activist and Emmy award winner, announced the #RLTReads book club. She is picking books – her favorites and club members favorites – to read. It took me a long time to join the group because I am already so committed to other things. Then she announced the first book – one of my all time favorite novels, What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day, by Pearl Cleage.
I’d been foolish not to sign up earlier. She’s reading books that are classics for me.
None of our clubs are in competition. We’re all running along the same path, sharing good books with readers, giving authors a platform and doing what we love – reading and thinking about stories.
Writer, yoga teacher and social media coach Ananda Leeke writers and talks about “digital sisterhood” – the concept of women working together in social media and being cooperative rather than competitive. Learn more and celebrate Digital Sisterhood month at her blog.
That’s what is happening with our book conversations. They are part of a sisterhood of book lovers (and yes, there is a brotherhood too – come on to the convo) and there’s no reason we shouldn’t celebrate having multiple discussions and curators. The more the merrier – for readers and authors.
I loved the idea and sketched out a plan, including a list of books to feature in the first six months.
Then I sat on the idea and didn’t get started. I let myself become caught up in worrying about what if nobody showed up for the party.
A few months after I last touched the idea, Dee Stewart (@deegospel on Twitter) posted and asked if anyone would be interested in an African American book chat and what day would work for that.
I thought about that tweet and had two thoughts:
1. Dang – somebody is going to get “my” idea out before me.
2. Cool – maybe we could do the chat together. Nobody owns the idea. Sure would be easier to have a partner.
I’m so glad I went with the 2nd thought. Trust me when I say that seeing partnership first is something I’m working on.
Our partnership led to the first #blacklitchat conversation in
October (announced at Blogalicious 2010) featuring Ernessa T. Carter, author of 32 Candles. In November we read and discussed
Substitute Me, by Lori Tharps.
What I think is wonderful is that we are not the only Twitter or social media book club game around.
I’m so pleased that we’re in conversation with Tee C. Royal of the longstanding Rawsistaz book site and #blackbookchats discussions. The three of us have been talking about how our book chats are different, how we can cross promote and put more authors and books in front of more readers.
And recently Rae Lewis Thornton, blogger, AIDS activist and Emmy award winner, announced the #RLTReads book club. She is picking books – her favorites and club members favorites – to read. It took me a long time to join the group because I am already so committed to other things. Then she announced the first book – one of my all time favorite novels, What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day, by Pearl Cleage.
I’d been foolish not to sign up earlier. She’s reading books that are classics for me.
None of our clubs are in competition. We’re all running along the same path, sharing good books with readers, giving authors a platform and doing what we love – reading and thinking about stories.
Writer, yoga teacher and social media coach Ananda Leeke writers and talks about “digital sisterhood” – the concept of women working together in social media and being cooperative rather than competitive. Learn more and celebrate Digital Sisterhood month at her blog.
That’s what is happening with our book conversations. They are part of a sisterhood of book lovers (and yes, there is a brotherhood too – come on to the convo) and there’s no reason we shouldn’t celebrate having multiple discussions and curators. The more the merrier – for readers and authors.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Favorites from 2010
Next week in #blacklitchat (Sunday, 12/19, 9 p.m. ET), we'll discuss the best Black books of the year. Bestselling novelist and independent publisher Tina McElroy Ansa will be our special guest co-host for the chat.
To prepare for the discussion, I'm checking out the traditional Best of 2010 lists on newspaper and media sites. I'm also looking at blogs for picks.
If you are doing a best of 2010 list and have Black authors on the list, let me know. I'd love to shout out your blog during the chat or link it hear.
And whether you have a blog or not, please do drop in the titles you think should be in the running for the best Black books of 2010 in comments.
The books I'd like to feature are the ones that standout is new classics. The authors take history and bring a new perspective; they create characters who surprise us and defy stereotype; they take us to places we couldn't have imagined, but which are vibrant and real on the page.
These are the books that you share with friends and say, you must read this. The ones professors will build classes around. The books that you absolutely have to re-read and that bring you something new every time you experience the story.
To prepare for the discussion, I'm checking out the traditional Best of 2010 lists on newspaper and media sites. I'm also looking at blogs for picks.
