Yesterday I went to the Orlando Natural Hair and Beauty Expo, a new one-day event celebrating natural hair. I heard about it on Facebook, I think and, once I saw that Felicia Leatherwood of Loving Your Hair with Natural Care was giving a workshop, I put it on my calendar.
I heard about Felicia Leatherwood earlier this year from a post by Afrobella about Felicia's natural hair workshops. The workshop sounded so great and like just what I needed. Of course the workshops were in Chicago and New York, not here in Florida. *cue internal whining* I am always a little homesick for Atlanta, too, a city where I know I could get a little natural hair instruction.
Until now. Thanks to Chase Ford Productions, Orlando has its own natural hair expo to look forward to each year.
I decided to take my daughter to the event with me. Even though I worried she would become bored and fidget too much, I really wanted her to see all the women I knew would be there. I knew we'd see women with TWAs, twists, twist outs, starter dreds, long locks, afros, and Bantu knots.
I was right.
But I didn't make a big deal about it. I just said it was a hair and beauty expo and let it flow from there. She was very interested in the fashion show and, even though she's too old and a little big for it, I picked her up and had her on my hip so she could see.
By the way, my daughter had asked for Afro puffs the morning of the expo - so she was representing in her own way as well.
And she liked sampling the different body butters and sniffing them. She told me, "Mommy, it smells good in here." Of course - the expo center was filled with tropical fruit and herbal scents for hair and body.
When Felicia Leatherwood's workshop began, I realized I'd made a big mistake. The room was standing room only. I definitely should have sat down inside as soon as we arrived. Fortunately two other little girls were standing near us and eventually the girls all sat down, shared books and paper and had their own thing going, quietly, while we listened to Felicia.
And, if you can't tell from my comments above, I will say it straight - if you have a chance to hear Felicia give a workshop and you love your hair - go. Register in advance, get there early, and go. I learned things from her in an hour that I haven't heard in my 20+ years of adult natural hair.
Other things I loved about the expo:
Seeing some old friends and acquaintances.
Lovely hair styles.
Great vendors with hair products, accessories, body products.
A DJ who knew just what our vibe was and is.
Sakile / Peace and Beauty project kids activities
We didn't stay for the entire expo, but my daughter asked me at one point if she could have her hand painted. I hadn't even noticed the henna artist as we walked around. So we stopped for her henna art. And it was a wonderful way to wrap up a mother daughter beauty adventure.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Follow up to first #blacklitchat
Last week we had our first #blacklitchat on Twitter. It was so much fun and we had Ernessa T. Carter, author of 32 Candles, join us and answer questions about the book. If you haven't read it, you must - it is fun, smart, and full of surprises.
I co-hosted #blacklitchat with Dee Stuart (@deegospel) and we will make it a monthly Twitter event. We'll set the date for the next one soon and need your help to select the next book we'll read.
To see what the chat was like, check out the transcript.
We've already had some great book suggestions - to add yours post a suggestion on Twitter or vote in our quick poll. We're looking for the kind of books that lend themselves to discussion - smart, fun, interesting reads by Black authors. For now we're focused on fiction and looking to read books that have been published in the last six months or so.
And the third way to get your suggestion in is to post it in comments.
I co-hosted #blacklitchat with Dee Stuart (@deegospel) and we will make it a monthly Twitter event. We'll set the date for the next one soon and need your help to select the next book we'll read.
To see what the chat was like, check out the transcript.
We've already had some great book suggestions - to add yours post a suggestion on Twitter or vote in our quick poll. We're looking for the kind of books that lend themselves to discussion - smart, fun, interesting reads by Black authors. For now we're focused on fiction and looking to read books that have been published in the last six months or so.
And the third way to get your suggestion in is to post it in comments.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Join us for #blacklitchat
Sunday, Oct. 17, I'm kicking off something new along with Dee Stewart (@deegospel, http://www.deegospelpr.com). We're launching #blacklitchat, a Twitter chat about books by Black authors. This first one-hour chat will begin at 9 p.m. ET and we're featuring 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter (@ErnessaTCarter, http://32candles.com/).
A little about #blacklitchat: I wanted to bring folks together via Twitter to talk about our books on a regular basis. We certainly have conversations about books and authors all the time. And I thought it would be powerful, fun, interesting to focus one one hour on one book in a Twitter-based book club.
Selfishly it also gives people like me, who are not currently in a book club, an opportunity to talk to other book lovers.
I hope that in addition to the people who participate, other readers will see the discussion and go and pick up these great books.
So, please join us on Sunday, Oct. 17 for the discussion of 32 Candles. Ernessa T. Carter is going to join us.
If you aren't on Twitter, you can still watch the conversation by going to Twitter.com and entering #blacklitchat in the search box.
Here's one more piece of good news - I have a copy of 32 Candles to giveaway. I'll give it away using a random number generator. To enter to win, please submit a comment. You comment can be your intention to attend #blacklitchat, a question you'd like for the group to discuss; or a question for the author.
Enter away - I'd like to select a winner Thursday and get their copy in the mail!
A little about #blacklitchat: I wanted to bring folks together via Twitter to talk about our books on a regular basis. We certainly have conversations about books and authors all the time. And I thought it would be powerful, fun, interesting to focus one one hour on one book in a Twitter-based book club.
Selfishly it also gives people like me, who are not currently in a book club, an opportunity to talk to other book lovers.
I hope that in addition to the people who participate, other readers will see the discussion and go and pick up these great books.
So, please join us on Sunday, Oct. 17 for the discussion of 32 Candles. Ernessa T. Carter is going to join us.
If you aren't on Twitter, you can still watch the conversation by going to Twitter.com and entering #blacklitchat in the search box.
Here's one more piece of good news - I have a copy of 32 Candles to giveaway. I'll give it away using a random number generator. To enter to win, please submit a comment. You comment can be your intention to attend #blacklitchat, a question you'd like for the group to discuss; or a question for the author.
Enter away - I'd like to select a winner Thursday and get their copy in the mail!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Dear Blogalicious10 community
Dear #Blogalicious10 community,
I am so pumped up after my very first Blogalicious event! I feel fierce and ideas are flowing so fast I have trouble sleeping. That is a blessing, not a complaint!
Because I could not hug everybody, I wanted to thank you here in our blog space (yes- it’s ours!).
I thank you for –
Sharing in sessions, in the hall, in the ladies room …
For unknowingly re-uniting me with two friends from college ...
Making connections (@nycbritpr tells me about @winewithToni and she joins me for a wine adventure) …
Asking, “Girl, did you get your [watch, robe, doll …]?” and grabbing one for me …
Salsa, hip hop, samba in the club …
Telling about authors you know …
Yoga on the beach with @coreconnection (and for tree pose) …
Shouting out your project, your dreams, your hashtags – every one is an inspiration, a spark …
Tweeting out what’s going on and where and being a sisterhood …
Being fabulous in every way and showing me I need to buy some dresses to be more blogalicious …
Being entrepreneurs, operating with integrity …
For all the amazing, fierce, powerful goals we will achieve by and share at Blogalicious11.
I’ll see you on your blogs, in our Twitter chats and around the world.
Bernadette
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
What's that ripping sound?!
Saturday morning, I arrived at the Southern Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show in time to catch the last half of a breakfast event featuring Christy Jordan (author of Southern Plate), Robert Barclay (author of If Wishes Were Horses) and James Swanson (author of Bloody Crimes).
