Bibliothèque Chic: Stacked in the Stacks (Pun Intended)

The Books

Henry Dumas Goodbye Sweetwater

Sharon Draper  The Copper Sun

Nalo Hopkinson (ed.) Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root

Nalo Hopkinson (ed.) So Long Beeen Dreaming

Been a Long Time...

“I Know You Got Soul,” 

Paid in Full 

by Eric B. & Rakim

It’s been a long time I shouldn’t have left you 

Without a strong rhyme to step to 

… 

I start to think and then I sink 

Into the paper like I was ink 

When I’m writing, I’m trapped between the lines, 

I escape when I finish the rhyme I got soul

Source: society6.com via Jamala on Pinterest

Mourning, but Qualified to Live…

The wall that I hit after my last post in April was thirty feet thick, and it looked like this: 

I was in Target picking up an Rx only to see this display. I ran to the restroom nauseated and in tears at the reminder of my Mother's death. "She was only 51!" That was the litany that replayed in my mind...

Emotionally the wall I faced began to mount, and I felt like I had to dig my way through with a teaspoon. I was dreading my first May without my Mom: the days that lead up to Mother’s Day, the day itself (I slept through most of it), and the residual May mushiness. June couldn’t come quickly enough, but NOW June is here.

The smallest tools are more powerful than we may think; because, the teaspoon worked.  I see the sun.

I have gardens to tend...

A Poem for Nerds: National Poetry Month

This poem is for those who feel like they have never fit in. It's for those who feel misunderstood, like a square peg. Up until I was thirty years old, I was calling my Mother, sometimes in tears, to ask her why I didn't fit in anywhere. I felt clumsy, awkward, and sometimes alone.

After my Mom passed away I mourned for the one who reminded me that I was a precocious child and as an adult I was peculiar, that is singular and special.  I was never meant to fit in...

Now that I realize where my place is in (or out) of this world, I have peace. Finding this poem was my consolation and my confirmation:

"Be Nobody's Darling" by Alice Walker

“Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Take the contradictions
Of your life
And wrap around
You like a shawl,
To parry stones
To keep you warm.

Watch the people succumb
To madness
With ample cheer;
Let them look askance at you
And you askance reply.

Be an outcast;
Be pleased to walk alone
(Uncool)
Or line the crowded
River beds
With other impetuous
Fools.

Make a merry gathering
On the bank
Where thousands perished
For brave hurt words
They said.

Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Qualified to live
Among your dead.”

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In Honor of National Poetry Month...

I love this poem because it deconstructs the romantic idea of the wildly inspired artist. Through Mullen's stream of consciousness, I've become more conscious of my own self-defeating habits and thoughts. I hope you all enjoy this poem as much as I do and get inspired to power through your day tomorrow!

"All She Wrote" by Harryette Mullen

Harryette Mullen (b.1953) photo byJudy Natal 

Forgive me, I’m no good at this. I can’t write back. I never read your letter. I can’t say I got your note. I haven’t had the strength to open the envelope. The mail stacks up by the door. Your hand’s illegible. Your postcards were defaced. Wash your wet hair? Any document you meant to send has yet to reach me. The untied parcel service never delivered. I regret to say I’m unable to reply to your unexpressed desires. I didn’t get the book you sent. By the way, my computer was stolen. Now I’m unable to process words. I suffer from aphasia. I’ve just returned from Kenya and Korea. Didn’t you get a card from me yet? What can I tell you? I forgot what I was going to say. I still can’t find a pen that works and then I broke my pencil. You know how scarce paper is these days. I admit I haven’t been recycling. I never have time to read the Times. I’m out of shopping bags to put the old news in. I didn’t get to the market. I meant to clip the coupons. I haven’t read the mail yet. I can’t get out the door to work, so I called in sick. I went to bed with writer’s cramp. If I couldn’t get back to writing, I thought I’d catch up on my reading. Then Oprah came on with a fabulous author plugging her best selling book.

Retrieved from: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15458

Originally published in Santa Monica Review, fall 1997 ©1997 Harryette Mullen

National Library Week: Fast Forward

Today marks the last day of National Library Week.  My posts for the past few days featured women who were firsts. They paved the way for this remarkable young librarian--Kimberly Smothers Clayton. 

Ms. Clayton is a modern Renaissance woman, a gifted musician with degrees in music, biology, business, and education, but her love of reading drew her to librarianship. 

She is a Georgia native and her favorite author is Alice Walker. She cites The Third Life of Grange Copeland as her favorite book in Walker's oeuvre.  Just as her predecessors preserved history for future generations, Ms. Clayton does as well. She is a conscientious steward of cultural knowledge for the next generation.

Ms. Clayton has spread her love of reading by also serving as a children's librarian.