If you are doing a best of 2010 list and have Black authors on the list, let me know. I'd love to shout out your blog during the chat or link it hear.
And whether you have a blog or not, please do drop in the titles you think should be in the running for the best Black books of 2010 in comments.
The books I'd like to feature are the ones that standout is new classics. The authors take history and bring a new perspective; they create characters who surprise us and defy stereotype; they take us to places we couldn't have imagined, but which are vibrant and real on the page.
These are the books that you share with friends and say, you must read this. The ones professors will build classes around. The books that you absolutely have to re-read and that bring you something new every time you experience the story.
Monday, December 06, 2010
Monday morning links
This week is full of running around to rehearsals (with one of my children), prepping for the holidays (for our family, Christmas and Kwanzaa) and hopefully a few minutes here and there to read.
I also hope to make my gift list for friends and family and begin shopping. My goal is to give books to some folks in order to share some of my favorites from this year. And I want to do some local/independent shopping for other gifts. I'll be giving some wine as well, as that's one of my other passions.
Sometime this week I'll post about our Dec. 19 #blacklitchat on Twitter. We'll discuss our favorite books from 2010. Post your favorites in comments. And if you're a blogger and will have a top 10 list of books, let me know and I'll post it here. Especially if your list includes Black authors.
Now for some links.
The Blogging While Brown conference sessions are up - and this year you can vote on sessions you'd like to see. Heidi Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, is on the list as well as book blogger Notorious Spinks. Several of the women I met at Blogalicious are on here as well.
There's a new movie, Night Catches Us, that is getting buzz by the people I follow or friend online. It's about former Black Panther party members and how they deal with the aftermath of that legacy in the mid-1970s. Kerry Washington is one of the stars. It's not playing widely, but it is available via iTunes or onDemand cable. I think that is so cool and I hope that many people download it and watch it. I'd like to see this indie movie, helmed by a black woman director, get a lot of buzz and make money. Read the NYTimes review.
After reading Jevon Bolden's post on reaching African American audiences, I went back to Bernice McFadden's essay on how books by Black authors are marketed. Bernice gives an important analysis about why books by Black authors are often ghettoized, while books by other authors featuring Black characters can be pushed to become crossover bestsellers.
The schedule is up for the annual Zora Neale Hurston festival in Eatonville, FL (Orlando -area). I go every year and am very excited that Tara Betts will be one of the featured artists. Come to her event Wednesday, Jan. 26. If you'll be at her event, or any Zora events, post something in the comments to let me know. I'd love to do a Tweetup at the festival if there's interest.
I also hope to make my gift list for friends and family and begin shopping. My goal is to give books to some folks in order to share some of my favorites from this year. And I want to do some local/independent shopping for other gifts. I'll be giving some wine as well, as that's one of my other passions.
Sometime this week I'll post about our Dec. 19 #blacklitchat on Twitter. We'll discuss our favorite books from 2010. Post your favorites in comments. And if you're a blogger and will have a top 10 list of books, let me know and I'll post it here. Especially if your list includes Black authors.
Now for some links.
The Blogging While Brown conference sessions are up - and this year you can vote on sessions you'd like to see. Heidi Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, is on the list as well as book blogger Notorious Spinks. Several of the women I met at Blogalicious are on here as well.
There's a new movie, Night Catches Us, that is getting buzz by the people I follow or friend online. It's about former Black Panther party members and how they deal with the aftermath of that legacy in the mid-1970s. Kerry Washington is one of the stars. It's not playing widely, but it is available via iTunes or onDemand cable. I think that is so cool and I hope that many people download it and watch it. I'd like to see this indie movie, helmed by a black woman director, get a lot of buzz and make money. Read the NYTimes review.
After reading Jevon Bolden's post on reaching African American audiences, I went back to Bernice McFadden's essay on how books by Black authors are marketed. Bernice gives an important analysis about why books by Black authors are often ghettoized, while books by other authors featuring Black characters can be pushed to become crossover bestsellers.
The schedule is up for the annual Zora Neale Hurston festival in Eatonville, FL (Orlando -area). I go every year and am very excited that Tara Betts will be one of the featured artists. Come to her event Wednesday, Jan. 26. If you'll be at her event, or any Zora events, post something in the comments to let me know. I'd love to do a Tweetup at the festival if there's interest.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Just saw that there's a 31 day Reset Your Life challenge happening this month and headed by HappyBlackWoman.
