At what point do we forget the reason that love brought us? When will we understand the need to differentiate between our goals and that of our desires, not wisdom in life but moment in power, difference in life, and assurance in choices. I say this because time addresses time before the beginning of truth as we have told it to ourselves rather than being free and finding new ways to explore ourselves.
I think that would be hard for anybody. Everyone wants to be spoonfed news that lines up with their beliefs. Remember Eviline from the Wiz? She said, "Don't nobody bring me no bad news!" LOL. That being said if your calling is to be a communicator than you should be a truthteller. Even when the truth hurts.
I really love it! It helps me know how someone was touched by my work - whether it was emotional, or made them remember something, or if they learned a new thing they could do in their own work...Plus, I am very social. I love taking pictures with people and talking about writing or social justice issues. I get my energy when I'm with people.
I am playing with the idea of going back to short stories. As I study my ancestry, different documents and photos speak to me. For instance, I have an ancestor whose last name was Yellowrobe. How did she get that name? Who are her people? How did she meet her husband? What was it like to raise black and native kids in America 100 years ago? There is a lot of story in that one record that says Mr. Norton married Miss. Yellowrobe. Another thing I'm considering is the novel in verse. I absolutely love The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. It's kind of what I do with my choreopoems but it's not on stage. Plus they can play with how the words look on the page. Really I have about 4 or 5 books in my head all the time! LOL
Planning and organization are really important in prose. Don't just let it flow or write what falls in your lap. You have to go back and revise multiple times. Craft a work. Draw me a picture with words. Research may be necessary. Be accurate. Get a good editor.
People don't realize that poetry can be accessible, vivid, and clear and they can understand it. The language of spoken word and some other ethnic poetics can be in the home language of the author so it may be in black vernacular English, Jamaican Patwa, or Spanglish - whatever works for them. Poetry does not have to rhyme, and in fact, most contemporary poetry does not rhyme. Poetry is living and breathing, as it always has been.
My dad had an amazing career in government and affirmative action and wrote, sang, and performed on the side. I only became a full-time writer 6 months ago. Before that, I always taught full-time.
I was inspired to start writing when I was a little girl and I listened to my dad read his poetry. I wrote my first poem when I was in Kindergarten. I submitted to the Young Writers Conference in 2nd grade and won. My dad put me on his television show in Seattle and I read poetry on there. I got a lot of great feedback and I was hooked.