Robert was the last speaker and he shared his journey to finishing If Wishes Were Horses and the different experiences that gave him source material for the book. As he was talking, I heard an odd sound to my right. I didn’t turn at first – my focus was on Robert and his story.
Then I heard the sound again and again. I recognized it as the sound of paper being ripped. Really, in a room full of booksellers, authors and book lovers, the sound of paper being ripped.
A woman sitting in the back was ripping sections out of a book. I wondered if it was her book or a journal. And why in the world she’d decided that in the middle of someone else’s even she’d do the ripping – the loud ripping – and disturb the event. She did it over and over again.
When Robert was done, he took questions. The Ripping Lady stood up and said that she supposedly knew a girl who was interested in equine therapy and would have loved to give her the book, but that the author had taken the Lord’s name in vain and had bad language in it, so she couldn’t give it to her. And why did he (the author) ruin the book that way?
Yes – really – that was what Ms. Rip-em-out said.
Here’s what Robert said in response (he said more than this, this is what I captured by hand): “I’m not going to defend my writing. Writing is a matter of taste. … I’m sure there isn’t a book in the world including the Bible, that could not be improved.”
Of course Ms. Rip-em-out protested that – but Robert had closed out the event and she was drowned out by the vigorous applause after his cool handling of the ripping incident.
I realized later in the weekend that this week is Banned Books Week. So maybe Ms. Rip-em-out was doing a little performance art to remind us of the importance of books, freedom of expression and our freedom to choose what we want to read and share based on individual values.
Even if she really meant it, she still reminds us that there are people who want to control the content of our books.
If you are wondering about Banned Books Week, go check out the following links.
Banned Books week site: What you can do
American Library Association page
Top Ten List of Challenged Books - 2009 (I've only read 4)
Twitter and Banned Books Week (NYTimes blog post)
Ban my books, please (Carleen Brice's post, tongue in cheek, about increasing attention for books by banning them)
Robert was the last speaker and he shared his journey to finishing If Wishes Were Horses and the different experiences that gave him source material for the book. As he was talking, I heard an odd sound to my right. I didn’t turn at first – my focus was on Robert and his story.
Then I heard the sound again and again. I recognized it as the sound of paper being ripped. Really, in a room full of booksellers, authors and book lovers, the sound of paper being ripped.
A woman sitting in the back was ripping sections out of a book. I wondered if it was her book or a journal. And why in the world she’d decided that in the middle of someone else’s even she’d do the ripping – the loud ripping – and disturb the event. She did it over and over again.
When Robert was done, he took questions. The Ripping Lady stood up and said that she supposedly knew a girl who was interested in equine therapy and would have loved to give her the book, but that the author had taken the Lord’s name in vain and had bad language in it, so she couldn’t give it to her. And why did he (the author) ruin the book that way?
Yes – really – that was what Ms. Rip-em-out said.
Here’s what Robert said in response (he said more than this, this is what I captured by hand): “I’m not going to defend my writing. Writing is a matter of taste. … I’m sure there isn’t a book in the world including the Bible, that could not be improved.”
Of course Ms. Rip-em-out protested that – but Robert had closed out the event and she was drowned out by the vigorous applause after his cool handling of the ripping incident.
I realized later in the weekend that this week is Banned Books Week. So maybe Ms. Rip-em-out was doing a little performance art to remind us of the importance of books, freedom of expression and our freedom to choose what we want to read and share based on individual values.
Even if she really meant it, she still reminds us that there are people who want to control the content of our books.
If you are wondering about Banned Books Week, go check out the following links.
Banned Books week site: What you can do
American Library Association page
Top Ten List of Challenged Books - 2009 (I've only read 4)
Twitter and Banned Books Week (NYTimes blog post)
Ban my books, please (Carleen Brice's post, tongue in cheek, about increasing attention for books by banning them)
Saturday, September 25, 2010
SIBA 2010 Trade Show
The Southern Independent Booksellers Association holds a trade show every fall. And this year, I was able to spend a few hours there! It’s been a book nerd dream of mine to go for years.
Here’s a little more about SIBA from the web site: SIBA is a trade association which represents over 300 bookstores and thousands of booksellers in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Mississippi.
I first looked up SIBA more than 12 years ago when I was trying to figure out how I could do something connected with my passion for books. One of the ideas I explored was becoming a bookseller (bookstore owner). I found SIBA while doing research about what it takes to operate a bookstore – and while I let go of the idea, I never forgot that every year in the south there’s a trade show for booksellers. With publishers giving out information and copies of the season’s upcoming titles.
Because I never became a bookseller, I never pursued going to SIBA. A few weeks ago I decided to see where this year’s trade show would be – and it was scheduled for Daytona Beach, just over an hour’s drive for me. This would be my year – and Wanda Jewell, director of SIBA, graciously reached out and let me know that I could have a press pass.
(Thanks, Wanda!)
So I went up for just a few hours on Saturday. Most of the education events were on Thursday and Friday, but I had commitments that I couldn’t move. (And I missed so many good panels and author talks – not happy about that).
But I made it there in time to hear 2 – the three breakfast speakers on Saturday and to spend a long while walking the exhibitors’ floor.
One of my concerns about going, especially after seeing the agenda, was that there might not be a lot for me to sink my e-teeth into because there were not a lot of African American authors that I recognized on the schedule.
However, on the exhibit floor some of the publishers had titles that will be great to talk about here. And I loved the academic press displays – the latest in history, memoir and cultural texts.
What I also underestimated was how much food culture is represented at the trade show. But of course the South is very food-centric. And I think about food probably more than I should – but at least now I’m thinking more and more about fresh, vegan food – lots of interesting titles, including Raw Foods (W.W. Norton).
And there were so many children’s titles – I love seeing what the new titles are for kids and thinking about how the young people in my world will receive them.
I’ll be writing about SIBA most of this week – too much to unpack tonight. But I am so glad that I went – I connected with book people, found titles that I can’t wait to read, and was able to fully engage in the book world. I always love doing that.
Here’s a little more about SIBA from the web site: SIBA is a trade association which represents over 300 bookstores and thousands of booksellers in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Mississippi.
I first looked up SIBA more than 12 years ago when I was trying to figure out how I could do something connected with my passion for books. One of the ideas I explored was becoming a bookseller (bookstore owner). I found SIBA while doing research about what it takes to operate a bookstore – and while I let go of the idea, I never forgot that every year in the south there’s a trade show for booksellers. With publishers giving out information and copies of the season’s upcoming titles.
Because I never became a bookseller, I never pursued going to SIBA. A few weeks ago I decided to see where this year’s trade show would be – and it was scheduled for Daytona Beach, just over an hour’s drive for me. This would be my year – and Wanda Jewell, director of SIBA, graciously reached out and let me know that I could have a press pass.
(Thanks, Wanda!)
So I went up for just a few hours on Saturday. Most of the education events were on Thursday and Friday, but I had commitments that I couldn’t move. (And I missed so many good panels and author talks – not happy about that).
But I made it there in time to hear 2 – the three breakfast speakers on Saturday and to spend a long while walking the exhibitors’ floor.
One of my concerns about going, especially after seeing the agenda, was that there might not be a lot for me to sink my e-teeth into because there were not a lot of African American authors that I recognized on the schedule.
However, on the exhibit floor some of the publishers had titles that will be great to talk about here. And I loved the academic press displays – the latest in history, memoir and cultural texts.
What I also underestimated was how much food culture is represented at the trade show. But of course the South is very food-centric. And I think about food probably more than I should – but at least now I’m thinking more and more about fresh, vegan food – lots of interesting titles, including Raw Foods (W.W. Norton).