It sounds fantastic. And I'm thinking about doing some of the exercises - but I may not do any. December is so jam packed and I am also committed to doing a better job with holiday decorating and am nursing a sprained ankle.
Full plate.
Would love to do this as a face-to-face exercise. That is one of my current goals - doing more face-to-face time with my friends and just being out in the world more, doing what I love, rather than caving in to things that feel like obligations.
This blog is one of my 4th quarter 2010 ideas, but I haven't done much with it. I have 4 winery visits to write up and just haven't put anything down. So that feels like a failure. But is it? This is a hobby blog added to another hobby I have in addition to being a mother, wife, full-time working professional and a human being.
So I am going to stop calling my failure to blog the wine visits failures. I will write them. And I know that actually having visited 4 wineries and having fun trips every time is more important to the journey.
But yes, I will get pictures and stories up soon.
It sounds fantastic. And I'm thinking about doing some of the exercises - but I may not do any. December is so jam packed and I am also committed to doing a better job with holiday decorating and am nursing a sprained ankle.
Full plate.
Would love to do this as a face-to-face exercise. That is one of my current goals - doing more face-to-face time with my friends and just being out in the world more, doing what I love, rather than caving in to things that feel like obligations.
This blog is one of my 4th quarter 2010 ideas, but I haven't done much with it. I have 4 winery visits to write up and just haven't put anything down. So that feels like a failure. But is it? This is a hobby blog added to another hobby I have in addition to being a mother, wife, full-time working professional and a human being.
So I am going to stop calling my failure to blog the wine visits failures. I will write them. And I know that actually having visited 4 wineries and having fun trips every time is more important to the journey.
But yes, I will get pictures and stories up soon.
Thoughts on publishing for Black audiences
Jevon Boldman wrote last week about publishing for African Americans - and what publishers are and are not doing to reach audiences. She is looking for feedback on the issues and what readers, authors and booksellers are thinking.
I posted a too long comment on it and thought I'd post it here as well. No answers, but she did get me thinking about what my experience is as a reader and lover of books with a particular fondness for books about Black people.
Here are my comments. Please go visit and post your thoughts to the original blog post.
The first thing that comes to mind for me is how often, in the big box bookstores, the thing I see is a table full of "urban" lit. I'm not a big fan of urban lit and I feel like it's taken over what we we're being offered by publishers. And several times I've seen a title that is definitely not urban lit included in those displays - even a Zora Neale Hurston title.
So it feels/looks like stores and publishers are not sure how to reach all the people in the African American audience.
And I don't feel that publishers are trying to market books by African American, Black, Caribbean authors and featuring African American, Black and Caribbean characters to audiences that are non-Black. We shouldn't be the only audience, but our authors' work is not believed to be relevant or of interest outside of the obvious audience. That's disappointing and, since our society is more integrated, publishers are probably missing both Black and non-Black readers.
Yet books with African American characters written by non-Black authors are sometimes pushed really hard - as with The Help.
I'd like to see publishers go to readers more often to ask what they are reading and want to read.
I'd like to hear more promotion of our authors in different channels (I know $ is a factor), but radio and television.
I'd like to see something different like a crowd sourced collection of stories (Maybe readers vote on which author's stories or what kind of story collection they'd like to read).
I'd like to see a serialization effort that leverages mobile or ties to some kind of scavenger hunt or contest (maybe using Foursquare or Facebook).
And I'd like for literary authors to be on the road more so we can see and hear them. Maybe some tie in events with other products - something outside of book festivals where hundreds or thousands of fans and potential fans are present.
Here are a few links I've been checking out.
One of the reasons I am such a big fan of Tayari Jones (you know other than the fact that she is one of our best, young novelists)is that she is so open about her process and the ups and downs of being a working artist. She keeps pressing on and she writes about the fears and challenges of having to turn around and begin again. This is a lesson I need in all areas of my life - my paying work, my writing dreams, my life as a parent and wife. I'm thankful that she writes all of this down for us. If you are not reading her blog, please do, it is a writer's and grown up woman's life blog.
