Thursday, November 26, 2020
#CatThursday - Happy Thanksgiving! #cats
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Classics Club Spin 25 #ccspin
Joining in a bit late...because Deb Nance said I could. lol Thanks, Deb!
Made my list and then randomly sorted it. Here's the list before the sort.
1. The Vein of Gold, Julia Cameron
2. Buddenbrooks, Thomas Mann
3. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
4. Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot
5. Rob Roy, Sir Walter Scott
6. On Becoming a Novelist, John Gardner
7. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
8. Becoming a Writer, Dorothea Brande
9. The Writing of Fiction, Edith Wharton
10. Roderick Hudson, Henry James
11. In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
12. The Marble Faun, Nathaniel Hawthorne
13. The Writing Life, Annie Dillard
14. Writing Past Dark, Bonnie Friedman
15. Roxana, Daniel Defoe
16. Negotiating with the Dead, Margaret Atwood
17. The Faith of a Writer, Joyce Carol Oates
18. The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
19. The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot
20. The Legends of Parsifal, Mary Hanford Ford
Sorted the list in a Google Sheet. See below:
Number 14 is On Becoming A Novelist, John Gardner
What did you get?
Thursday, November 19, 2020
#CatThursday - The #holidays are fast approaching! #cats
Thursday, November 12, 2020
#CatThursday - #Authors and #Cats (98) Gabriela Cabezón Camera
The second Cat Thursday of each month is Authors and Cats Thursday. Each time I will feature an author (with a birthday during the month), pictured with their/a cat(s), or guest posts by cat loving authors who also (sometimes) write about cats.
Monday, November 9, 2020
Rojé Augustin's "Out of No Way" - #Poetry #Review #MadamCJWalker
I only learned of Madam C.J. Walker when I read about the Netflix series, Self Made, which starred the incomparable Octavia Spencer as the lady herself (it's on my list of many shows to watch). So, I was very interested to read Ms. Augustin's book of poetry surrounding this successful and influential historical figure. As she said in her afterword, "Why hadn't her story been told in schools..." I thought the same.
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| Madame C.J. Walker (left) and her daughter, A’Lelia Walker |
She explores Walker, and the mother-daughter relationship of Walker and her daughter, A'Lelia, in various poetic forms. The poetry makes for an interesting exploration of this relationship, but also goes further, exploring a black woman who, as successful and wealthy as she was, still did not have the rights and protections afforded by the Constitution. Learning of her humble beginnings as a maid and laundress (back breaking work) and later having to travel to expand her business, keeping her away from her daughter for long periods. This against a backdrop of lynchings and the Jim Crow era. Also, hearing the horrific story of the lynching of Mary Turner. The images in my head upon reading that will be burned in my memory forever.
The whites must hate themselves so savagely
To act with such barbarity.
Amid the Black Lives Matter movement, there have been lists recommending books to read to explore racism, prejudice, discrimination, and inequity. I suggest adding this book to those lists. For sure, add it to yours. This is my recommendation...and with that, I leave you with my favorite poem from the book.
Fear is the Devil We Must Transcend
Fear is the devil we must transcend.Transcend is what Madam Walker taught.May our deeds point bravely to that end.Those ravaged by fear can not ascend.The heights of self that can't be bought.Fear is the devil we must transcend.To not transcend is the truth to bend.Transcend by truth is what she taught.May our deeds point bravely to that end.And what is truth but a selfless friend?A selfless friend that is never fraught.Fear is the devil we must transcend.The noble thing is to transcend.What fearful ones so cruelly raught.May our deeds point bravely to that end.Be brave, said Madam, and thus transcend!Let all our demons come to naught.Fear is the devil we must transcend.May all our deeds point to that end!
About the book
Author, producer, and emerging poet Rojé Augustin has written a groundbreaking debut collection of dramatic poems about hair care entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker and her daughter, A'Lelia. Rojé's singular and accomplished work is presented through the intimate lens of the mother-daughter relationship via different poetic forms — from lyric to haiku, blackout to narrative. (One poem takes its inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.) Written in tribute to Walker, Out of No Way deftly and beautifully explores themes of race, motherhood, sacrifice, beauty, and the meaning of success in Jim Crow America.
Born Sarah Breedlove to former Louisiana slaves in 1867, Madam C.J. Walker was orphaned at seven, married at 14, became a mother at 17, and was widowed at 20. After the death of her first husband, Sarah moved to St. Louis with her daughter where she earned $1.50 a day as a washerwoman. When her hair started falling out she developed a remedy and sold her formula across the country. In the process, she became the wealthiest Negro woman in America.
