Tayari's Blog: November 2006
November 30, 2006
Novemeber 30
It's my birthday. 36. Can you believe it? I used to be so much younger...
Posted at 12:48 AM | ![[comments]](http://www.tayarijones.com/images/comments.gif){kind=small}
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Category:
Current Events
November 29, 2006
Joe Miller, Guest Blogger
You may remember me blogging about "Joe Miller's Wake-Up Call" and his book, Cross X, 
which is about his experiences with a inner-city debate squad in Kansas City. Joe came on my radar a few months ago, when he sent me a book out of the blue. I get lots of books out of the blue. Some I read, some I don't. But after reading a few pages of Cross-X, I knew that this book was about something important.
Joe's book is doing really well-- getting hot reviews in the all the right places. But that's not enough for him. He wants to change the world. And he thinks it can be done through changing the world of high school debate. Read his guest post below.
Debate Is A Metaphor
by Joe Miller, Guest Blooger
I want to complain for a minute.
I'm not happy with the response to my first book, 
Cross-X: A Turbulent, Triumphant Season with an Inner-City Debate Squad.
I know that sounds crazy, because the book has gotten good reviews and a lot of media attention. It's selling well.
But still. I'm not happy. I'm pissed, to be perfectly blunt, because a few dozen people have decided they don't like the book. They've chosen to ignore it. To pretend it doesn't exist.
So during what should be the time of my life, when I'm traveling around giving readings in cozy little independent book stores and appearing on NPR, I'm actually miserable because I'm carrying out this ongoing argument in my head with a small group of people who just don't get it.
My book is, as the title suggests, about a debate squad from an all-black high school that routinely beats the pants off of debaters from all-white high schools. That's the story. But on a deeper level, it's about power and education, and the ways in which our nation remains divided and unequal.
In the end, debate becomes a metaphor. It signifies injustice in the corridors of power.
Posted at 01:53 PM | Comments (3)
Category:
Guest Bloggers
Updates in the ATL Child Murders Case
Although it's been almost 30 years, there are still new developments Atlanta Child Murders case. (This is the historical backdrop to my first novel, Leaving Atlanta.) Wayne Williams, the man held responsible for the murders, has requested DNA testing. Here is the article ; you'll also find a sidebar with lots of further reading and pictures.
Posted at 08:57 AM | Comments (0)
Category:
Current Events
November 28, 2006
The Blogosphere Mourns Bebe Moore Campbell
**please be sure to read the moving comment that was posted this morning. TJ
Posted at 02:32 PM | Comments (2)
Category:
Current Events
November 27, 2006
Spend A Month Writing by the Beach!
That's what I did last summer. And they are taking applications for this coming June! Click here for more info on the Gibraltar Point Artist Residency in Canada. (and before you ask, it's FREE to participate.) And here are the photos that I took when I was there in June!
Posted at 05:53 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Current Events
Bebe Moore Campbell, RIP
I've just received word of the passing of sister-writer, Bebe Moore Campbell. It wasn't even a year ago that we mourned the passing of Octavia Butler. As Sweet Honey in the Rock would say, "They are falling all around me."
How do you honor a writer's transition? You can do it by writing the hardest and truest story you can. Sister Bebe never took the easy route with her work. Her first novel, Your Blues Ain't Like Mine, took a look at the lynching of African-American men and with this work she did more than just preach to the choir. She opened her heart and her imagination to see how hate and violence diminish everyone it touches. Her last work, 72-Hour Hold, looked at the pain of mental illness. She pulled back the curtain on this condition that we don't like to talk about. She showed that mental illness and institutionalization affects us too, and it isn't like a movie.
Sister Bebe is gone, but not forgotten. Memorialize her today and tomorrow and your writing tables. Make the time to fortify our literary tradition. Tell your truth and tell it well. Witness in the memory of Bebe Moore Campbell. Be brave and be thorough. Employ your gorgeous gifts to celebrate our sister and her important work.
Posted at 02:20 PM | Comments (4)
Category:
Current Events
Poetry in Baltimore!
Cave Canem Poets are coming to Baltimore to celebrate their 10th Anniversary! Come out the to Enoch Pratt Free Library on Sunday, December 3 at 2 pm.