She wrote recently about having to change the title of her novel and how hard that was. This is a novel that was rejected before she finished it. Still she finished it and she has a publisher and we will all be able to buy it in May (actually you can preorder now).
*******
Other links:
I missed this earlier: The Root on 5 young Black writers we should be reading now.
Buying books for holiday gifts? Heidi Durrow, Denene Millner and Tara Betts are recommending books - including children's books for your shopping. Reader their posts on Carleen Brice's blog. She also has a December contest going featuring books by Black authors.
I posted a too long comment on it and thought I'd post it here as well. No answers, but she did get me thinking about what my experience is as a reader and lover of books with a particular fondness for books about Black people.
Here are my comments. Please go visit and post your thoughts to the original blog post.
The first thing that comes to mind for me is how often, in the big box bookstores, the thing I see is a table full of "urban" lit. I'm not a big fan of urban lit and I feel like it's taken over what we we're being offered by publishers. And several times I've seen a title that is definitely not urban lit included in those displays - even a Zora Neale Hurston title.
So it feels/looks like stores and publishers are not sure how to reach all the people in the African American audience.
And I don't feel that publishers are trying to market books by African American, Black, Caribbean authors and featuring African American, Black and Caribbean characters to audiences that are non-Black. We shouldn't be the only audience, but our authors' work is not believed to be relevant or of interest outside of the obvious audience. That's disappointing and, since our society is more integrated, publishers are probably missing both Black and non-Black readers.
Yet books with African American characters written by non-Black authors are sometimes pushed really hard - as with The Help.
I'd like to see publishers go to readers more often to ask what they are reading and want to read.
I'd like to hear more promotion of our authors in different channels (I know $ is a factor), but radio and television.
I'd like to see something different like a crowd sourced collection of stories (Maybe readers vote on which author's stories or what kind of story collection they'd like to read).
I'd like to see a serialization effort that leverages mobile or ties to some kind of scavenger hunt or contest (maybe using Foursquare or Facebook).
And I'd like for literary authors to be on the road more so we can see and hear them. Maybe some tie in events with other products - something outside of book festivals where hundreds or thousands of fans and potential fans are present.
Here are a few links I've been checking out.
One of the reasons I am such a big fan of Tayari Jones (you know other than the fact that she is one of our best, young novelists)is that she is so open about her process and the ups and downs of being a working artist. She keeps pressing on and she writes about the fears and challenges of having to turn around and begin again. This is a lesson I need in all areas of my life - my paying work, my writing dreams, my life as a parent and wife. I'm thankful that she writes all of this down for us. If you are not reading her blog, please do, it is a writer's and grown up woman's life blog.
She wrote recently about having to change the title of her novel and how hard that was. This is a novel that was rejected before she finished it. Still she finished it and she has a publisher and we will all be able to buy it in May (actually you can preorder now).
*******
Other links:
I missed this earlier: The Root on 5 young Black writers we should be reading now.
Buying books for holiday gifts? Heidi Durrow, Denene Millner and Tara Betts are recommending books - including children's books for your shopping. Reader their posts on Carleen Brice's blog. She also has a December contest going featuring books by Black authors.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
This is the first post in the new portion of this blog. Obviously it's been a long time since I've posted as WriteWoman. Most of my blogging has been through my Black Books Blog since 2005.
I'm posting again here because I wanted to write about some non-book topics, specifically travel and wine. But, as usual, I have been wringing my hands in worry and procrastination about launching a wine and travel blog perfectly. On my own domain, with the right look, etc.
And I've let weeks and months pass me by.
It would be better to do this that way. And if I wait, I might never do it at all.
Fortunately, I've been doing what I envisioned and visiting vineyards. But not posting.
Here's where all of this comes from - the seed of this new blog. I've been a little blue about my suburban life. I go to work, I parent, I get excited when I can go to a mainstream movie and have dinner at a chain restaurant with my husband. Boring and typical. Fine most of the time. Except when I'm sad about not making a second trip to France or never having been to West Africa. Or on the nights when I wonder if I'll ever have the time, money and opportunity to visit a country long enough to learn something and make friends.