And there were so many children’s titles – I love seeing what the new titles are for kids and thinking about how the young people in my world will receive them.
I’ll be writing about SIBA most of this week – too much to unpack tonight. But I am so glad that I went – I connected with book people, found titles that I can’t wait to read, and was able to fully engage in the book world. I always love doing that.
Friday, September 24, 2010
No Makeup Week (not a books post, per se)
Did you know that Sept. 23 -27, 2010 is (was) No Makeup Week?
I didn't until I saw it on Afrobella's blog. I then followed her link to see RabbitWrite's original post about it.
At first glance, I thought - oh well, at least I don't have to think about that. Because I wear makeup about 4x a year - and that's if I have a high frequency makeup year. Then I read RabbitWrite's post - and the part about women wanting their female colleagues to wear makeup reminded me of something I heard when I was 19 or 20. I worked that summer in a hospital and I remembered hearing two women snickering about a job candidate who had just interviewed. They were laughing because "she didn't even have on any makeup."
Oh how I remember that. And I wondered about that - was it really necessary, mandatory to wear makeup. I didn't wear makeup regularly - but I wore it more than I do now. Never to work, but for nights out with friends (and I was a nerdy girl, so there weren't many of those - but a few).
After that conversation I knew that not wearing makeup could be held against me, but I didn't know what I was doing. And I didn't really care yet.
It's 20 years later and I still don't wear makeup, but I really am beginning to care about it. It's more accurate to say that I'm beginning to worry about it.
Even though I have been a feminist since childhood and reading The Beauty Myth gave my dislike of and lack of confidence about makeup the support of feminist ideology, I am beginning to waver.
Age is a big part of that slow shift. Aspiration is another. I still wonder how differently I would be perceived if I were a savvy user of beauty products. And I remember the difference in reaction when I am wearing even the littlest bit of makeup - I now wear lipgloss several times a week!
Is it time for me to figure the makeup thing out and stop making every week a makeup free week? It feels like the grown up thing to do. And the most successful women around me are often makeup people.
So no makeup week is making me explore all the reasons I don't wear makeup and whether I'm ready to let them go or address them.
My reasons are these:
It feels terrible - hot, itchy.
I shine like patent leather.
I sometimes see women in makeup that makes them look older - yikes!
It feels like a big time drain - I love being able to get up and get out quickly.
I don't think it's healthy.
I think the societal expectation of wearing it is one of the light oppressions.
I have no idea what to do or where to begin.
I'm not a fan of fake things on my body - nails, hair, makeup. But I've considered fake hair lately as well.
And my reasons for thinking about wearing it are:
Age - I want to be as beautiful as possible, even now.
Image - I still want to be one of the cool, successful girls (now women) who are stars.
Skills - I think I should know what to do and not be standing in a discount store buying makeup the night of an event.
So that's where this makeup free woman ended up after thinking about No Makeup Week.
I didn't until I saw it on Afrobella's blog. I then followed her link to see RabbitWrite's original post about it.
At first glance, I thought - oh well, at least I don't have to think about that. Because I wear makeup about 4x a year - and that's if I have a high frequency makeup year. Then I read RabbitWrite's post - and the part about women wanting their female colleagues to wear makeup reminded me of something I heard when I was 19 or 20. I worked that summer in a hospital and I remembered hearing two women snickering about a job candidate who had just interviewed. They were laughing because "she didn't even have on any makeup."
Oh how I remember that. And I wondered about that - was it really necessary, mandatory to wear makeup. I didn't wear makeup regularly - but I wore it more than I do now. Never to work, but for nights out with friends (and I was a nerdy girl, so there weren't many of those - but a few).
After that conversation I knew that not wearing makeup could be held against me, but I didn't know what I was doing. And I didn't really care yet.
It's 20 years later and I still don't wear makeup, but I really am beginning to care about it. It's more accurate to say that I'm beginning to worry about it.
Even though I have been a feminist since childhood and reading The Beauty Myth gave my dislike of and lack of confidence about makeup the support of feminist ideology, I am beginning to waver.
Age is a big part of that slow shift. Aspiration is another. I still wonder how differently I would be perceived if I were a savvy user of beauty products. And I remember the difference in reaction when I am wearing even the littlest bit of makeup - I now wear lipgloss several times a week!
Is it time for me to figure the makeup thing out and stop making every week a makeup free week? It feels like the grown up thing to do. And the most successful women around me are often makeup people.
So no makeup week is making me explore all the reasons I don't wear makeup and whether I'm ready to let them go or address them.
My reasons are these:
It feels terrible - hot, itchy.
I shine like patent leather.
I sometimes see women in makeup that makes them look older - yikes!
It feels like a big time drain - I love being able to get up and get out quickly.
I don't think it's healthy.
I think the societal expectation of wearing it is one of the light oppressions.
I have no idea what to do or where to begin.
I'm not a fan of fake things on my body - nails, hair, makeup. But I've considered fake hair lately as well.
And my reasons for thinking about wearing it are:
Age - I want to be as beautiful as possible, even now.
Image - I still want to be one of the cool, successful girls (now women) who are stars.
Skills - I think I should know what to do and not be standing in a discount store buying makeup the night of an event.
So that's where this makeup free woman ended up after thinking about No Makeup Week.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Writing and mothers
A woman can't really achieve her greatest artistic goals/potential if she has children. I've heard some version of this (or wondered about it) many times. Most recently during a writers workshop (in conversation outside the actual workshop).
Now that I'm a mother of two hearing something like that is a blow. It feels like a death sentence for my dreams. Could it really be true? Am I, as a mother, forever doomed to achieve less, be lesser?
Of course it's not true that we mothers are lesser or that our work is somehow inadequate. But it is very hard to argue the point with the perception that so few women writers (and of course I focus on writers) reach the highest levels after motherhood.
Unless you count Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Edwidge Danticat. (Note that I got in world-renowned, award winning writers and that was just thinking of Black writers).
Still, it is hard as a mother, to hear that raising children is the thing that keeps you from fully raising your art. I think there's so much more to it - like figuring out support and societal pressure and assumptions about what a mother must do (sacrifice is considered a must - what?).
I am wishing there were more residencies and workshops that are mom (and parent) friendly. (If those programs are out there - please do drop names in the comments.)
Tonight I read Lisa Belkin's post about her residency experience in Florida and it made me think of this subject. Maybe I will have some more coherent thoughts later - but just needed to raise it tonight.
Now that I'm a mother of two hearing something like that is a blow. It feels like a death sentence for my dreams. Could it really be true? Am I, as a mother, forever doomed to achieve less, be lesser?
Of course it's not true that we mothers are lesser or that our work is somehow inadequate. But it is very hard to argue the point with the perception that so few women writers (and of course I focus on writers) reach the highest levels after motherhood.
Unless you count Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Edwidge Danticat. (Note that I got in world-renowned, award winning writers and that was just thinking of Black writers).
Still, it is hard as a mother, to hear that raising children is the thing that keeps you from fully raising your art. I think there's so much more to it - like figuring out support and societal pressure and assumptions about what a mother must do (sacrifice is considered a must - what?).
I am wishing there were more residencies and workshops that are mom (and parent) friendly. (If those programs are out there - please do drop names in the comments.)
