You're Invited: Fiction Forum at the New School

Glen Finland

Deborah Henry

Join Glen Finland, Deborah Henry, and I in a Fiction Forum moderated by Jeffery Renard Allen:

TUESDAY APRIL 16, 2013 AT 6:30PM
NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY
ALVIN JOHNSON/J.M. KAPLAN HALL - ROOM 510
66 WEST 12TH STREET, 5TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY
$5 Admission (Free to New School students, faculty & alums)

In Celebration of National Poetry Month: An Ode to the Library

April is National Poetry Month. Founded by the American Academy of Poets in 1996, the monthlong celebration presents multiple suggestions and opportunities for experiencing poetry including attending a reading, sharing your favorite poem on "Poem in Your Pocket" Day, and reading your own poetry at an open mic. In celebration, I've written a poem in honor of the library, one of my favorite places to write. Please share your favorite poems and poets in the comments section.

A Library is
By Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

A library is
A choir
Of voices hallowed and profane
Whispering cheers and subversions
Preserving stories like griots
Like songs
Making sure you remember
So we never forget
Put your ear to the shelves
Not a spineless one

A library is
A federal reserve
Bullion bars of research and data
The keeper of theories proven and debunked
Hoarding relics and memories
Of the way we thought and think
The way we were
On rolling carts in musty stacks
On oak tag cards and rubber stamps
Broadband connections churning centuries of words and ideas

A library is
A shelter
The fallout from earnest and wicked shrugs about what to do with our homeless and mentally ill
See the line that stretches in the morning
Before the doors open
Men and women ragged from roaming the streets of their minds
Waiting for a warm, quiet place to be crazy
Where others go to be sane
From the craziness at home
And for the wi-fi

 A library is
A junction
Where race, class, and generations converge at the intersection of homework, research, and resume triage
A free after school program
A NICU for concepts and dreams that need more time to develop
A daycare for the over-qualified
A place to go and feel productive
While you wait for the call Because you will get the call

A library is
A luxury
Of a nation so rich
Not only the rich are entitled to a library
A necessity
Of a society committed to a future that builds on the wisdom of the past
A safe house for learning
A beacon
On a neighborhood block

Rest in Peace, Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe's A Man of the People is one of my all-time favorite books. It's a slim novel set in what I assumed to be Nigeria, and it follows an idealistic teacher named Odili who begins as a staunchly incorruptible character right after the end of colonialism. Slowly, he concedes his moral high ground. It's an unflinching observation of human nature, and it is funny.

It is the first book I read about Africa that made me laugh. A Man of the People didn't make light of the corruption that helped derail the promise of many West African nations in the wake of the wave of Independence that started with Ghana in 1957; it looked it in the eye. In "Man", before the characters were African, they were human. This seems like an obvious observation, but, perhaps because I grew up hearing Ghana romanticized by my immigrant parents, the story resonated deeply with me -- more so than Achebe's best known novel Things Fall Apart.

But as a writer of African heritage, I know it is Things Fall Apart that is globally recognized as the benchmark for the African story. African writing is rarely mentioned apart from Chinua Achebe and this book. For many readers, "Things" is the first and only novel about Africa / by an African that they've read. It is taught in so many universities and high schools; and has been passed from my parents' generation to mine. I and my peers will likely share it with our own children. It is canon.

So when I heard Achebe died yesterday, I cried because the man who wrote "Man" and "Things" is gone; and because I felt the weight of a new responsibility to this writing craft. He has done his part and now he rests, leaving it to the next generation to pick up where he left off.

In Her Words: Emerging African Writers in the Diaspora

Ayesha Harruna Attah (she wrote Commonwealth Writers Prize Finalist Harmattan Rain) and I invite you to join us in discussing our experiences writing about Africa, while living in the Diaspora.

African Literature is global. It's African-American, Afro-Latino, Afro-European, Afro-Asian... as much as it is African. Like the "duckoonoo" and greens the Africans that made the Middle Passage found and reinvented in the Americas, Africa's literature has traveled with many of its authors; evolving into new narratives. But, can a literary work borne in the Diaspora claim authentic African identity? Are there specific characteristics that make literature African?

We'll be having the conversation at ImageNation's rawspace Gallery, an amazing venue located under the umbrella of the ImageNation Cinema Foundation. The Harlem-based media arts organizaton was founded by Moikgantsi Kgama "with the goal of establishing a chain of art-house cinemas dedicated to progressive media by and about people of color."

COME:
Saturday, MARCH 30, 2013 3-5PM
ImageNation rawspace Gallery
2031 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. (7th Avenue between 121st & 122nd)

African Wine, Food, Music & Words--You're Invited!

New York Friends, come celebrate the 3rd Birthday of my firstborn book with a "Taste of Africa". On  April 6, 2013, I'm going to be reading and signing books at an intimate gathering in the West Village complete with tasty eats and wine, and a performance by Sierra Leone's own Azania. Please say you'll come -- all ticket sales will benefit Telem Camp 2013.  You can buy a ticket ($25) here.

My New Writing Life

Forgive the silence! I've been adjusting to my life as a full-time writer.

Back in June, I resigned from my day job to focus on figuring out how to "just write". It's been a grind and a half.

I imagined myself flying through my third book (which I've started!) with all this new time devoted to my craft. Instead, it's been a balancing act of pitching editors to write articles, selling my copywriting skills to ad agencies; then writing the work I've been blessed to get, and chasing the resulting checks.

When I add up the time I spend pitching, writing articles/copy, and check-hunting, I have just a little more than I used to to work on my personal projects. But even that sliver has been precious. I feel myself becoming more observant and in tune with my creative self/voice, and more attentive to what's happening beyond my life. I'm also taking more time to keep up with the business of the book industry and how it affects writers (see my blog People Who Write), taking classes, and connecting with others writers (I recently became active in my church's writers group).  

Again, it's a major hustle. I do not want to sugarcoat this new life of mine. But the fact that it has been possible to pay my bills has been exciting. It has completely changed the way I think about money, work, and my time. Now that I'm paid per hour, everything I choose to do with my time "counts." Alas, my time has become money. It's helped me to get better-ish at prioritizing, more aggressive about pitching, and a little more fearless about "putting myself out there".

In the meantime, I've had to have many talks with myself about money. I used to be so bad with money -- a huge spender. Then, I started saving to move out of my parents' house, and became a Suzie Orman disciple, a constant "Can I Afford This?" refrain in my head. That mindset helped me cut a lot of the frivolity out of my life, but as I've gone through this new round of cuts, if you will, I've learned to allow myself more indulgences, and appreciate them without chiding myself.

Above all, I've learned how much I love writing. I've always known this, but I feel a new respect for the gift and the craft. I'll try to be better about keeping you posted.

 

Check Out My New Blog: "People Who Write"

The Powder Necklace blog is supposed to be about my journey in promoting my first book and navigating the book industry as a novice. However, of late, as I've been focusing on my next two book projects (yesterday, I wrote the first line of Book #3!), the posts here and on my Powder Necklace Facebook page have veered off topic. To get back on course, I've started a new blog called "People Who Write" where I'll share info that's more relevant to writers and book nerds.

I haven't abandoned this blog though! I am still on the grind pushing Powder Necklace and actually have a few events lined up in the New Year which I am super-psyched about. I'll share the deets once I have full info to share. Thank you so much for sticking with me!!