Little Lov'n Monday

Little Lov'n Monday is a day we celebrate the work of fellow bloggers.

Between now and Monday, post a link to work you've read or written you think deserves a little lov'n. Works can be short stories, poetry, reviews or visual art.

On Monday, come by BES and check out the links to works published by your peers.

Let's have a posting marathon. Show some love for your fellow bloggers. Comment to a new piece as well as the shared link.

Check here for a growing list of posts to check out:

"The Altar of God" at a Bundle of His(s) - Poetry

Interview with Sharon Draper at The Brown Bookshelf- YA author

"Universe of Books" at Fledgling- Multicultural literature

Book Giveaway at Color Online- Contest

Praise For The Inagural Poet- Cornelius eady at the first 100 days

Sunday Scribblings

"After Watching An Episode of The United States of Tara"

No one likes Alice, but I wish I had been her:
donning an apron, smiling sweetly and cradling
my young tightly.


This week's prompt at Sunday Scribbling is regret. Go here to read more.

In My Mailbox

Kristi over at Story Siren asks readers to share what books they received in the mail each week. All of mine are from trading at paperbackswap.com. It's like Christmas everytime my mail carrier leaves a package at my door. My presents:

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies established this young writer as one the most brilliant of her generation. Her stories are one of the very few debut works -- and only a handful of collections -- to have won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Among the many other awards and honors it received were the New Yorker Debut of the Year award, the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the highest critical praise for its grace, acuity, and compassion in detailing lives transported from India to America.

A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

Mia, 13, has always seen colors in sounds, numbers, and letters, a fact she has kept secret since the day she discovered that other people don't have this ability. Then she discovers that she has a rare condition called synesthesia, which means that the visual cortex in her brain is activated when she hears something. From then on, she leads a kind of double life-she eagerly attends research gatherings with other synesthetes and devours information about the condition, but continues to struggle at school, where her inadvertent pairing of particular colors with numbers and words makes math and French almost impossible to figure out...

Kiffe Kiffe by Faiza Guene

 "A tale for anyone who has ever lived outside looking in, especially from that alien country called adolescence. A funny, heartfelt story from a wise guy who happens to be a girl. If you've ever fallen in love, if you've ever had your heart broken, this story is your story." -- Sandra Cisneros, author of THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREETÂ

The Broken World: Poems (National Poetry Series)
by Marcus Cafagna

Book Meme

Read this book meme at A Striped Armchair. If you opt to respond, post a link in the comments. Thanks for the prompt, Eva.

One book you’re currently reading: I Put A Spell On You by Nina Simone
One book that changed your life: Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
One book you’d want on a deserted island: Language of Life edited by Bill Moyers
One book you’ve read more than once: The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat
One book you’ve never been able to finish: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Harding
One book that made you laugh: The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexi
One book that made you cry: I’ve been enraged, saddened, provoked, deeply affected by reads but I don’t think I’ve ever cried.
One book you keep rereading: There are too many books for me to reread regularly. I’m trying to catch up on all the reading I’ve missed.
One book you’ve been meaning to read: Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
One book you believe everyone should read: Roots by Alex Haley
Finally, grab the nearest book. Open it to page 56. Find the fifth sentence

"In whose kitchen nothing was wasted"

from “Pot Meals” by Joanne Gabbin, the ringing ear: Black Poets Lean South edited by Nikky Finney

Poetry Friday

"Duende"
Tracy K. Smith

1.

The earth is dry and they live wanting.
Each with a small reservoir
Of furious music heavy in the throat.
They drag it out and with nails in their feet
Coax the night into being. Brief believing.
A skirt shimmering with sequins and lies.
And in this night that is not night,
Each word is a wish, each phrase
A shape their bodies ache to fill—

I’m going to braid my hair
Braid many colors into my hair
I’ll put a long braid in my hair
And write your name there

They defy gravity to feel tugged back.
The clatter, the mad slap of landing.

read the entire poem here.




Find more Poetry Friday entries here.

3 WW

"Another work day"

He wouldn’t let up, he moved as if he were strolling an estate’s gardens while she- tumbled along on limbs long past running, her icy breath jagged, slashed at her lungs like a brutal caress massaging breast and bone beneath a blank moon’s stare…

He was ruthless but swift. Bored, actually. He had grown tired of the pursuit almost as soon as it had begun. In fact, he resented it. She had been weak, small- no challenge for his prowess. He intended to complain to his employer- after he had been paid of course. After killing for centuries, one hoped occasionally the victim would make the assignment interesting.

*
Each week, Thom posts three words to be used in a piece of writing. I'm currently listening to Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. This is where my mind went. To read more, go here.

Library Loot

Recently discovered Out of the Blue. A feature I particularly like is Library Loot. Alessandra encourages readers to share what they checked out of the library.

Me, it's like Cheers when I walk into my library branch. I currently have Neverwhere and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and Sadika's Way by Hina Hak.

See me earlier post about Gaiman. Hak was recommended on a discussion thread, entitled "Around The Globe." I asked members to suggest books set in different countries. I'm looking forward to this read because it meets several of my interests including multiculturalism, diversity and books by women of color.

Book Giveaway: Win A Copy of November Blues

Promote our Black History Month Writers' Contest on your blog and be entered in a drawing for a free copy of November Blues by Sharon Draper. Post a separate note here with your link.

For an extra entry, become a Black-eyed Susan or Color Online follower and leave a separate comment telling me you've done so.