National Book Award Winner Lucille Clifton reads with 2003 Cave Canem Poetry Prize Winner Kyle Dargan and Baltimore/Washington area Fellows Derrick Brown, Carleasa Coates, Teri Cross, Hayes Davis, Deidre Gantt, Kendra Hamilton, Reginald Harris, Brandon D. Johnson, Jadi Keambiroiro, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Carlo Paul, and Venus Thrash.
Posted at 06:57 AM | Comments (0)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
November 26, 2006
Modern Nig*** Manifesto?
Friends, I was getting into the holiday spirit this morning, planning to kick off the week with a seasonal blog post-- a shopping list, or maybe a nice southern recipe-- when I got an email from Dr. Jelani Cobb, alerting me to a new article by John Ridley in this month's Esquire.
The mistletoe will have to wait.
Frankly, I was so stunned and offended by the article entitled "The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nig***," that I flipped to the end, waiting for a punch line. I mean, this just had to be satire, right? No one could be this mean-spirited and unnuanced. Could they? He isn't really writing in Esquire about the difference between "ascendant black people" and "nig***s?"
Uh, yes he is. And he's not using asterisks. I am sort of freaked out, so I will let Brother Jelani take it from here.
Posted at 08:37 AM | Comments (1)
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November 25, 2006
Boo!
Posted at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Current Events
November 23, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving
Today is Thanksgiving. Last night, I received an instant message from a friend who asked what I was up to. I told him that I was clearing off my desk so that I could get up in the morning and write. “On Thanksgiving?” he said. “That’s dedication.” When I got up this morning, made my coffee and sat down at my cleared-off desk, I didn’t feel dedicated. I felt lucky, blessed, and grateful.
I am grateful for many things. There is a sort of shared roster that most people give thanks for this time of year: family, friends, health, and prosperity. And, of course, I value all these aspects of my life, but today, I am thinking of another angle. Today, I want to give thanks for my writing. By this I mean the writing itself. I am not talking about the books I have published or any honors I have managed to win. Right now, sitting at my writing desk in my pajamas and stocking cap, I am grateful for having this love in my life.
We have had some discussions on this blog about dreams. We wondered whether or not everyone has dreams, if dreaming is a part of being human. At the end of the day, we decided that not everyone has a passion or a burning life-long interest.
I have wanted to write as long as I can remember and I have actually written ever since I figured out how. On Thanksgiving Day, 2002, I gave thanks for the publication of my debut novel, Leaving Atlanta. I was so proud of myself for “reaching my dream.” By Thanksgiving 2003, I was wondering, “Now, that I reached my dream… what next?” Today on Thanksgiving 2006, I have figured out that the beauty of dreams is that they are never reached. My dream was to be a writer, not to publish a particular book or win a certain award. My dream-state is when I am sitting at my desk, pen in hand. This is when I feel most alive. It’s when I love myself the most.
Today I want to give thanks, not for any “gift” I may have when it comes to putting words on paper. The thing about living in your dream is that it really doesn’t matter so much how good you are. It’s how good you feel while you are doing it.
Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody. Do your thing. Gratefully.
November 22, 2006
The Best Reviewed Books of 2006
According to Metacitic, these are the books that have received the most positive reviews this year:
1. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky 95
2. The Road by Cormac McCarthy 91
3. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos 90
4. The Thin Place by Kathryn Davis 88
5. The People's Act Of Love by James Meek 88
6. The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright 88
7. After This by Alice McDermott 86
8. Heat by Bill Buford 86
9. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud 85
10.Twilight Of The Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg 85
Sometimes I feel like I am living in a whole different universe....
November 20, 2006
Links and Such
Like everybody, I have been doing the holiday-boogie. So sorry for the posting slow down. I've seen some cool stuff on line and would like to share some links.
Posted at 04:19 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Current Events
November 18, 2006
Report From The Road: Portland, Oregon
Last night, I returned from Portland where I gave a reading at Reed College. This wasn't my first time in Portland. About ten years 
ago, at the AWP conference in Portland, I met Jewell Parker Rhodes who offered me a chance to get my grad degree in creative writing. So, I like Portland. It's a lucky place for me.