Tonight I read Lisa Belkin's post about her residency experience in Florida and it made me think of this subject. Maybe I will have some more coherent thoughts later - but just needed to raise it tonight.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Art in our lives and hands
Earlier this month, Varnette P. Honeywood passed away. Even if you don't know her name, you likely would recognize her work and style. One of her pieces was featured prominently in the Huxtable home on The Cosby Show. And she created the cover art for all five of Tina McElroy Ansa's novels. (Go look at those covers again - completely unique on your shelf, right?) [Full disclosure - Tina is my friend and mentor].
Read Tina's tribute to Varnette P. Honeywood here - it is a beautiful piece.
Ms. Honeywood's work comes immediately to mind when I think about Tina McElroy Ansa's novels. I can't think about Ugly Ways or The Hand I Fan With without seeing those covers. That is powerful - an image that stays with you just as long as the story.
I do not think most book covers achieve this now. And maybe, with the increasing popularity of ebooks, this will continue - the cover becomes irrelevant.
I'm definitely a pro-technology person. But I will miss (already do) the use of artwork for book covers. Thoughtful, powerful pieces that make a cover a frame-worthy piece. I don't have enough art in my life. And I may never be a collector of original work, but I love beautiful design and art in "real" life - covers of books, posters, beautiful fabric.
The book cover still moves me. I have a hard time buying books that just have a photo cover (this may also be because some of those books are positioned as "urban" fiction). I still look for a piece of art, something a little less revealing than a photo. (I don't mean revealing as in showing too much skin - but revealing as in too easy to read - leaving nothing for the mind to explore).
I am sad to hear that Ms. Honeywood has passed. Her work is wonderful and I especially loved her depiction of children (Little Bill is her creation as well - that who beautiful community).
I know there are other artists doing beautiful, culturally specific work. I wish that publishers would find them and give novelists an opportunity to have visual art connected with their words. And I hope that our independent and self publishers will reach out and find an artist - think of the collaborations that we could cherish.
Here is some of the coverage about Ms. Honeywood.
Los Angeles Times
Washington Post
New York Times
Read Tina's tribute to Varnette P. Honeywood here - it is a beautiful piece.
Ms. Honeywood's work comes immediately to mind when I think about Tina McElroy Ansa's novels. I can't think about Ugly Ways or The Hand I Fan With without seeing those covers. That is powerful - an image that stays with you just as long as the story.
I do not think most book covers achieve this now. And maybe, with the increasing popularity of ebooks, this will continue - the cover becomes irrelevant.
I'm definitely a pro-technology person. But I will miss (already do) the use of artwork for book covers. Thoughtful, powerful pieces that make a cover a frame-worthy piece. I don't have enough art in my life. And I may never be a collector of original work, but I love beautiful design and art in "real" life - covers of books, posters, beautiful fabric.
The book cover still moves me. I have a hard time buying books that just have a photo cover (this may also be because some of those books are positioned as "urban" fiction). I still look for a piece of art, something a little less revealing than a photo. (I don't mean revealing as in showing too much skin - but revealing as in too easy to read - leaving nothing for the mind to explore).
I am sad to hear that Ms. Honeywood has passed. Her work is wonderful and I especially loved her depiction of children (Little Bill is her creation as well - that who beautiful community).
I know there are other artists doing beautiful, culturally specific work. I wish that publishers would find them and give novelists an opportunity to have visual art connected with their words. And I hope that our independent and self publishers will reach out and find an artist - think of the collaborations that we could cherish.
Here is some of the coverage about Ms. Honeywood.
Los Angeles Times
Washington Post
New York Times
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Uncovering history
I have been very intrigued by the stories about Isabel Wilkerson's new book, The Warmth of Other Suns, about the great migration of African Americans from the south to the north and west. She explores all the individual reasons they left in the middle of last century and focuses on three individuals to weave the tale. And she writes about the conditions they left, apparently without repeating what we've all heard about already.
She's gotten a lot of coverage - and I'm so happy to see it. I hope the book has a big impact -it sure sounds like it will be a popular read as well as an addition to college courses. Here are links to some of the stories. (I heard her on NPR - I certainly hope to hear her live during her tour).
Detroit Free Press (Recalling an African American that remade America
NPR - Fresh Air (Great Migration: The African American Exodus North)
New York Times (A Writer's Long Journey to Trace the Great Migration)
Boston Globe (A Moving Legacy)
She's gotten a lot of coverage - and I'm so happy to see it. I hope the book has a big impact -it sure sounds like it will be a popular read as well as an addition to college courses. Here are links to some of the stories. (I heard her on NPR - I certainly hope to hear her live during her tour).
Detroit Free Press (Recalling an African American that remade America
NPR - Fresh Air (Great Migration: The African American Exodus North)
New York Times (A Writer's Long Journey to Trace the Great Migration)
Boston Globe (A Moving Legacy)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Short story collections
A couple of weekends ago on Twitter I saw an exchange between Crystal Wilkinson (@CrystalWilki), Jamey Hatley (@jameyhatley), and Dolen Perkins-Valdez (@dolen) about short story collections by African American writers. They were posting a lot of titles that I haven't read (actually, I've read so few of them that it is embarrassing.)
I'm trying to learn how to write short stories; reading more of them is part of what I need to do. So I pulled some of the titles for a reading list.
And I thought other people would find the list useful as well. Some are recent titles, others have been around for years.
Are there other collections you've read that should be on this list? Put the titles in the comments.
How to Escape From a Leper Colony, Tiphanie Yanique (@tiphanieyanique)
The Conjure Woman and Other Conjure Tales, Charles Chesnut
Dr. King’s Refrigerator, Charles Johnson
Interesting Women by Andrea Lee
Water Street; Blackberries, Blackberries, by Crystal Wilkinson, who is also editor of Mythium Literary Journal
Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, by Randall Kenan
Slapboxing with Jesus, by Victor LaValle
Lost in the City and All Aunt Hagar’s Children, by Edward P. Jones
A Taste of Honey by Jabari Asim
Break Any Woman Down, by Dana Johnson
You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down and In Love and Trouble, Alice Walker
Gorilla My Love, Toni Cade Bambara
Sap Rising, by Christine Lincoln
White Rat, by Gayl Jones
Wideman collections
Before You Suffocate Your own Fool Self, by Danielle Evans
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, by ZZ Packer
I'm trying to learn how to write short stories; reading more of them is part of what I need to do. So I pulled some of the titles for a reading list.
And I thought other people would find the list useful as well. Some are recent titles, others have been around for years.
Are there other collections you've read that should be on this list? Put the titles in the comments.
How to Escape From a Leper Colony, Tiphanie Yanique (@tiphanieyanique)
The Conjure Woman and Other Conjure Tales, Charles Chesnut
Dr. King’s Refrigerator, Charles Johnson
Interesting Women by Andrea Lee
Water Street; Blackberries, Blackberries, by Crystal Wilkinson, who is also editor of Mythium Literary Journal
Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, by Randall Kenan
Slapboxing with Jesus, by Victor LaValle
Lost in the City and All Aunt Hagar’s Children, by Edward P. Jones
A Taste of Honey by Jabari Asim
Break Any Woman Down, by Dana Johnson
You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down and In Love and Trouble, Alice Walker
Gorilla My Love, Toni Cade Bambara
Sap Rising, by Christine Lincoln
White Rat, by Gayl Jones
Wideman collections
Before You Suffocate Your own Fool Self, by Danielle Evans
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, by ZZ Packer
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Pre-dawn links
Before I head off into the world of kid drop offs and day work ... a few links.