Deadline for entry is February 25th. Winner contacted on February 28th.

Black History Month Writers' Contest

In honor of Black History Month, Color Online is proud to host a contest celebrating the contributions of black women writers. Submit a book review or biography sketch of a black woman writer you admire. We’re looking for YA writers, adult fiction and nonfiction writers alike. Writers may be contemporary or historical figures.

Submissions must be a minimum of 300 words not to exceed 750. Send your work in the body of your email to cora_litgroup@yahoo.com. Subject line should read: Black History Month Writers’ Contest. Include your full name, and contact information above your review. Deadline for submissions is February 25th. Winners will be announced February 28th. If we choose to publish your entry, you will be contacted prior to publication. You can view our blog at coloronline.blogspot.com.

Selected submissions will be published throughout the month of February. Readers are encouraged to leave comments throughout the month. A panel of judges will select the final winners. First prize- $15 Amazon gift certificate and a free book from Color Online, Second prize- $10 gift card and book and third prize- book from Color Online.

To encourage participation and to give contributors an idea of those writers we enjoy, we are providing the following list of writers. You are not required to use the list. It is a recommended list only.

YA

Jacqueline Woodson
Sharon Draper
Lori Aurelius Williams
Rita Williams-Garcia
Sharon G. Flake
Angela Johnson

Adult Fiction and Poetry

Audre Lorde
Sonia Sanchez
Gwendolyn Brooks
Camille Dungy
Tracy K. Smith
Jessica Care Moore
Elizabeth Alexander
Black Artemis
Toni Cade Bambara
Gloria Naylor
Octavia E. Butler

Nonfiction

Bell Hooks
June Jordan
Pearl Cleage
Nancy Amanda Redd

Please share this information with fellow writers and students

sunday scribblings

*Reposted for Jboogie because I remember, too.

Nursery Rhyme

Ring around the trousers,
pockets full of poses;
hush child, hush child!
We all fall down...

This week's prompt at Sunday Scribbling is phantoms and shadows . I wrote this not long ago but it's been with me a very long time. Maybe I'll expand on it. Maybe I won't. Maybe it doesn't make sense to the casual reader. Sadly though, I think many little girls know this rhyme.

Book Review

The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection
5/5 stars

The new year started out with several reading challenges. In addition to reading music and I'm participating in another group where we read a featured writer. At Author!Author! our writer for January is Neil Gaiman. The British writer is not only quite prolific, he's pretty easy on the eyes and his voice makes for an incredible session with one of his audiobooks.

I started off with this children's audio collection. I really enjoyed it. If you don't know how wonderful children stories can be, you'll really enjoy this. The stories are fantastical, absurdly funny. Gaiman’s narration rocks. If someone had read to me as a child the way Gaiman reads, I would have likely developed a love for fantasy and fairy tales. Not all is lost though. I might be a grown woman, but there is a part of us that enjoys revisiting our childhood. Gaiman’s work is a gateway to celebrating being young and being open to the outrageous.

This collection contains four stories: one is a poem about hair where animals and dancers and a host of fanciful characters play. Another is the story about a boy who swaps his dad for goldfish, another about wolves in the walls, and the last is about an exotic princess who refuses to talk. Sometimes collections can be uneven; some stories are better than others. With this collection, I’d have a hard time picking a favorite.

So you’ve got great stories, a great storyteller but there is more. Gaiman’s young daughter, Maddy interviews him about his work and desire to write. Fun, fun, fun. I keep saying I’m not into fantasy, but I think Gaiman is quickly making me a convert.

Book Review

Jazz
Walter Dean Myers
Christopher Myers, illustrator
4/5 stars

I participate in a forum where a different theme or genre is chosen each month. January's tag is music so off I went in search of music on the page. When I found Jazz, a children’s music book by Walter Dean Myers and his son, Christopher, I checked it out of the library. I think for children, who are really interested in music and have some foundation in music history or experience playing it, this book is an easy sale. For other children, I think the reader needs to be adept at creating the right pitch when reading aloud.

The lyrics are often too mature for younger readers, but the sounds and images will entertain them even if the words float above them. I also think the energy and the vibrancy of the illustrations shared in short bursts over a few reading sessions is the best way to approach what can be a very good time.

The book has a great glossary and the opening of the book provides a good history. I think Jazz is art in a picture book for grownups and kids. It's a fun introduction to an American art form, the kind of book you’ll want to revisit.

And We Continue What We Started

Hi All,

Been very busy. Traffic is up significantly in the library. Color Online attendance is up and membership is growing at our online community. That's all the good stuff. More good stuff: I am so excited about our new president and his vision. Tuesday, I lay in bed, glued to watching the coverage. Of course I cried. The scary stuff is my family and many friends and extended family have been affected by the downturn in the economy.


Now on to the work. I am committed to making sacrifices and remaining focused on my projects, Color Online and the library. I believe leading the group and maintaining the library, in small but significant ways, will affect the young people I come into contact with. It doesn't matter if I see immediate change in them. What matters is acting on the faith that I am planting seeds and doing good work.

Yes, my own art is taking a backseat, but I truly believe what I'm doing is what I'm supposed to be doing. What I look forward to, in addition to writing, is supporting the art you are creating.

Until school ends, I will be focusing on writing book reviews. Expect a wide range of themes and age variants since I cater to girls and adults. I'll also be publishing interviews and reviews at Color Online's blog.

Thanks for your continued support,

bes