I think her insistence on dwelling, insofar as she could, in beauty was a way of defending herself against the pressures of hate and injustice and prejudice and degradation—the degradation of our planet as well as the abasement of human beings—and all the things that go into making the dark side of Americans…
Read MoreI’ve had an unprecedented confidence in my work in African-American literature ever since I heard over NPR, while getting dressed for work, that Toni Morrison had won the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature. All that Thursday morning, I kept catching my reflection sidelong—in my bedroom mirror, my rearview mirror, the glass door to my office building. I’d turn full face, grin widely, hug myself. I kept thinking, oh lord, can it be?! Somebody who looks like me has walked off with the world’s most distinguished literary prize! It was dazzling, Morrison was dazzling, and somehow it made me dazzling, too. I couldn’t wait to tell my students, couldn’t help greeting everyone with, “Have you heard the Good News?” Morrison’s honor signified my personal salvation.
Read MoreRaven Chronicles Literary Press nominated 6 poems & prose works for the 2019 Pushcart Prize, XLIV Edition. This is one of the nominated pieces:
Blues for John T. Williams
“Hey! Hey! HEY!” the cop shouted. “Put the knife down! Put the knife down! PUT THE KNIFE DOWN!” The old Indian, walking along the sidewalk, lifted his gaze from his carving and looked over his right shoulder toward the young, white lawman nine feet behind him. The officer jerked the trigger of his sidearm five times. The Indian fell to the sidewalk, dead. It was just past 4 p.m. on August 30, 2010, at the corner of Boren and Howell. The sky was blue. The air was still. The Seattle Police Officer’s name was Ian Birk. The Indian’s name was John T. Williams.
Deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another is homicide. The officer’s shooting was ruled as “unjustified,” but the officer was not charged with homicide. The killing was awful but lawful.
Read MoreRaven Chronicles Literary Press nominated 6 poems & prose works for the 2019 Pushcart Prize, XLIV Edition. This is one of the nominated pieces:
I am not a hero nor am I someone who has the energy and drive to overcome any obstacle. I am neither beautiful nor athletic. I’m a decent cook and a terrible pianist. I don’t cheat on my husband or my taxes. I love my children.
I write fiction and non-fiction and poetry. I’ve been published in Newsweek. My novel can still be found on certain library shelves. I was writer-in-residence for Seattle University’s Creative Writing program. I have taught workshops at national conventions and Young Author conferences.
That is the external me.
Then there is the internal me. She is a woman who sits at the computer trying to remember if she wrote the poem on the screen or if she found it in a literary journal and copied it because she liked it and wanted to study the internal rhythms and external alliteration; a metaphor, perhaps, of her own life.
Read More
