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Showing posts from October, 2016

The Book Talk

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On October 1, 2016 I had the immense pleasure of giving my first book talk. It was for the Indiana Chapter of the Church and Synagogue Library Association. Many months of preparation went into the book talk. I had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in. As part of my book talk, I was to give a speech, entitled, “Poetry in Motion.” I interpreted that title into my telling my journey as a writer. I have been a writer for six years. The story of my life as a writer is at once an epic tome, filled with stories of inordinate detail. Yet, it is also a short story, full of high points and ideas that rise above the minutiae.  There was so much to tell, so much to convey. How would  I begin to tell my story? I struggled with writing my speech.  I was to discuss how I began writing, how I began my blog, how I began to translate written works, what inspired me to publish my books myself, and how I went forming my publishing company. I was to then discuss the s...

A Part of History

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Saturday September 24, 2016 was the annual 100 Thousand Poets for Change event. This is the first time in my career as a writer that I did not participate in the event. By the time I found out the date of the event, it was too late for me to prepare anything for the event. As it happened,  I already had plans for that day, plans that were years in the making. I was going to be a part of history. Three years ago I participated in a year of giving, making monetary contributions to different charities and cultural organizations for every month of the year. One of the contributions I made that year was to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. . At that point in time, the museum was beginning to tell their story, which was one hundred years in the making. Veterans of the Civil War began a movement to build this museum beginning in 1915.  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/definitive-story-national-museum-african-american-history...