Tayari's Blog: January 2007
January 30, 2007
Update on the Atlanta Child Murders Case
Wayne Williams, the man held responsible for the murders, has finally won his demand for DNA testing. As I wrote for the AJC last year, I welcome this development.
But on another note, I ran into an old friend at a reading I did at Emory last year. During the Q&A he asked how I would feel if Wayne Williams was released. I went into my talk about the suspicious elements of the trail. He said, "But how would you FEEL?" I didn't really understand what he was reaching for, but after the talk he explained that the idea of Williams being released made him feel like a scared little kid all over again.
Whatver happens with the DNA testing, Atlanta, "The City Too Busy To Hurt", has a lot of emotional work to do. If not, we may become the city too busy to heal.
Thanks to my Spelman sister, Malaika, for telling me about the artile.
Posted at 12:33 PM | ![[comments]](http://www.tayarijones.com/images/comments.gif){kind=small}
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Category:
Current Events
January 29, 2007
Monday Check In/Up
I am on the run, so I've only got links today.
Posted at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
January 27, 2007
Portrait of The Artist as a Teenager
I ran across this photo on my father's hard-drive. This was taken around the time I saved all my money to buy a word processor-- you remember them; they looked a lot like typewriters and could see up to five lines of text at a time.
I was reading ahead to week 3 of The Artist's Way and it asks "If I weren't so stingy with my artist, I would buy her..." and it reminded me of myself as a teenager, sinking every cent I could get my hands on into something that I thought would benefit and please my artist. (I used it so much that it would start smelling like burning tires. I thought it was broken so I took it way out to Smyrna to the repair shop, three times. Finally, the repairman said, "Young lady, this piece of equipment was not designed to be a printing press.")
I am putting this picture as my screen saver, to help me remember myself when I believed completely in my art and made it my top priority.
Posted at 06:36 PM | Comments (4)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
January 26, 2007
Me and My Daddy See the Sights of the Delta
I'm blogging from Itta Bena, Mississippi where I will address the 
Mississippi Philological Association. I had a few hours before giving the keynote, so my father and I went on a quick tour of the surrounding areas. Here's a quick recap.
Our first stop was the storefront where Emmet Till was said to have whistled at a white woman, leading to his brutal murder. (That's the photo here on the right.) As you can see, the place is falling apart now. There's a rumour that the owners of the property are seeking to sell it for a cool million bucks. While I am all in favor of turning the spot into a shrine or a place of remembrance, I REFUSE to help make that family into millionaires.
The next stop, a mere 10 minutes away, was the grave of Robert Johnson, the great blues musician. The marker was decorated with whiskey bottles, beer cans, and a harmonica-- fitting tributes. There are two other church yards that also claim to house Robert Johnson's remains, but this one is on a major thoroughfare.
After that, we went to Tallahatchie Flats, a vacation destination about an stone's throw from Johnson's grave. The idea is that fans of Johnson can rent out an old shack and live like a sharecropping blues man. ($50 a night. You have to check out the website.)
I can't imagine that they had to hire historians to find the meager housing. Afterall, there are many Mississipians living in such houses, for real.. not just for play-play. For kicks, here is a quote from the website:
Could Robert Johnson have actually died in one of them(the rental shacks)? His grave, in the cemetery at Little Zion Church is less than a mileaway and current knowledge is that he succumbed in one of the small houses nearby.
Our final destination was Ruleville, Mississippi-- the home of the late great Fannie Lou Hamer. (There will be a HUGE celebration on March 1-March 3.) I was struck by the lack of splendor at her grave site. She has a nice enough headstone, but there was no monument that would give anyone a true understanding of her significance to women's history, to African American history, to AMERICAN history.
Well, my reading is in about an hour. I need to breathe. Here's the photo album of our trip!
Posted at 05:58 PM | Comments (1)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
January 24, 2007
Working Out/ Writing Out
Did you know that in the introduction to The Artist's Way, you are supposed to commit to exercising? And did you notice in week two, when you make your "life pie" exercise is given an equal slice as ROMANCE? What gives?
Well, it seems that to feed your mind, you have to also take care of your body. I have been working out regularly with a trainer for about sixteen weeks. I can't say that I have had a Janet-Jackson-transformation, but I have noticed the difference on the page.