Focusing on what I couldn't do was draining and pointless. So I decided to do what I can for now. Even if it meant only a little day trip.
So in August, when my husband and son were on a weekend trip to Chicago (hey, that's somewhere I could have gone!), my daughter and I had our first No Boys Allowed (NBA) weekend. We invited two friends and went on a trip to a winery. It was one of our best ever days. (And I'll post pics from that trip very soon).
I decided that what would be fun and uplifting and enough would be to make day trips and side trips that would be my right now adventures. Yes, I still want to plan big trips and travel out of the country again. But I had fallen into a habit of waiting for the perfect time to do everything. And everything was passing me by - and I am tired of regrets.
So this blog is my little project to record the adventures. I'm starting with trips in Florida to our region's wineries. And I'm reading about wine and learning something new.
Of course, this has great benefits, as I have lovely glasses of wine at home. My little suburban life is already improved.
If you are a wine lover and have a favorite wine blogger or winery site to recommend, please leave it in the comments. Maybe you'll give me an idea for another adventure.
I'm posting again here because I wanted to write about some non-book topics, specifically travel and wine. But, as usual, I have been wringing my hands in worry and procrastination about launching a wine and travel blog perfectly. On my own domain, with the right look, etc.
And I've let weeks and months pass me by.
It would be better to do this that way. And if I wait, I might never do it at all.
Fortunately, I've been doing what I envisioned and visiting vineyards. But not posting.
Here's where all of this comes from - the seed of this new blog. I've been a little blue about my suburban life. I go to work, I parent, I get excited when I can go to a mainstream movie and have dinner at a chain restaurant with my husband. Boring and typical. Fine most of the time. Except when I'm sad about not making a second trip to France or never having been to West Africa. Or on the nights when I wonder if I'll ever have the time, money and opportunity to visit a country long enough to learn something and make friends.
Focusing on what I couldn't do was draining and pointless. So I decided to do what I can for now. Even if it meant only a little day trip.
So in August, when my husband and son were on a weekend trip to Chicago (hey, that's somewhere I could have gone!), my daughter and I had our first No Boys Allowed (NBA) weekend. We invited two friends and went on a trip to a winery. It was one of our best ever days. (And I'll post pics from that trip very soon).
I decided that what would be fun and uplifting and enough would be to make day trips and side trips that would be my right now adventures. Yes, I still want to plan big trips and travel out of the country again. But I had fallen into a habit of waiting for the perfect time to do everything. And everything was passing me by - and I am tired of regrets.
So this blog is my little project to record the adventures. I'm starting with trips in Florida to our region's wineries. And I'm reading about wine and learning something new.
Of course, this has great benefits, as I have lovely glasses of wine at home. My little suburban life is already improved.
If you are a wine lover and have a favorite wine blogger or winery site to recommend, please leave it in the comments. Maybe you'll give me an idea for another adventure.
Blacklitchat: Substitute Me, Lori Tharps
For this month's #blacklitchat on Twitter, we'll discuss Substitute Me, by Lori Tharps. The novel is the story of two women in New York, one an African American woman from an upper middle class background, the other of a white professional woman who is a new mother.
The black woman becomes the white woman's nanny. It's a contemporary story.
So you can imagine, with all the history and cultural issues attached to black women as servants and domestic help in America, that this book gives us a lot to think about and discuss.
Join us at 9 p.m., Nov. 21 for the discussion. This is our pajama party chat - from the comfort of your home. And if you haven't read the novel or are just starting, still jump in. We will also likely discuss the overall cultural issues and Lori Tharps has agreed to join us. She is also the author of Kinky Gazpacho, a memoir of travel and race and co-author of Hair Story.
Read what other people have said about Substitute Me:
Carleen Brice on White Readers Meet Black Authors
Mother Issues blog
Notorious Spinks' take on it.
Raging Bibliomania
The black woman becomes the white woman's nanny. It's a contemporary story.
So you can imagine, with all the history and cultural issues attached to black women as servants and domestic help in America, that this book gives us a lot to think about and discuss.