There's a small town in New York with two independent bookstores downtown. People are upset about the new, upstart store. I'm a little envious that they have both stores.
Tayari Jones contemplates the use of "good hair" in a description of her upcoming novel. What do you think when you read that?
Check out the Crab Orchard Review special issue focused on shaping the new South - found on Practicing Writing.
Did you know that people still burn books? Well a church in Florida plans to burn the Quran on 9/11. That is just hateful and ignorant.
Two libraries have banned a "gay-themed" book. The book, Revolutionary Voices, is an anthology of work by queer youth. I haven't read the book, so I can't comment on the actual content. It does make me sad that a book that might be helpful to teens who are looking for themselves or their friends in the pages of books, is now unavailable to them. I assume all the similar hetero books are safely on the shelves.
There's a small town in New York with two independent bookstores downtown. People are upset about the new, upstart store. I'm a little envious that they have both stores.
Tayari Jones contemplates the use of "good hair" in a description of her upcoming novel. What do you think when you read that?
Check out the Crab Orchard Review special issue focused on shaping the new South - found on Practicing Writing.
Did you know that people still burn books? Well a church in Florida plans to burn the Quran on 9/11. That is just hateful and ignorant.
Two libraries have banned a "gay-themed" book. The book, Revolutionary Voices, is an anthology of work by queer youth. I haven't read the book, so I can't comment on the actual content. It does make me sad that a book that might be helpful to teens who are looking for themselves or their friends in the pages of books, is now unavailable to them. I assume all the similar hetero books are safely on the shelves.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Yes, Black people go on vacation
Black people and vacations
There’s been a lot of chatter about First Lady Michelle Obama’s summer trip to Spain.
She’s the first lady of the United States, but apparently some people think her vacation in Spain was inappropriate. If you haven’t heard about this, catch up with the news coverage.
For Michelle Obama, extravagance dents popularity
Michelle Obama's Spain trip: the real reason she went
This evening I read Lori Tharps’ post about Spain, the State Department’s advisory to Black people about travel there, and the first lady. Lori brings an interesting perspective; she’s an African American woman married to a native of Spain. So she travels there to see family. Read her post.
Thinking about the first lady’s trip made me remember something a girl said to me over 20 years ago. This girl, who was under age 10, was in our house (I was a teenager) because her father had come over to talk to my dad about something. Naturally her dad assumed I would watch her, without asking first. That was the first annoying thing. They were our neighbors, but not our friends.
So while I was watching this girl, who I had never actually met before, she tells me about their vacation to Hawaii. And she is just chattering away while I wait for the men to finish.
Then she says, “Black people don’t go on vacation. My dad says it’s because they don’t have enough money.”
I was a little stunned by that. But not so stunned that I didn’t try to explain that Black people have money and do go on vacation.
When they left I talked to my father about what she said. I was pretty angry about it and definitely wanted him to know. I believed that she was young enough to still just report what she’d heard, not make up something to be provocative.
It was ridiculous that a man living in our same neighborhood would say such a thing. And it was just a little thing on one level. I mean, who really cares what a guy down the street thinks about all Black people.
On another level it continues to remind me that, even when people of multiple races are in the same neighborhoods, schools, workplaces and things would seem to be close to equal if not truly equal, some people will still assume there is a deficit somewhere. It’s illogical, but telling. It’s the “yeah, but” of integration. The little difference that is falsely inserted to keep some distance, at least in the mind, between “us” and “them” and allow people to hold on to some sliver of superiority.
Tonight I’m thinking through whether that sliver of superiority is what really underlies the backlash against First Lady Michelle Obama’s Spanish vacation. So much of what the Obama family does challenges the image of what some people (thankfully not all) have of Black people, Black families, Black success, Black intelligence, Black love, Black beauty, etc.
If you believe or have been told that Black people are still different than you, in whatever small, insignificant way, maybe it really is inconceivable that even as the Commander in Chief’s wife, Mrs. Obama can and does take vacations.
There’s been a lot of chatter about First Lady Michelle Obama’s summer trip to Spain.
She’s the first lady of the United States, but apparently some people think her vacation in Spain was inappropriate. If you haven’t heard about this, catch up with the news coverage.
For Michelle Obama, extravagance dents popularity
Michelle Obama's Spain trip: the real reason she went
This evening I read Lori Tharps’ post about Spain, the State Department’s advisory to Black people about travel there, and the first lady. Lori brings an interesting perspective; she’s an African American woman married to a native of Spain. So she travels there to see family. Read her post.
Thinking about the first lady’s trip made me remember something a girl said to me over 20 years ago. This girl, who was under age 10, was in our house (I was a teenager) because her father had come over to talk to my dad about something. Naturally her dad assumed I would watch her, without asking first. That was the first annoying thing. They were our neighbors, but not our friends.
So while I was watching this girl, who I had never actually met before, she tells me about their vacation to Hawaii. And she is just chattering away while I wait for the men to finish.
Then she says, “Black people don’t go on vacation. My dad says it’s because they don’t have enough money.”
I was a little stunned by that. But not so stunned that I didn’t try to explain that Black people have money and do go on vacation.
When they left I talked to my father about what she said. I was pretty angry about it and definitely wanted him to know. I believed that she was young enough to still just report what she’d heard, not make up something to be provocative.
It was ridiculous that a man living in our same neighborhood would say such a thing. And it was just a little thing on one level. I mean, who really cares what a guy down the street thinks about all Black people.
On another level it continues to remind me that, even when people of multiple races are in the same neighborhoods, schools, workplaces and things would seem to be close to equal if not truly equal, some people will still assume there is a deficit somewhere. It’s illogical, but telling. It’s the “yeah, but” of integration. The little difference that is falsely inserted to keep some distance, at least in the mind, between “us” and “them” and allow people to hold on to some sliver of superiority.
Tonight I’m thinking through whether that sliver of superiority is what really underlies the backlash against First Lady Michelle Obama’s Spanish vacation. So much of what the Obama family does challenges the image of what some people (thankfully not all) have of Black people, Black families, Black success, Black intelligence, Black love, Black beauty, etc.
If you believe or have been told that Black people are still different than you, in whatever small, insignificant way, maybe it really is inconceivable that even as the Commander in Chief’s wife, Mrs. Obama can and does take vacations.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
About 32 Candles, by Ernessa T. Carter
I’ve already told folks on my FB and Twitter networks that I loved 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter.
In those short formats, I haven’t gone into a lot of detail about why I enjoyed the story of Davie Jones, the heroine, so much.
Here’s the long format answer.
I was on p. 46 when I told my S.O. that 32 Candles is in the family with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Bluest Eye.
Carter’s work belongs in such company because she is, like Angelou and Morrison, telling the story of a little Black girl’s coming of age and finding her beauty. (Well, in the case of The Bluest Eye, we can debate Pecola’s finding her beauty, but that’s an entire discussion).
32 Candles brings us the more recent experience of a Black girl growing up in the 80s and Carter renders her and the small Mississippi town she grows up in wonderfully. And it is not at all a wonderful experience for Davie. The kids in town call her Monkey Night because of her dark skin. She has a painful and dangerous childhood and one of the ways she escapes is through watching Molly Ringwald movies, including 16 Candles.
I won’t reveal much more about what happens next – I think the surprises in the book are best left for you to discover. Because I hope you go and read this book.
As I followed Davie’s story, I considered how the novel would fit in to a class I’d love to teach one day. The class would be focused on depictions of Black girls in coming of age novels. (And yes, I’m the kind of person whose fantasy life includes imagined course development).
