Category: General Topics

No One is You And That is Your Power

Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks at Hall Branch Library, Chicago, IL, 1949. Credit: George Cleveland Hall Branch Archives, photo 146, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection.

I still go to libraries.

I got my first library card at the Hall Branch Library on 48th in Michigan on Chicago’s south side. I was thirteen years old and still needed my mother’s signature. I wasn’t into Black History back then. I chose this library because I wanted to check out books, and it was down the street from my grandmother’s house.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Dr. George Cleveland Hall

Yesterday, I discovered Hall Branch was named for the renowned African American surgeon, social activist, and civic leader Dr. George Cleveland Hall (1864-1930). It was the first Chicago Public Library location with a Black branch manager, Vivian G. Harsh, who served as its first manager. We will get deeper into Hall’s background on this Friday’s Black History Fun Fact, the last one of the year.

In 1949, Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks visited the Hall Branch to celebrate the publication of The Poetry of the Negro Anthology.

On July 7, 2000, the Friends of Libraries USA (now United for Libraries) and Illinois Center for the Books designated Hall Branch as a literary landmark. This was in recognition of its promotion of African American literary culture by serving as a meeting place for such writers as Arna Bontemps, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, and Richard Wright. (Learn more about the Chicago Renaissance of the Black Belt Here).

I thought I had picked this library at random and for no particular reason. I had no idea it was so rich with Black History or that it was this hub for Black writers.

This helped me to see how unique each of our journeys are. No one has walked in your shoes or experienced what you’ve experienced. No one is you, and that is your power.

Everything is a stepping stone to get us to the place Yah has destined for us, every path like a thread weaving and connecting everything together.

It would be years before I learned who Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks were, and many more years before I would publish a collection of poetry of my own.

Little did I know I was building on the same foundation as those who came before me.

Talk about the power of purpose!

Also, I still got that library card!

Have you read My Soul is a Witness? I am striving for 20 book reviews at minimum before the year is out. If you read this book, I would appreciate so much if you reviewed it! Go to the page here. Scroll down to Write Customer Review, click that, rate and review. Boom. Done.

Thanks!!

Vote For My Soul is a Witness Book Cover

They say not to judge a book by its cover…

…but I need you to do just that!

If you like the cover of my book, My Soul is a Witness, please vote for it for the cover of the Month contest on AllAuthor.com!

Here is the link:

https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/10528/

Go, Go, Go!!

And thank you!!

Humility vs. Fear

Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

There is a humility that is sacred and far more valuable than any tangible thing. Then there is a humility rooted in fear. This humility is not real. It is the mask we wear when we are afraid to step outside of our comfort zones. It is the fear of being “too much.” It is the fear of being perceived as arrogant and proud. There is a pride that leads to destruction. It operates under the belief that we cannot teach it. It is that nasty arrogance they always warn us to stay away from, and for a good reason. But there is another way in which to be proud. It is the pride that gives us the courage to be who we are. It is the pride that acknowledges all the struggles we’ve endured to be where we are. It is the fulfillment that gives us the intestinal fortitude to hold our heads up and believe that we are capable despite all obstacles and impossibilities. There is a nasty and egotistic pride, and then there is a pride that is self-respect. There is sincere humility that will take us places money and status never will. Then, there is a humility that keeps us stuck because it is not humility; it is fear.

Writing Journals for Poets and Writers Are Now Available for preorder!!

Every journal includes a high-quality stainless steel diamond pen.

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www.mysoulisawitness.com

ATTN. Authors: Blog Book Review Policy Reminder

Good day everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I want to send a quick message to the authors/writers’ reading.

Over the past month, I have received tons of requests for book reviews. Many of you are contacting me through the contact form on this blog.

These submissions tend to go into my spam. If I see them at all, it is weeks and sometimes months later.

Please do not contact me about book reviews using the contact form. This includes if you were referred here from Reedsy.

Instead, please go to the Blog Book Review Policy page here.

This page will tell you all you need to know about how to schedule a review from me.

Note: The registry is currently closed and won’t reopen until 2021. Reviews you see until then are reviews from authors who scheduled them months ago. (Or books I have read on my own time.)

If you would like to RSVP for a chance at being reviewed, follow the steps on the policy page under RSVP for 2021.

Again, please read the Book Review Policy in full. Do not email me before reading the policy and do not send requests through this blog’s contact form.

>>BLOG BOOK REVIEW POLICY<<

The Lost Publisher’s Weekly Editorial Review of Renaissance: The Nora White Story

I forgot I sought an editorial review from Publisher’s Weekly two years ago. When I didn’t hear back, I assumed they declined me.

Turns out they did publish the review but I don’t remember being notified so I never saw it.

I know I haven’t blogged much. I have not felt up to it too much.

My focus instead has been on some background maintenance right now.

In addition to the personal things I have going on, I want to seriously focus on advancing my author career and better my writing business from this point forward. As a result, I have been spending less time on social and more time researching and putting an effort toward being more proactive in my book marketing. (Check out this excellent podcast I listened to yesterday on launching your books from the Indie Author Lifestyle Podcast.)

I have been updating my website and preparing for a smooth transition into 2021. This transition includes combing through my email list and social media accounts. I am not a numbers person when it comes to social media. I don’t care how many people follow me. I care how many people follow me that are interested in my content and have exemplified this interest through engagement with me.

In the fourth quarter of the year, I usually go through my lists, and accounts that are spammy or email addresses subscribed to my newsletter that have not been active are removed.