Author, producer, and emerging poet Rojé Augustin has written a groundbreaking debut collection of dramatic poems about hair care entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker and her daughter, A'Lelia. Rojé's singular and accomplished work is presented through the intimate lens of the mother-daughter relationship via different poetic forms — from lyric to haiku, blackout to narrative. (One poem takes its inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.) Written in tribute to Walker, Out of No Way deftly and beautifully explores themes of race, motherhood, sacrifice, beauty, and the meaning of success in Jim Crow America.
Born Sarah Breedlove to former Louisiana slaves in 1867, Madam C.J. Walker was orphaned at seven, married at 14, became a mother at 17, and was widowed at 20. After the death of her first husband, Sarah moved to St. Louis with her daughter where she earned $1.50 a day as a washerwoman. When her hair started falling out she developed a remedy and sold her formula across the country. In the process, she became the wealthiest Negro woman in America.
About the Poet
Rojé Augustin is a native New Yorker who grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Her first novel, The Unraveling of Bebe Jones, won the 2013 National Indie Excellence Award in African American fiction. She wrote the novel while living in London and Sydney as a stay-at-home-mom. Rojé continues to work as a producer while also writing in her spare time. She currently lives in Sydney with her husband and two daughters.
Rojé Augustin is a native New Yorker who grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Her first novel, The Unraveling of Bebe Jones, won the 2013 National Indie Excellence Award in African American fiction. She wrote the novel while living in London and Sydney as a stay-at-home-mom. Rojé continues to work as a producer while also writing in her spare time. She currently lives in Sydney with her husband and two daughters.
Thursday, November 5, 2020
#CatThursday - Hello November! #cats
And the month starts off with a bang. Will we have a new president? I hope so!
Just some random memes to lighten the mood.
This one made me chuckle...
Thursday, October 29, 2020
#CatThursday - #Halloween Fun Week Five and Happy #NationalCatDay
Happy Halloween (a couple days early)!!! Wishing you and yours a fun and safe one. Wear a mask! lol
Saturday, October 24, 2020
Dewey's 24 Hour #Readathon - Fall 2020
I don't think I'm getting up at 8:00 am to start...but you never know.
My reading has been less than stellar of late because of moving in August and STILL unpacking and shelving BOOKS. Don't get me wrong. I love my books, but this has been a lot. Incidentally, I'm never planning to move again.
Here's what I'm planning to read...
...while trying to catch up on this...
Thursday, October 22, 2020
#CatThursday - #Halloween Week Four #cats
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Lenore H. Gay's Other Fires: A Novel #ReleaseDay
Get your copy today!
Her debut novel, SHELTER OF LEAVES, (She Writes Press) was published, August, 2016. The book was a finalist for the Foreword Book of the Year and a finalist for an INDEFAB award. Her second novel, OTHER FIRES, (She Writes Press) will be published October, 2020. Currently she is working on a new novel.
The Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA) has awarded her two writing fellowships. Her short story “The Hobo” won first place in a fiction contest hosted by Richmond’s Style Weekly. Her essay “Mistresses of Magic” was published in the anthology, IN PRAISE OF OUR TEACHERS (Beacon Press). Another essay, “My First Mentor” was published in the anthology “US AGAINST ALZHEIMER’S” (Arcade Publishing). Fall, 2019.
For three years she served on the steering committee of the RVALitCrawl. Each year more than 70 writers read in venues around Richmond, Virginia. For many years she volunteered as a reader and editor at Blackbird, An Online Journal for Literature & the Arts, a publication of Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an active member of James River Writers.
About the author
Lenore Gay is a retired Licensed Professional Counselor. Near retirement she worked at her ten-year private counseling practice and later as the Coordinator of the Internship Program at the Rehabilitation Counseling Department, Virginia Commonwealth University. Her debut novel, SHELTER OF LEAVES, (She Writes Press) was published, August, 2016. The book was a finalist for the Foreword Book of the Year and a finalist for an INDEFAB award. Her second novel, OTHER FIRES, (She Writes Press) will be published October, 2020. Currently she is working on a new novel.
The Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA) has awarded her two writing fellowships. Her short story “The Hobo” won first place in a fiction contest hosted by Richmond’s Style Weekly. Her essay “Mistresses of Magic” was published in the anthology, IN PRAISE OF OUR TEACHERS (Beacon Press). Another essay, “My First Mentor” was published in the anthology “US AGAINST ALZHEIMER’S” (Arcade Publishing). Fall, 2019.
For three years she served on the steering committee of the RVALitCrawl. Each year more than 70 writers read in venues around Richmond, Virginia. For many years she volunteered as a reader and editor at Blackbird, An Online Journal for Literature & the Arts, a publication of Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an active member of James River Writers.
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