I’d teach 32 Candles with:
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Leaving Atlanta, by Tayari Jones
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor (or maybe one of her other books)
I’m sure there are other titles, but the ones above, combined with the critical and socio-historical reading, would make an interesting course covering the contemporary Black girl in the novel. Maybe I’d include memoirs as well. I'll have to think about that some more.
But back to the topic at hand. Read 32 Candles. It’s worth it.
In those short formats, I haven’t gone into a lot of detail about why I enjoyed the story of Davie Jones, the heroine, so much.
Here’s the long format answer.
I was on p. 46 when I told my S.O. that 32 Candles is in the family with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Bluest Eye.
Carter’s work belongs in such company because she is, like Angelou and Morrison, telling the story of a little Black girl’s coming of age and finding her beauty. (Well, in the case of The Bluest Eye, we can debate Pecola’s finding her beauty, but that’s an entire discussion).
32 Candles brings us the more recent experience of a Black girl growing up in the 80s and Carter renders her and the small Mississippi town she grows up in wonderfully. And it is not at all a wonderful experience for Davie. The kids in town call her Monkey Night because of her dark skin. She has a painful and dangerous childhood and one of the ways she escapes is through watching Molly Ringwald movies, including 16 Candles.
I won’t reveal much more about what happens next – I think the surprises in the book are best left for you to discover. Because I hope you go and read this book.
As I followed Davie’s story, I considered how the novel would fit in to a class I’d love to teach one day. The class would be focused on depictions of Black girls in coming of age novels. (And yes, I’m the kind of person whose fantasy life includes imagined course development).
I’d teach 32 Candles with:
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Leaving Atlanta, by Tayari Jones
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor (or maybe one of her other books)
I’m sure there are other titles, but the ones above, combined with the critical and socio-historical reading, would make an interesting course covering the contemporary Black girl in the novel. Maybe I’d include memoirs as well. I'll have to think about that some more.
But back to the topic at hand. Read 32 Candles. It’s worth it.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
50 years of stories
While I was in San Francisco for VONA, I wandered off a couple of times just to see parts of the city. One of the places I wanted to see was Marcus Books, which has a store in San Francisco and one in Oakland.
Marcus Books celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. That's an incredible milestone for a bookstore. An independent bookstore. A Black bookstore.
I had never been to Marcus Books before, but of course now I know the way to any place with an address. As long as my phone battery doesn't die. When I looked it up, I saw that it really was walking distance from the USF campus, where VONA participants live for a week. So I got in a good long, solitary walk, seeing a little more of the city and I was headed to a bookstore. Joy all around and through me.
While I haven't been to Marcus Books before, I had met Blanche Richardson, whose parents founded the store, multiple times. She is a regular instructor/presenter/speaker at Tina McElroy Ansa's Sea Island Writers Retreats and a wonderful writer and incredible editor.
I got a glimpse of Blanche while I was there, but didn't get to talk to her. I did meet her sister Karen, who told me a little of the history of the neighborhood - which was hosting a jazz festival the next weekend.
But let me back up. The store is in a building that was once a jazz club - where greats like Miles Davis and Billie Holiday would play after hours. After having played in clubs that catered to white audiences. So it is in a historic building and clearly the Richardsons have a great respect for our history.
I was so happy just to be in the store. I love books - obviously! - and Black books and independent stores. Within the first few minutes I had to remind myself that my budget was limited and that I had to get whatever I purchased into my carryon bag.
It's hard to hold myself back when browsing so many books and seeing not one shelf marked "urban fiction."
Then I saw the kids section. I was done. It was difficult to choose just 2 books each for our kids. Wonderful to have so many books with images of them on the shelf. Astronauts and boy reporters and boxing legends and strong-willed bakers and more.
The Black bookstore in my city closed years ago. This year one of the independent stores closed. So it's exciting for me to be in a store with so much to offer, all right there at my fingertips.
I have ordered lots of books online and via a chain store. I still love browsing and buying, though. And the browsing experience is better for me in independent stores.
I'm thankful that I was able to visit Marcus Books this year, during their 50th anniversary. I hope the store has many more years and that I will make it all the way out there again one day.
Do you have a favorite independent bookstore? How is the book buying experience different there? Post away in the comments.
Marcus Books celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. That's an incredible milestone for a bookstore. An independent bookstore. A Black bookstore.
I had never been to Marcus Books before, but of course now I know the way to any place with an address. As long as my phone battery doesn't die. When I looked it up, I saw that it really was walking distance from the USF campus, where VONA participants live for a week. So I got in a good long, solitary walk, seeing a little more of the city and I was headed to a bookstore. Joy all around and through me.
While I haven't been to Marcus Books before, I had met Blanche Richardson, whose parents founded the store, multiple times. She is a regular instructor/presenter/speaker at Tina McElroy Ansa's Sea Island Writers Retreats and a wonderful writer and incredible editor.
I got a glimpse of Blanche while I was there, but didn't get to talk to her. I did meet her sister Karen, who told me a little of the history of the neighborhood - which was hosting a jazz festival the next weekend.
But let me back up. The store is in a building that was once a jazz club - where greats like Miles Davis and Billie Holiday would play after hours. After having played in clubs that catered to white audiences. So it is in a historic building and clearly the Richardsons have a great respect for our history.
I was so happy just to be in the store. I love books - obviously! - and Black books and independent stores. Within the first few minutes I had to remind myself that my budget was limited and that I had to get whatever I purchased into my carryon bag.
It's hard to hold myself back when browsing so many books and seeing not one shelf marked "urban fiction."
Then I saw the kids section. I was done. It was difficult to choose just 2 books each for our kids. Wonderful to have so many books with images of them on the shelf. Astronauts and boy reporters and boxing legends and strong-willed bakers and more.
The Black bookstore in my city closed years ago. This year one of the independent stores closed. So it's exciting for me to be in a store with so much to offer, all right there at my fingertips.
I have ordered lots of books online and via a chain store. I still love browsing and buying, though. And the browsing experience is better for me in independent stores.
I'm thankful that I was able to visit Marcus Books this year, during their 50th anniversary. I hope the store has many more years and that I will make it all the way out there again one day.
Do you have a favorite independent bookstore? How is the book buying experience different there? Post away in the comments.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Playing catch up
Maybe I shouldn't think of this post as playing catch up. I'm simply jumping in where I can. And sharing what I like to read with you.
Anika from WriteBlack reviewed Nnedi Okarofor's Who Fears Death for White Readers Meet Black Authors, Carleen Brice's blog. My favorite part of the review is how Anika gives us touch points from other science fiction to help flesh out the protagonist, Onyesonwu. (My favorite, the reference to Sauron. I assume it's the dark lord from Lord of the Rings, which I've been seeing in pieces again over the last two weeks. Doesn't get any darker than that - Sauron is compared to Onyesonwu's father).
Erika Dreifus, whose collection Quiet Americans will be out next year, writes about pre-publication anxiety. Published authors - head over to her blog and tell her how you manage the pre-pub anxiety. Every Thursday she is writing about her pre-publication journey.
If you know me or have ever read more than one entry here, you know that I think Tayari Jones is all of that - I enjoy her novels, her online writing voice and, had the great pleasure of hearing her read once. So, just as a reminder, bookmark her blog. Today I'm linking to her post about winning the Hurston/Wright Award in 2000 and what a breakthrough that was for her. She taught at the Hurston/Wright Writers Week this summer (just last week). Two of my VONA peeps were there last week as well. I know it was amazing.