I would also really like to put my older books back up online. Only two of my five poetry books are available, so I’d like to get the other three up. Now that I know how I want my brand to look for poetry, I want them to have similar covers. I would also like to get my first novel back up, The Aftermath (2012), which has had a new cover for years, but I have not got around to getting it edited and republished. I have too much new material I need to invest in first, but Yah willing, I will get to it.

I want to get back to publishing more Historical Fiction. Admittedly, I’ve been lazy because of the level of research required to write in this genre, but my lazy streak is over. I am ready to get back to it. I have not been feeding my #HistFic readers, and I apologize for that. Got ya’ll over there starving.

To the point:

The discovery of this review is a significant confirmation that I need to get back to it. In this browsing of accounts and books, I found the Publisher’s Weekly Editorial Review of Renaissance on Barnes and Noble. I have just added it to the Editorial section of Amazon so it should be showing up soon.

This review is two years old! Sheesh.

Renaissance: The Nora White Story (Book 1)

“Ysrayl’s well-crafted historical novel—the first in a planned series—centers on 17-year-old Nora White, the child of black landowners in 1920s Mississippi. Though her parents expect her to attend college, Nora instead escapes to Harlem’s outskirts to pursue writing. She works as servant to a wealthy white woman who, while unpleasant, is benefactor to the writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance whom Nora so deeply admires. Nora meets Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Dubois, and other figures, and she finds a mentor and friend in Hurston—whose outsized personality and charisma are genuinely conveyed. Ysrayl smoothly integrates poetry and literary references into Nora’s narrative, and she writes with awareness of Jim Crow Era laws and racism in the North and South. Chapters told from Nora’s mother’s perspective focus on their turbulent family history but somewhat lack the urgency of Nora’s sections; even so, Ysrayl captures the crackling energy of the Harlem Renaissance. This first installment of Nora’s story offers little resolution, but it sets up an intriguing set of dramatic circumstances for subsequent novels. Ages 12–up. (BookLife)”

Publishers Weekly

Click Here to Pick Up Your Copy of Renaissance!

Already read it? Be sure to leave a review!

Note: Amazon has this book listed as Book 1 of 1, but please note this is book 1 of 2. I am currently trying to link the books. I thought they were linked but, whatever I’m tired lol. They will be linked soon enough. 

You READ – but do you leave REVIEWS? – by Chris Graham (aka The Story Reading Ape)

Just a friendly reminder to remember to review 🙂

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

PLEASE

A stack of books and words Read - Review - RepeatIf not, why not?

I don’t have time

The author probably spent a heck of a lot more time writing the story than you took to read it, no matter how slow you think you are, so why not take a few minutes to record your feelings about it.

I can’t write long fancy reviews like those I see on book review blogs

You don’t have to, Amazon, for example, only ask you to use a minimum of 25 non repeating words.

I can’t express myself very well

No-one is asking you to produce a literary masterpiece, start off with things you liked, didn’t like or a mix of both about the book, e.g.,

I liked this book because –

it reminded me of –

it made me think about –

it made me so scared I couldn’t sleep for –

it made me feel homesick for –

it…

View original post 468 more words

The Fragility of Life

“Come celebrate
with me that every day
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.”
– Lucille Clifton

Last week, on Saturday, October 3, 2020, I buried my mother.

On Tuesday, September 22nd, we learned she might not make it. That night, I spent the night in the basement on the couch watching Grey’s Anatomy episodes with a glass of wine. I couldn’t sleep, but you will inevitably fall asleep on the sofa when you are downstairs in my house. We’ve had the couch for a while, and it has claimed many victims who promised themselves it was not comfortable enough to tame them. I also lost service down there, and while I drifted, my phone rang and rang with no success.

Finally, I went upstairs, and my phone rang again. My heart dropped. There is only one reason people call that early. I accepted my sister’s call.

“Why are you calling me so early?” Although I already knew the answer.

“It was the twenty-third of September. That day I’ll always remember, yes I will
‘Cause that was the day that my mama died.”

The next day, September 24th, my aunt, my late dad’s sister, also passed.

I didn’t talk about it, but my Uncle John passed earlier this year on May 28th, two days after my birthday, and on June 2nd, a dear friend and brother passed.

The world also lost Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman, and Thomas Jefferson Byrd, best known for his role as Luther from Set It Off. He passed away the day we buried my mother.

I need no more reminders of how fragile life is, and that’s what sticks out to me the most in my time of silence as I seek to process all this death.

I think we are all aware of the delicacy of life, but it becomes much more real when a loved one passes. It is then that we realize how insignificant we are and how precious we are, too. The insignificance is the weakness of our flesh, how it so easily topples and breaks down. The preciousness is the breath of life, without which we are lumps of clay.

It made me think about how we treat each other. It wasn’t until Yah breathed into Adam the breath of life that he became a living being. We are nothing without this power, yet we treat each other as if the breath pulsing through our veins differs from someone else’s. We treat each other as if the Almighty can’t call our spirit back at any moment.

What right do I have to mistreat someone when I return to the Earth just as they will? What right do I have to judge someone’s life or mock their pain when I know that I bleed just as they do?

What right does any of us have to think we are better than anyone else when the sun rises and falls on all of us, righteous and wicked alike?

We sometimes make so many promises to one another, such as this. We promise to be there for one another, we promise to keep in touch, and we promise to appreciate the time we have.

But these promises do not last and are only remembered at the next funeral.

Our lives are like the wind, a breeze that comes and goes. How I wish we could be consciously aware of our fragility as we live and not only in death.