As we get closer to September and the close of this year’s poetry contest, I will post more poems from other artists to help spark creativity.
This year’s theme is Freedom, so we will focus on poems that have to do with that in some way. Here’s a powerful one called “Clothes,” by Kahlil Gibran. Enjoy!
Photo by Uus Supend
And the weaver said, ‘Speak to us of Clothes.’
And he answered:
Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful.
And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain.
Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of your raiment,
For the breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind.
Some of you say, ‘It is the north wind who has woven the clothes to wear.’
But shame was his loom, and the softening of the sinews was his thread.
And when his work was done he laughed in the forest.
Forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean.
And when the unclean shall be no more, what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling of the mind?
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Title: Starving the Wolf: The Journey of Freeing a King Author: Dr. Oliver T. Reid Publisher: Publishing Advantage Group Published: Officially Releasing August 27, 2022 (Available for Preorder) ASIN: B0B933ZZJQ Pages: 80
Prince Amir was born into royalty, but his parents verbally abused him, and his father, Naz, took credit for his work. This haunted Amir, causing him sadness and affecting his relationships with women.
Perhaps the most profound aspect of this book surrounds the wolf, which the author calls Liar.
Liar represents Amir’s inner sadness, depression, and low self-worth. Whenever Amir’s parents talk down to him or anger rises within him, this negativity feeds the wolf inside of him. It is something we can all relate to, as we have each had to deal with the wolves in our own lives.
These Love Jones bookmarks tho!! Designed by Inspire the Tribe.
Finally, the prince meets a woman that will help him overcome his inner wolf. Princess Khari comes into his life and pours goodness and kindness into his heart. Not only that, she also makes his parents aware that their words are hurting their son.
Discover how the love story between Amir and Khari unfolds and how the wolf gets starved out in this African-themed love story.
Although not marketed as a children’s book, Starving the Wolf: The Journey of Freeing a King is a quick read with some powerful concepts that are easy to digest.
The illustrator also did a wonderful job with the images, which are absolutely beautiful and illustrated throughout the book. The story is easy to follow, there is no profane language, and the pictures are a gorgeous representation of black beauty.
Dr. Oliver T. Reid is multi-best-selling author, motivational speaker, founder and president of I am a Solution Consulting Firm LLC. He is a Black Man Image Award Winner and 2016-2017 NAACP Image Award recipient and has been featured on Black Enterprise, CBS, Fox, iHeart Radio, NBC, Time Warner and much more.
Dr. Reid is most known as “The Writing Coach,” where he uses groundbreaking writing and coaching techniques to help entrepreneurs, speakers, and coaches to write their books.
If you need help writing your book, he’s the plug! But first, be sure to support him by preordering your copy of Starving the Wolf.
To have your book reviewed by me on this blog apply here.
Please read through the entire policy and note the books in the queue so you know how many books would be in front of yours. That will determine the turnaround time.
Space is very limited so don’t sleep. Apply right now.
(For more options, such as IG promo visit the services page of my website HERE.)
When I was coming up, we treated writing like a special gift, and those who could write well felt like they had superpowers. Or at least I did.
In elementary school, I was a terrible student. I got straight F’s, and the source of my lousy grades was math. I failed the sixth grade twice and almost failed the seventh grade.
Correction: I did fail the seventh grade, but someone had mercy on me, and I passed on to the eighth grade. I cannot say for sure today how it happened. Only I am glad it did.
By the time I was in eighth grade, I was seeing a special ed teacher. Every day he would come into our class, they would announce the special ed teacher was here, and the four, five, or six of us would stand and leave with him.
If that weren’t degrading enough, the work we did in that small room was fit for a first grader. Two plus two and four plus four. It was frustrating because the math I needed help with was the eighth-grade stuff.
I knew that one plus one was two. I didn’t know how it applied to the more advanced math in the other room. Still, they would give us these long worksheets with these kindergarten math problems, tons of them all down the paper. Some days, they would give us candy.
It was humiliating, and I would go home and vent my rage in my diary. I would write about how it felt to be singled out in front of the entire class and for the teacher to utter the words, “The special ed teacher is here,” which I thought was unnecessary. The lack of discretion seemed to me a lack of care for our feelings as students. I felt stupid and if that’s how I felt, I am sure the other kids felt it, too.
And then something happened.
This same teacher discovered I knew how to write. Suddenly, everything turned around. I cannot even say for sure how it happened. I still did not understand the math, but the more I wrote, the better my grades got. By the time the school year ended, I had an armful of academic awards and was graduating with honors.
Photo by Anna Tarazevich
Writing got me out of the eighth grade and into honors classes in High School. (Even honors math.)
Writing got me into College while still in High School. I attended Robert Morris College in my Junior year for early credit. I would go to High School in the daytime and then take the green line downtown for my college course in the evenings. It was dark when I got home every day.
Writing got me into AP Literature, graduating High School with honors, tenth in my class.
Photo by Thirdman
The Point of it All
For writers like me, writing isn’t something we dreamed up on a whim, but is an intimate part of our lives. It is something we can trace as ever-present. For us, writing is a deeply rooted passion that played a major role in developing who we are.