Join us at 9 p.m., Nov. 21 for the discussion. This is our pajama party chat - from the comfort of your home. And if you haven't read the novel or are just starting, still jump in. We will also likely discuss the overall cultural issues and Lori Tharps has agreed to join us. She is also the author of Kinky Gazpacho, a memoir of travel and race and co-author of Hair Story.
Read what other people have said about Substitute Me:
Carleen Brice on White Readers Meet Black Authors
Mother Issues blog
Notorious Spinks' take on it.
Raging Bibliomania
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Getting ready for For Colored Girls
There has been so much hype and angst around Tyler Perry's adaptation of Ntozake Shange's play, for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf.
Shange's play is an amazing collection of choreopoems that was a feminist triumph and had a powerful impact on a generation of women, particularly Black women.
Tyler Perry makes films that are polarizing.
I have seen several of TPs films and remain conflicted. I do love seeing images of Black people on screen and he is the director/writer who is giving us that over and over. With all of the issues.
I've been reading a lot about For Colored Girls and will probably read more before seeing it tomorrow. Here are some links to share.
10 Things to know about Ntozake Shange and For Colored Girls - Ms Magazine blog
For Colored Girls who need motivation when the Oprah endorsement ain't enough - Bassey Ikpi, huffpost
New York Times review
Entertainment Weekly review
I'll post some thoughts here after I see the movie on Sunday. Quirky Black Girls is having a blog carnival around the movie - gathering links from bloggers who write about it - check it out if you are posting about it.
Shange's play is an amazing collection of choreopoems that was a feminist triumph and had a powerful impact on a generation of women, particularly Black women.
Tyler Perry makes films that are polarizing.
I have seen several of TPs films and remain conflicted. I do love seeing images of Black people on screen and he is the director/writer who is giving us that over and over. With all of the issues.
I've been reading a lot about For Colored Girls and will probably read more before seeing it tomorrow. Here are some links to share.
10 Things to know about Ntozake Shange and For Colored Girls - Ms Magazine blog
For Colored Girls who need motivation when the Oprah endorsement ain't enough - Bassey Ikpi, huffpost
New York Times review
Entertainment Weekly review
I'll post some thoughts here after I see the movie on Sunday. Quirky Black Girls is having a blog carnival around the movie - gathering links from bloggers who write about it - check it out if you are posting about it.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Are you a future life saver?
About 15 years ago a columnist at the newspaper where I worked wrote about a woman in need of a bone marrow transplant.
I didn't know the woman, but I did know the columnist and I attended an event where people were signing up for the National Marrow Donor Registry.
They were particularly looking for people of African descent to sign up. We were, you guessed it, under-represented in the registry. And the matching of donors to clients/patients is more complex because of the multiple tissue types people of African descent have. (I imagine that's tied to all of the intermixing over hundreds of years in North America - but I'm not an expert, so I can't confirm that).
I signed up. It was easy and felt like the right thing to do. I didn't get the call to help the women my friend wrote about. I met the poet Glenis Redmond at the event and went on my merry way. I rarely thought about it except for every few years when I'd receive a request from the registry to update my contact information and provide the name and address of someone who would always be able to find me (which is always my mother).
This summer my mother got a call and a letter (and so did I).
The team from the registry was trying to contact me; I was a potential match for someone who needed a transplant.
As I said above, I didn't really think about the registry that much. Now I had to think about it and it was a clear decision. Of course I would do more tests. That was the whole point of signing up in the first place.
So I had blood drawn for testing. I learned shortly after that while I was a partial match, I wasn't as close as the doctors wanted for this client/patient.
I won't ever know if they found a match for the person. I hope that they did. I hope that more people are signing up every day so the chances of finding a match improve for all of us.
Today I was reminded again about the registry when I read this story. Shannon Tavarez died this week. She was 11. She had already had a role on Broadway in The Lion King as Nala.
And they did not find a bone marrow donor in time to save her. 11 years old. Beautiful, as we humans are. One more reason to #DoSomethingBig.
From the New York Times story:
Minorities are vastly underrepresented in the bone marrow donor registry, which makes suitable donors for minority patients difficult to locate.
So I am thinking about the program again. And how over the last 15 years I haven't been spreading the word.
Please read about the marrow donor registry and register as a donor. It is simple and one of the easiest ways to be a hero we have.