Although I had never been to Reed, the campus looked familiar. The reason is that it has the sort of stately old buildings that you see in movies about English majors who find thier souls through reading. My hostess, Jean Thompson, told me that Sean Penn was in town last month filming a commencement scene for his new project.
November 15, 2006
Writing High In The Friendly Skies
I have a confession to make: the writing hasn't been going all that well. I have been sort of stuck for the last few weeks. But the good news is that something broke loose today while I was making the seven hour plane ride from DC to Portland. I can't say what brought it on. I wasn't in first class. I wasn't even in a window seat. Before I boarded the plane, I bought a yellow legal pad (for about 4 bucks!)
During the quiet time-- before they allowed me to turn on my iPod-- I took out my pen and started scribbling. I mean this literally, I think I was trying to draw. Or maybe I was trying to make a list to help me better understand my life. Regardless of what I was trying to do, I ended up working on the next chapter of my new novel By the time I landed in Portland, I'd written six pages.
The spirit is mighty, is it not?
Tayari Reading in Portland
I'm headed to the airport again. Tomorrow I will be reading at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. When I get back, I am slowing down. Really.
November 13, 2006
Western Hospitality
How could I forget to tell you that while I was in Los Angeles, 
Camille and I had lunch with Nichelle Tramble, author of The Dying Ground and The Last King. She was accompanied by her sweetheart, the mysterious "Crown Prince." Nichelle took us on a walking tour of Santa Monica and promised to give me a real tour the next time I am back on the west coast!
Posted at 06:49 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
Self-Publishing
It's not just a black thing. Last week I linked to Mat Johson's take-no-prisoners essay called How Self-Publishing is Ruining a Generation of Black Writers. Today, I came across this article in The Miami Herald (via ed) about the author's role in marketing. When I saw this last line, I knew I had to post it:
His advice to authors is to get out and really work for their books: ``You need a platform to make a published book work. If you don't have a platform yet, you should self-publish your first book and give away enough copies to get a platform, and then use that platform to engage your readers so that you can sell the second one to a publisher and quit your day job.''
Simply put, this is some of the worst advice I have ever heard. And delusional.
Posted at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
The Writing Life
November 11, 2006
Restoring New Orleans
One artist at a time. A Studio In The Woods has a special residency program for artists displaced by hurricaine Katrina.
Posted at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
The Writing Life
All Fired Up!
Last night, The Brand New Heavies played the El Rey Theatre in Beverly Hills. Not only was I there, but I got in F-R-E-E. Their manager checked out the blog and added me and Camille Dungy to the 
guest list. We were both thrilled and grateful. (And guess what, we ran into Fred Smith. Check out his blog.)
L.A. is different from D.C. In D.C. The Heavies played the 9:30 Club which is located on U-street, just at the dividing line between gentrification and realness. The El Rey Theatre in Beverly Hills, was, well, BEVERLY HILLS. There were crystal chandeliers and V.I.P. reserved seating. Camille and I were there on comp tickets, but we didn’t sit at one of the circular booths. We stood right up front and center. (This proved to be very handy, as Camille is a fabulous dancer and managed to attract the attention of both Andrew and Simon. The highlight was when she actually kissed the bass during one of the instrumental tracks. Being something of a wallflower myself, I was very impressed with this maneuver.)
I must say that this may be the last of my groupie-ation for a while. Although I enjoyed the concert-- here are pictures to prove it!-- I found myself this morning pining for my writing table. It’s time for me to slow it down a little bit. My old teacher, Ron Carlson, once told me that the writer is “the one who stays in the room.” I can’t quite remember how he spun this particular morality tale, but involves a girl-writer who says to her boyfriend, “I won’t be going with you, Derrick!” So, in my own personal lingo, anything that keeps me from my table is a “Derrick.” And as much as I love the Heavies…. (you can finish up this sentence.)
So, to Paul Moshay, the manager of BNH, thanks for helping me close it out in style. We had a sparking time at the El Rey.
Posted at 09:05 PM | Comments (1)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
November 10, 2006
Too Far For The Hound
I'm off to Los Angeles to see The Brand New Heavies. No, Ladylee, I am not taking The Hound. I'm flying, but I am flying coach. Five and a half hours in coach is sort of a Houndish experience, so don't think I am getting sidditty. Photos and stories to come!