My concern now is writing isn’t taken as seriously as other gifts. Do we even consider it a gift? Indeed, one can learn to write through education, training, and coaching, but is it still a gift?
Are there still people who are natural wordsmiths? People, who go the extra mile to string words together into comprehension? People, who devour books like a man starving? And is writing still opening doors for them? As it did for me?
Do we still consider writing a gift, or is everyone a writer?
As we get closer to September and the close of this year’s poetry contest, I will post more poems from other artists to help spark creativity. I hope you will use them as a guide as you write your own.
This year’s theme is Freedom, so we will focus on poems that are relatable to the topic.
Today’s featured poem is “American History,” by Michael S. Harper. Enjoy!
Photo by Emmanuel
Those four black girls blown up in that Alabama church remind me of five hundred middle passage blacks, in a net, under water in Charleston harbor so redcoats wouldn’t find them. Can’t find what you can’t see can you?
As we get closer to September and the close of this year’s poetry contest, I will post more poems from other artists to help spark creativity. I hope you will use them as a guide as you write your own.
This year’s theme is Freedom, so we will focus on poems that have to do with that. This one is “Caged Bird,” by Maya Angelou. Enjoy!
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
Source: The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (Random House Inc., 1994)
Don’t Know About the Poetry Contest? Click the Link Below to Enter for a Chance to Win Promotion, Interviews, and Cash Prizes.
With back-to-back events, it’s been a busy few weeks. Here are some networking lessons I learned so far:
Wear Your Brand
One of the first things I noticed at the AOD (Accountability on Demand) Live business conference was that many people wore their logo, slogan, or tagline on their shirts and clothing. At Poet Fest, one poet even had her name written down her pants leg.
It was a great marketing technique that I had missed. Here I am with a Calvin Klein shorts set on, and everyone else is wearing their own name brands. I went home vowing to get some t-shirts done.
But then, I realized this is not about t-shirts or wearing your name on your clothes.
I probably won’t do that.
Whether you wear your logo figuratively or literally, this is about intentionally showing up for yourself.
Message received.
My shorts set was still cute, though.
Email / Text Marketing Is Prime Real Estate
More than selling books and gaining more social media followers, I have increased my email list substantially over a month.
But why is this important?
Keeping in touch via email and/or text marketing helps you to stay connected to readers you might have otherwise never seen again.
During your book signings, speaking events, and other things, keep either a notebook and pen on your table or a tablet.
Write Email List Sign-Up somewhere and put name and email so they know where to write it.
If using a tablet, have the spreadsheet already open where people can type their information.
People will walk by and just write their name and email, sometimes even before talking to you or buying a book. How is this a good thing?
It gives you the chance to build a relationship with them later. And then, they might just consider supporting your work.
This is also why I encourage Indie Authors to sell books from their author website, to stay connected with readers: because you have no idea who bought your book from Amazon unless they tell you or leave a review you can see.
Social Media is Still King
In 2022, people do not ask for your business card. They ask for your IG handle.
The first draft of this said, “Business Cards Are Still Useful,” and that’s still a lesson I learned as it made it easier for me to give out my contact information and served as a great conversation starter.
And, while I wouldn’t say business cards are dead, they are used differently in the age of social media.
If you are old school, you can take all your social handles and put them on a card. And although people will probably stash these bad boys away in their office drawer like I did when I got home, not before they follow your Instagram, Facebook group, and Twitter.
Social media is not only King but essential considering the current pestilence situation we got going on with Covid and Monkey Pox.
I don’t take pictures wearing my mask because I think it’s weird, but I always have it and my mini hand sanitizer. Please believe it.
The bottom line is, people are online all day, every day more than usual.
This means not being online and using social media is tragic for anyone looking to grow a business in 2022.
How to Actually Network
First, I am introverted. Walking up to strangers and talking to them isn’t my thing. However, I learned that is only a small part of real networking. The other part is to discern how (or if) we can best serve each other.
How can what you do and what I do become a bridge? How can we build on what we build?
That’s what networking is, making connections and building relationships.
Practical example: You are a writer, and there’s someone in your social circle who edits. It would be a good idea to connect with that person.
But it doesn’t have to be someone who does something similar to what you do, either.
Michael Q. Lau helps you on your journey to health by optimizing your relationship between fitness and food.
Let’s say you have been trying to lose weight, work out and eat better. There is a nutritionist specializing in fitness in your midst. It would be best if you connected with that person and tried to see how to combine your personal goal of being fit with your business goals.
How can ya’ll turn this collaboration into something more?
Follow-Up
Communication is the cornerstone of all good relationships, so keep in touch with people.
Engage with their social media, follow their blogs, check out their services, ask them questions, subscribe to their email list, and so on.
As we get closer to September and the close of this year’s poetry contest, I will post more poems from other artists to help spark creativity.
This year’s theme is Freedom, so we will focus on poems that have to do with that. This first one is called “Won’t You Celebrate with Me,” by Lucille Clifton. Enjoy!
The PBS Blog 