You may not ever get the call. But if you're the "one" you can't save a life if you haven't joined the registry.
@BetheMatch on Twitter; #DoSomethingBig
I didn't know the woman, but I did know the columnist and I attended an event where people were signing up for the National Marrow Donor Registry.
They were particularly looking for people of African descent to sign up. We were, you guessed it, under-represented in the registry. And the matching of donors to clients/patients is more complex because of the multiple tissue types people of African descent have. (I imagine that's tied to all of the intermixing over hundreds of years in North America - but I'm not an expert, so I can't confirm that).
I signed up. It was easy and felt like the right thing to do. I didn't get the call to help the women my friend wrote about. I met the poet Glenis Redmond at the event and went on my merry way. I rarely thought about it except for every few years when I'd receive a request from the registry to update my contact information and provide the name and address of someone who would always be able to find me (which is always my mother).
This summer my mother got a call and a letter (and so did I).
The team from the registry was trying to contact me; I was a potential match for someone who needed a transplant.
As I said above, I didn't really think about the registry that much. Now I had to think about it and it was a clear decision. Of course I would do more tests. That was the whole point of signing up in the first place.
So I had blood drawn for testing. I learned shortly after that while I was a partial match, I wasn't as close as the doctors wanted for this client/patient.
I won't ever know if they found a match for the person. I hope that they did. I hope that more people are signing up every day so the chances of finding a match improve for all of us.
Today I was reminded again about the registry when I read this story. Shannon Tavarez died this week. She was 11. She had already had a role on Broadway in The Lion King as Nala.
And they did not find a bone marrow donor in time to save her. 11 years old. Beautiful, as we humans are. One more reason to #DoSomethingBig.
From the New York Times story:
Minorities are vastly underrepresented in the bone marrow donor registry, which makes suitable donors for minority patients difficult to locate.
So I am thinking about the program again. And how over the last 15 years I haven't been spreading the word.
Please read about the marrow donor registry and register as a donor. It is simple and one of the easiest ways to be a hero we have.
You may not ever get the call. But if you're the "one" you can't save a life if you haven't joined the registry.
@BetheMatch on Twitter; #DoSomethingBig
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
A few links to share
Only enough time/energy to post a few links.
Are you for Fannie Lou? Read Dr. Goddess' post about Fannie Lou Hamer and the effort to build a memorial.
It's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and Tayari Jones reminds us that speed isn't/shouldn't be our main goal. Becoming writers is the goal.
[I think about dong NaNoWriMo every month; then I let fear and the illusion that I can't do it keep me from the exercise. I need to change my life to become a writer - and take my time doing it. Yet, I know that making the effort just to write every day, even under NaNoWriMo goals, would be the very best thing. And I sit doing neither.]
Lori Tharps, author of Substitute Me, will be at the Miami Book Fair Nov. 21. See her news on her site.
I missed the ESPN 30 x 30 film by John Singleton on Marion Jones. But I do see this WSJ blog item on whether she should be forgiven and the role race and gender played in her case. I'm not a sports fan at all, but some of the most interesting stories come out of sports. That makes me pay attention.
Are you for Fannie Lou? Read Dr. Goddess' post about Fannie Lou Hamer and the effort to build a memorial.
It's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and Tayari Jones reminds us that speed isn't/shouldn't be our main goal. Becoming writers is the goal.
[I think about dong NaNoWriMo every month; then I let fear and the illusion that I can't do it keep me from the exercise. I need to change my life to become a writer - and take my time doing it. Yet, I know that making the effort just to write every day, even under NaNoWriMo goals, would be the very best thing. And I sit doing neither.]
Lori Tharps, author of Substitute Me, will be at the Miami Book Fair Nov. 21. See her news on her site.
I missed the ESPN 30 x 30 film by John Singleton on Marion Jones. But I do see this WSJ blog item on whether she should be forgiven and the role race and gender played in her case. I'm not a sports fan at all, but some of the most interesting stories come out of sports. That makes me pay attention.
Monday, November 01, 2010
The voting habit
I'm kicking myself for not voting early in this midterm election. It's so much easier than trying to vote before my morning commute.
I'm still going to vote tomorrow morning, though. It's a habit.