Posted at 06:33 AM | Comments (1)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
November 09, 2006
Letters to A Commerical Writer
Mat Johnson has a new series over at his blog called "Dear Black Commerical Fiction Writer...." His blog, irreverent and a little edgy, gives his take on the (black) writers life. Here is an entry giving his thoughts on self publishing. For contrast, here is a piece in the same subject by Tinesha Davis.
Mat recalls writing a crappy novel called White Chocolate Melts. Having cranked out a dog of a novel in the late 90s, I can certainly relate. And like Mat, I am SO GLAD I had never heard of iUniverse back then. I would have self-published that sucker.
Posted at 05:57 PM | Comments (2)
Category:
The Writing Life
November 08, 2006
Thank You! (Whoever You Are)
I suppose this is a sad commentary on my life: When I see a florist coming up my front steps with a bouquet of roses, my first thought is "I wonder why my agent is sending me flowers."
These lovely blossoms-- pink and white, my favorites, were not from my agent. That's all I know for sure.
I figure that whomever knows me well enough to know how much I needed a pick me up, and knows my real address, probably knows my blog address. So, thank you, Friend. Whoever you are. I needed some kindness today. Thanks for providing it.
Posted at 04:16 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Poetry Gets Political
Rigoberto Gonzalez is blogging over at the Poetry Foundation. He's talking, race, class, gender, ethnicity, and MFAs.
November 07, 2006
"Writers" on Mississipi Public Broadcasting
A few weeks ago, I received a message from Edie Greene asking if I would like to be on "Writers", a series that runs of Mississipi 
public TV. When I was just at the very start of my career, I did an interview with Gene Edwards and he remembered me. Would I like to come back and be on "Writers."
To tell you the truth, I didn't have time. My life is nuts. I am teaching, writing, giving readings, and chasing The Brand New Heavies all over the country. My plate is full. But I liked Edie Greene and I did remember the Gene Edwards interview. It was my first time doing television and I was scared to pieces. I remembered Gene Edwards as an intellegent and kind man who made me forget I was even on TV. So, I said yes, and I am glad I did.
The interview was a roundtable affair with me, Ellen Douglas, and Suzanne Hudson. We are three southern women writers representing three generations and three different worlds. We talked about what he had in common and we discussed the ways that our lives and out writing differ. Gene Edwards was a perfect fascilitator, tossing easy pitches but pitching a curve ball every now and then. Gene kept the conversation lively and intense. (And, might I add, he was wearing a gorgeous suit!)
The show will air in May. I'll let you know when they post the link!
PW's Best of the Year
Hmm.. was it only two years ago when people were saying African American lit was the NEXT BIG THING? Well, as we used to say in the 80's.. PSYCHE!
Posted at 04:41 PM | Comments (3)
Category:
The Writing Life
November 05, 2006
M- I - crooked letter- crooked letter- I
I'm apologizing in advance for the slow down in posting. I'm in Mississippi tonight through Tuesday morning to tape an episode of "Writers" on Mississipi Public Broadcast. Here is how the producers of the show describe it:
“Writers” is a series of hour-long television programs. It’s a gentle and intelligent show shot in the roundtable format. Host Gene Edwards moderates the discussion among the three guests. Each author speaks about his own work and his own experience as he interacts with the others. “Writers” is distributed to public television stations across the country by the National Educational Telecommunications Association. In our first two years of production, we won three Emmys. Some of our guests have included Julia Reed, Edward P. Jones, Barry Hannah, Jeffrey Lent, Tim Gautreaux, Kent Haruf, William Gay, Diane McWhorter, David Anthony Durham, Tom Franklin, Ron Rash, and Alistair MacLeod.
I wonder if the episode will be available on youtube....
November 04, 2006
And The Winner Was...
not me, but The Untelling did get a runner-up award. Notice that I mention this up front. I didn't make you read through my whole post to find out. (In this, I am trying to lead by example.)