Anika from WriteBlack reviewed Nnedi Okarofor's Who Fears Death for White Readers Meet Black Authors, Carleen Brice's blog. My favorite part of the review is how Anika gives us touch points from other science fiction to help flesh out the protagonist, Onyesonwu. (My favorite, the reference to Sauron. I assume it's the dark lord from Lord of the Rings, which I've been seeing in pieces again over the last two weeks. Doesn't get any darker than that - Sauron is compared to Onyesonwu's father).
Erika Dreifus, whose collection Quiet Americans will be out next year, writes about pre-publication anxiety. Published authors - head over to her blog and tell her how you manage the pre-pub anxiety. Every Thursday she is writing about her pre-publication journey.
If you know me or have ever read more than one entry here, you know that I think Tayari Jones is all of that - I enjoy her novels, her online writing voice and, had the great pleasure of hearing her read once. So, just as a reminder, bookmark her blog. Today I'm linking to her post about winning the Hurston/Wright Award in 2000 and what a breakthrough that was for her. She taught at the Hurston/Wright Writers Week this summer (just last week). Two of my VONA peeps were there last week as well. I know it was amazing.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Summer reads, a few more weeks
I define summer in different ways depending on where I am in life. As a kid and parent, summer is really those seemingly few days between the end of school and the first day back.
When I was an adult without kids, it stretched until I had to start wearing closed toe shoes and, in Florida, summer seemed endless.
This summer is my VONA summer (the workshop for writers of color held every year in San Francisco). That means it's a summer of reading and writing and challenging myself.
So I am going to read more as I write more.
Here are a couple of titles that have caught my eye:
32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter. Because of the cover - there's pink! - I wasn't really tuned into it. I didn't feel like reading anything that seemed to revolve around romance. But I keep seeing people post good things about it and I'm going to get it this summer.
Check out Ernessa's blog.
Substitute Me by Lori Tharps is in the current issue of Essence magazine. I have really liked Lori's articles and blog, so I want to read this one. Interesting storyline about her protagonist becoming a nanny, though. I'm sure there's a lot she can do with that!
When I was an adult without kids, it stretched until I had to start wearing closed toe shoes and, in Florida, summer seemed endless.
This summer is my VONA summer (the workshop for writers of color held every year in San Francisco). That means it's a summer of reading and writing and challenging myself.
So I am going to read more as I write more.
Here are a couple of titles that have caught my eye:
32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter. Because of the cover - there's pink! - I wasn't really tuned into it. I didn't feel like reading anything that seemed to revolve around romance. But I keep seeing people post good things about it and I'm going to get it this summer.
Check out Ernessa's blog.
Substitute Me by Lori Tharps is in the current issue of Essence magazine. I have really liked Lori's articles and blog, so I want to read this one. Interesting storyline about her protagonist becoming a nanny, though. I'm sure there's a lot she can do with that!
Monday, July 05, 2010
Resources for writers – post-VONA
I just got back on 7/4 from the annual VONA workshop in San Francisco. I have dreamed about going to VONA for years and only had the courage and commitment to apply last year. I didn’t get in. This year I got in and nothing could keep me from it. If you don’t know, VONA is an annual multi-genre workshop for writers of color. I’ll write more about it in the next few days and weeks as my heart and mind are so full from the experience. I wanted to share some writing resources with my workshop group and though it would be worthwhile to post these links here as well.
Practicing Writing blog by Erika Dreifus
Calls for submissions, writers guidelines, jobs, residencies, awards – basically tools, resources and opportunities for writers (poets, nonfiction, fiction)
http://practicing-writing.blogspot.com/
Creative Writing Opportunities List
Email listserv with calls for papers, stories, poems, essays from journals, anthologies, magazines. Getting the daily emails might be a bit much, but you could also join the group and just bookmark the page – without getting all the emails.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CRWROPPS-B/
Kalamu ya Salaam’s blog
Kalamu has maintained a listserv and now a blog for many years that features information for Black writers and supporters of cultural production from and by the African diaspora. He posts writing and publishing opportunities as well as articles and videos on culture, history and politics.
http://kalamu.posterous.com/
If you have other links for writers on the rise, please post them in the comments.
Practicing Writing blog by Erika Dreifus
Calls for submissions, writers guidelines, jobs, residencies, awards – basically tools, resources and opportunities for writers (poets, nonfiction, fiction)
http://practicing-writing.blogspot.com/
Creative Writing Opportunities List
Email listserv with calls for papers, stories, poems, essays from journals, anthologies, magazines. Getting the daily emails might be a bit much, but you could also join the group and just bookmark the page – without getting all the emails.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CRWROPPS-B/
Kalamu ya Salaam’s blog
Kalamu has maintained a listserv and now a blog for many years that features information for Black writers and supporters of cultural production from and by the African diaspora. He posts writing and publishing opportunities as well as articles and videos on culture, history and politics.
http://kalamu.posterous.com/
If you have other links for writers on the rise, please post them in the comments.
Friday, June 18, 2010
The food thing
I'm still thinking about summer reads, but wanted to go in another direction for a bit.
Food is on my mind a lot lately.
I know that I don't eat the right things or the right amounts and probably not even at the right times. So I've admitted that.
Now I'm trying to eat better and take care of my body. To that end one step I've taken is to make more smoothies.
That sounds ridiculous if smoothie makes you think of what I call candy smoothies - the super sweet drinks that may or may not have fresh fruit in them that we pay $3+ for from chains.
But that's not where I am on the smoothie continuum. A few weeks ago an herbalist I know recommended that I eat more dark, leafy greens to address a health issue. She suggested kale, spinach and collard greens. And she mentioned that I could cook them.
And while I am a Black woman from the south, I cannot cook greens. Well, I don't cook greens. I could, but I don't.
Because I wanted to start changing my life right away - and cooking a pot of greens wasn't going to be the quickest route, I looked up recipes for kale and found green smoothie recipes.
Greens in a smoothie? Sounds like something I would try. (I'm a veggie dabbler - love the idea of being vegan - but am so easily tempted by bacon, *sigh*)
So I tried a green smoothie - with a big leaf of kale, banana, and some other fruit - can't remember - with soy milk and honey. I added the honey because I was afraid I'd need to cover the taste of the greens.
It was great. It is not a candy smoothie - and my kids tried it, but after timid sips decided they would pass.
But I kept making them for myself, every day. Sometimes with kale and spinach. I have used apples, frozen mango, frozen blueberries, strawberries, peaches and grapes in the smoothies.
And I think it is helping me. But continuing to overeat and eat meat and dairy is not. So I need to try harder.
All this to say that Sistah Vegan, edited by A. Breeze Harper (@sistahvegan on Twitter), is on my reading list. As a Black woman who wants to eat better (healthier, slower, more ethically) I'd like to read what the racial/social perspectives are on vegan living.
And Soul Vegan Kitchen, by Bryant Terry (@bryantterry) has been on my list for a year. I need to just stop playing, buy it and make time to cook. He has another project in the works and mentioned that the African diaspora will be in full effect in the new cookbook. Can't wait to see that one as well. I love to look through and try things from cookbooks - it always feels like so many possibilities for joy.