There is a lot of worry, particularly among the Democrats, about turnout for this election. In 2008 a lot of occasional and first-time voters turned out for then candidate Barack Obama. I hope some of them will make it a habit and that anyone who has only recently started voting will take it seriously and start participating in every election. Yes, I mean conservatives and Republicans as well. Everyone who is eligible and able to should vote. And if people choose not to vote, I really hope it's an intentional decision - something they spent time thinking about, rather than just a matter of convenience.
The 2008 election was historic and I spent a lot of time thinking about the multiple firsts in that election as well as my own history with our process.
As I told my roller skating coach during a discussion after the election (yes, I had a roller skating coach), I've been a low-level political junkie since grade school. I watched the party conventions every four years with my parents, walked into the voting booth at my elementary school with my mother, and had a father who worked the polls many years. He also taught civics, so we talked a lot about politics. Sometimes I was just listening, but I was paying attention.
By the 1980 presidential election (Carter, Reagan) I was as engaged as I could be as a kid - I remember being really angry that kids couldn't vote. Was this our country or not?
It's always strange for me when I read about people well into adulthood who are voting (or registering to vote) for the very first time. I'm working on being less judgmental and they are adults, so I can let that go. I just can't quite comprehend it.
I've voted in most of the elections for which I've been eligible (I won't say all, because no one is perfect and I'm sure someone could pull a record and find a voting opportunity I missed). But I really feel it's important; the weight of history is a powerful reminder.
It helps that early in my adult life paying attention to elections was part of my job as a newspaper reporter. Really there's no excuse if you're covering an election. You have the information and constant reminders of where to vote and what it means.
And during that period, when I voted at the same precinct - located in a senior apartment complex - the women working the poll would always greet voters with a big smile and, I later learned, really remembered the people who came through each election. On one election day I voted in the afternoon, much later than usual. They made a big to-do about it, saying they'd wondered where I was, "because you always vote."
I hope that more people will register and vote for the first time. And make it a habit.
Some links for Election Day:
Vote411.org
10 Tips from the ACLU for voting
Federal Election Commission
I'm still going to vote tomorrow morning, though. It's a habit.
There is a lot of worry, particularly among the Democrats, about turnout for this election. In 2008 a lot of occasional and first-time voters turned out for then candidate Barack Obama. I hope some of them will make it a habit and that anyone who has only recently started voting will take it seriously and start participating in every election. Yes, I mean conservatives and Republicans as well. Everyone who is eligible and able to should vote. And if people choose not to vote, I really hope it's an intentional decision - something they spent time thinking about, rather than just a matter of convenience.
The 2008 election was historic and I spent a lot of time thinking about the multiple firsts in that election as well as my own history with our process.
As I told my roller skating coach during a discussion after the election (yes, I had a roller skating coach), I've been a low-level political junkie since grade school. I watched the party conventions every four years with my parents, walked into the voting booth at my elementary school with my mother, and had a father who worked the polls many years. He also taught civics, so we talked a lot about politics. Sometimes I was just listening, but I was paying attention.
By the 1980 presidential election (Carter, Reagan) I was as engaged as I could be as a kid - I remember being really angry that kids couldn't vote. Was this our country or not?
It's always strange for me when I read about people well into adulthood who are voting (or registering to vote) for the very first time. I'm working on being less judgmental and they are adults, so I can let that go. I just can't quite comprehend it.
I've voted in most of the elections for which I've been eligible (I won't say all, because no one is perfect and I'm sure someone could pull a record and find a voting opportunity I missed). But I really feel it's important; the weight of history is a powerful reminder.
It helps that early in my adult life paying attention to elections was part of my job as a newspaper reporter. Really there's no excuse if you're covering an election. You have the information and constant reminders of where to vote and what it means.
And during that period, when I voted at the same precinct - located in a senior apartment complex - the women working the poll would always greet voters with a big smile and, I later learned, really remembered the people who came through each election. On one election day I voted in the afternoon, much later than usual. They made a big to-do about it, saying they'd wondered where I was, "because you always vote."
I hope that more people will register and vote for the first time. And make it a habit.
Some links for Election Day:
Vote411.org
10 Tips from the ACLU for voting
Federal Election Commission
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