The Hurston/Wright Awards were held at the D.C. Press Club last night. It was a fancy affair-- $125 tickets, after-five attire. I kept it simple, black tea-length dress, silver shoes, bag, hair 
ornaments. There were many celebrities there-- by this I mean people you can actually recognize, not just writers. S. Epatha Makerson, the "sister from Law and Order" was the M.C. She was a little bit toned-down than she was in the 2002 ceremony. The highlight of that event was her quip to David Anthony Durham who, in his acceptance speech thanked his wife for all the sacrifices she had made for his career. When Madame M.C. returned to the mike, she said, "She worked while you were sitting home working on that book! Umph. That better be a good book!" This time, she made jokes about having a pay alimony to her ex-husband. When Baltimore publisher, Paul Coates, upon receiving the North Star Award thanked his ex-wife, Ms. M.C. gave her hearty approval. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"
This year, H/W upgraded the statuettes. In previous years, winner received a statuette that looked like the Oscar, but black. (By that 
I mean they were black and they were BLACK.) But now the winners are given figures of Egyptian gods.
November 03, 2006
It's a Honor Just To Be Nominated
Well, tonight is the Hurston/Wright Awards at the DC Press Club. The Untelling is nominated in the category of fiction. I must confess that I am not really looking forward to it.
Three years ago, Leaving Atlanta was nominated in the category of debut fiction. I won the award, which was quite a thrill, but the experience of sitting around waiting for the verdict was something that is probably illegal under the Geneva Conventions. It was like a little slice of high school.
After my name was announced, I couldn't exactly run a victory lap in my sliver ball gown since all around the table were the fine writers who had not won!
So tonight, it's deja vu all over again. I've got a dress, and you know I've got the shoes. (And yes, I'll take pictures of the event.)
I want to win one of those awards that you don't know is coming. The kind where you are sitting at home in your footie-pajamas and get a magic phone call out of the blue. I can just see myself, "Hello... yes, this is she..." After that I'd be jumping up and down and blubbering with joy.
Well, y'all, wish me luck.
UPDATE: Kayne West has been kind enough to provide us with a little what NOT to do lesson.
Posted at 10:46 AM | Comments (5)
Category:
The Writing Life
November 01, 2006
100 pages down...700 pages to go
I am happy to announce that I have written 100 pags of my new novel. Right now, it's called THE BIGAMIST'S DAUGHTERS. (And, to the helpful souls that will write in: I already know about that other book with a similar title. I'm deciding what I think about that.)
Anyway, I have 100 good-looking pages here. And to think that I only had to write 287 not-so-good pages to get them. For me, this represents and increase in efficiency. For The Untelling, I wrote about 1,400 pages to get 324.
I am imagining this to be a 350 page novel and I am hoping to write about 800 pages to get 350 that are useable. This used to break my heart, all these discarded pages, but I've kind of accepted that this is just the way I work.
But the point is that I am at page 100. The 187 discarded pages are behind me. They are stored in the same emotional drawer with bad ex-boyfriends: I learned. I moved on. So let's raise a glass to the present.
And then tommorrow, it's time to set out on page 101.
Joe Miller's Wake-Up Call
Joe Miller, a (white) journalist in Kansas City, got more than he bargained for when he went to Central High School where most of the kids and black and poor. Central High is also home to the one of the nation's most successful debate teams. It is the subject of the book, Cross-X: A Turbulent and Triumphant Season With An Inner-City Debate Club.
Fear not, this is no "Dangerous Minds." The kids at Central were already winning debates before Joe Miller ever laid eyes on them. Miller is here as reporter, as the assistant coach to the debate team, but not as savior.
Here is an excerpt from a Denver Post article about Miller and Cross X:
One sleepless night in a Red Roof Inn in Kentucky, after a heated battle with a debate judge he considered racist, a switch in his brain flipped."I'd seen the world from both sides, as a white who, like the judge, knows few blacks, and then as one who has lived and traveled with African-Americans and now sees the shadows of racism at every turn," he writes.
"It hadn't fully dawned on me yet as I was lying there, stewing in resentment, but I had changed immensely over the weekend. My consciousness had shifted. For the first time in my life I was aware of my race with the same intensity that many black people are."
Stay tuned. Joe Miller is going to write us a guest-post one day soon!