Tonight - by grabbing the links above from Amazon - I saw By Any Greens Necessary, by Tracye Lynn McQuirter. Yes, I want to buy it from the title alone. Here's the product description:
* The first vegan guide geared to African American women
* More than forty delicious and nutritious recipes highlighted with color photographs
* Menus and advice on transitioning from omnivore to vegan
* Resource information and a comprehensive shopping list for restocking the fridge and pantry
Selfishly, I'd love to see these three books bundled with a membership to an organic food co-op. And a Vita Mix blender. That would be dreamy - and yes, drinking green smoothies has made me have joyous thoughts about green leaves and beautiful fruit.
There's so much more in all of this - how far we've moved from not even ancestral diets, but just the basic vegetable staples we had growing up - or some of us had. How much difference it makes what kind of stores, restaurants and advertising are in your community (I'll have to come back and post about my recent grocery story experience and memory) and how we've become a foodie culture but we're ruining it by slathering on cheese.
Not that I don't like cheese - I do. But I know I need to walk a different way.
Anyway, I'll leave you with a few smoothie ideas:
Basic -
1 big leaf fresh kale
1 banana - frozen if you can
1 - apple
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup soy milk
Take the basic and tweak it - add a cup of fresh spinach leaves or leave out the apple and add a cup or two of berries and another cup of mango or peaches.
Through in grapes or blueberries for a purple/green smoothie.
Tonight I threw in one small carrot stick. Add more or less or make a carrot focused smoothie.
Food is on my mind a lot lately.
I know that I don't eat the right things or the right amounts and probably not even at the right times. So I've admitted that.
Now I'm trying to eat better and take care of my body. To that end one step I've taken is to make more smoothies.
That sounds ridiculous if smoothie makes you think of what I call candy smoothies - the super sweet drinks that may or may not have fresh fruit in them that we pay $3+ for from chains.
But that's not where I am on the smoothie continuum. A few weeks ago an herbalist I know recommended that I eat more dark, leafy greens to address a health issue. She suggested kale, spinach and collard greens. And she mentioned that I could cook them.
And while I am a Black woman from the south, I cannot cook greens. Well, I don't cook greens. I could, but I don't.
Because I wanted to start changing my life right away - and cooking a pot of greens wasn't going to be the quickest route, I looked up recipes for kale and found green smoothie recipes.
Greens in a smoothie? Sounds like something I would try. (I'm a veggie dabbler - love the idea of being vegan - but am so easily tempted by bacon, *sigh*)
So I tried a green smoothie - with a big leaf of kale, banana, and some other fruit - can't remember - with soy milk and honey. I added the honey because I was afraid I'd need to cover the taste of the greens.
It was great. It is not a candy smoothie - and my kids tried it, but after timid sips decided they would pass.
But I kept making them for myself, every day. Sometimes with kale and spinach. I have used apples, frozen mango, frozen blueberries, strawberries, peaches and grapes in the smoothies.
And I think it is helping me. But continuing to overeat and eat meat and dairy is not. So I need to try harder.
All this to say that Sistah Vegan, edited by A. Breeze Harper (@sistahvegan on Twitter), is on my reading list. As a Black woman who wants to eat better (healthier, slower, more ethically) I'd like to read what the racial/social perspectives are on vegan living.
And Soul Vegan Kitchen, by Bryant Terry (@bryantterry) has been on my list for a year. I need to just stop playing, buy it and make time to cook. He has another project in the works and mentioned that the African diaspora will be in full effect in the new cookbook. Can't wait to see that one as well. I love to look through and try things from cookbooks - it always feels like so many possibilities for joy.
Tonight - by grabbing the links above from Amazon - I saw By Any Greens Necessary, by Tracye Lynn McQuirter. Yes, I want to buy it from the title alone. Here's the product description:
* The first vegan guide geared to African American women
* More than forty delicious and nutritious recipes highlighted with color photographs
* Menus and advice on transitioning from omnivore to vegan
* Resource information and a comprehensive shopping list for restocking the fridge and pantry
Selfishly, I'd love to see these three books bundled with a membership to an organic food co-op. And a Vita Mix blender. That would be dreamy - and yes, drinking green smoothies has made me have joyous thoughts about green leaves and beautiful fruit.
There's so much more in all of this - how far we've moved from not even ancestral diets, but just the basic vegetable staples we had growing up - or some of us had. How much difference it makes what kind of stores, restaurants and advertising are in your community (I'll have to come back and post about my recent grocery story experience and memory) and how we've become a foodie culture but we're ruining it by slathering on cheese.
Not that I don't like cheese - I do. But I know I need to walk a different way.
Anyway, I'll leave you with a few smoothie ideas:
Basic -
1 big leaf fresh kale
1 banana - frozen if you can
1 - apple
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup soy milk
Take the basic and tweak it - add a cup of fresh spinach leaves or leave out the apple and add a cup or two of berries and another cup of mango or peaches.
Through in grapes or blueberries for a purple/green smoothie.
Tonight I threw in one small carrot stick. Add more or less or make a carrot focused smoothie.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Summer reading
At the beginning of summer (which technically doesn't begin until next week) many publications do a story about great summer books that are coming out.
These are the books that will fill beach bags and lazy summer afternoons. Even for the many people - the majority - who won't have lazy anything this summer, those lists help push books and give readers a way to sort through the mass of books online and in stores.
I like to read summer reading lists and recommendations to get titles in my head for my own reading. Obviously I love books, but I hate being in the library or in a store and not have some highly desired title in my head. I can always find something to read, but I love the anticipation and celebration of grabbing a title that I've been looking for.
Recently Professor Blair Kelley (@profblmkelly on Twitter) asked for summer reading recommendations of smart fiction by and about Black women. And that's exactly the kind of list I'd like to see somewhere.
So, here are some titles that are on my reading list:
Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor
International award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor enters the world of magic realist literature with a powerful story of genocide in the far future and of the woman who reshapes her world.
In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways, yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. After years of enslaving the Okeke people, the Nuru tribe has decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke tribe for good. An Okeke woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her child Onyesonwu, which means “Who Fears Death?” in an ancient tongue.
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, by Heidi Durrow
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky reveals an unfathomable past and explores issues of identity at a time when many people are asking "Must race confine us and define us?"
In the tradition of Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, here is a portrait of a young girl—and society's ideas of race, class, and beauty.
It is a winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.
Whoops! I'm out of time. More summer reads later. If you have one ... put it in comments.
These are the books that will fill beach bags and lazy summer afternoons. Even for the many people - the majority - who won't have lazy anything this summer, those lists help push books and give readers a way to sort through the mass of books online and in stores.
I like to read summer reading lists and recommendations to get titles in my head for my own reading. Obviously I love books, but I hate being in the library or in a store and not have some highly desired title in my head. I can always find something to read, but I love the anticipation and celebration of grabbing a title that I've been looking for.
Recently Professor Blair Kelley (@profblmkelly on Twitter) asked for summer reading recommendations of smart fiction by and about Black women. And that's exactly the kind of list I'd like to see somewhere.
So, here are some titles that are on my reading list:
Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor
International award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor enters the world of magic realist literature with a powerful story of genocide in the far future and of the woman who reshapes her world.
In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways, yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. After years of enslaving the Okeke people, the Nuru tribe has decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke tribe for good. An Okeke woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her child Onyesonwu, which means “Who Fears Death?” in an ancient tongue.
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, by Heidi Durrow
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky reveals an unfathomable past and explores issues of identity at a time when many people are asking "Must race confine us and define us?"
In the tradition of Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, here is a portrait of a young girl—and society's ideas of race, class, and beauty.
It is a winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.
Whoops! I'm out of time. More summer reads later. If you have one ... put it in comments.
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