It's not that I come home from the gym and fall on my laptop and pound out ten pages, but at the gym, I've learned to control my breathing, which centers me when I am sitting at my computer. I'm working on my flexibility which lets me sit straighter and longer.
Also, working with a personal trainer has really been helpful to me as a teacher of writing. I am not great at working out. I have lead a pretty sedentary life so all this moving and lifting is new to me. To learn, I have to let myself be lead by my trainer. It has caused me to be more empathetic with my students. Experiencing beginners frustration and impatience with my workout reminds me of how my students must feel.
I'm working out three times a week, and you can see here that it ain't pretty. But it's important. To quote the Jennifers (Holliday and Hudson) "I am changing!"
Posted at 11:28 AM | Comments (3)
Category:
The Artist's Way
, The Writing Life
January 23, 2007
The Original Old Girl Goes On An Artist Date
Hello, I am Ladylee, one of the many readers of Tayari’s blog. I am currently reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist's Way with Tayari
and a few of you. Tayari asked if I would take a moment to describe my Week 1 “Artist Date”. (For those of you know on the program, an "Artist Date" is when you treat yourself to an outing, just to see something new, to entertain and indulge your inner artist.)
First of all, a little about myself: I am an Atlanta native in my mid-thirties and I am a chemist holding a doctorate degree in the area of organic chemistry. I have published numerous papers in my area of expertise, and consider myself very well grounded in the area of technical writing. Herein lies my issue: I have a habit of approaching any and everything from a scientific, technical, and/or formulaic point of view. When I try to apply my knowledge in technical writing to creative writing, well, there’s a problem. So needless to say, this book and its exercises are providing much needed help, helping me to think a bit differently about my writing and attitudes toward it.
At first, I was a bit perplexed by this whole “Artist Date” assignment, especially the requirement of doing something once a week. Personally, I thought that was a bit much. What would I do? Where would I go? I am finding through the first and now the second week of this process that I have a tendency to pontificate a bit too hard about such things. I even got caught up in trying to make a straight list of twelve things I could do. I found that a bit annoying. I stopped discussing it with people because for some reason, they are just more than ready to tag along. I really needed to just find something interesting to do, stop trying to analyze it all, and just DO IT.
Posted at 02:24 PM | Comments (5)
Category:
Guest Bloggers
, The Artist's Way
January 21, 2007
Dontcha Wish...
I may be the only one not getting a big kick out of the American Idol auditions. (Well, maybe me and Rosie.) At first, I was having as much fun as anyone. (What are those people thinking???? The medley of desperate-seeming people singing "Dontcha wish your girlfriend..." was really classic.) And then, the queasies started setting in. Maybe I have the publishing version of PTSD? My kind kept drifting back to the time I once received a bundle of ten rejection letters in a single packet. I sat down and read them all. It was quite the hideous banquet.
When I saw the computer tech from Salt Lake City sing "Unchained Melody" with all his heart only to be rejected by Paula, Simon and Randy, I felt for the guy. I swear, I identified so hard thatI almost had a flashback.
When you get rejection letters for a novel manuscript, you get details as to why the editor isn't interested in your book. They can range from "not for us" to "this writer hasn't learned yet how to write fiction." And although I always tried to have faith in my story, there is that moment when I feared that I have made a fool of yourself for even trying.
So, next week when the American Idol auditions resume, I'll be watching reruns of Law and Order, CI. I prefer good old fashioned murder and mayhem to the carnage on that audition stage.
Posted at 08:23 PM | Comments (6)
Category:
The Artist's Way
, The Writing Life
Linky Dink
Posted at 05:26 PM | Comments (1)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
Stagger Lee Shot Billy....
I'm really getting into graphic novels. Right now, I am reading Fun Home by Allison Bechdel, and loving it. Last year, I taught Chris 
Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, which is supposed to be a classic of the genre. (It was very interesting and there were moments when I was really engaged. But between you and me, I wanted to slap him every time he drew the black woman from behind.)
Large Hearted Boy posted a piece on the new graphic novel, Stagger Lee. I first because acquainted with the legend of Stagger Lee when reading Erasure by Percival Everett. (A really really good book.) In that novel, "Stagger Lee" is the pen-name of the literary writer who decides to write street-fiction to make a buck. I mentioned this an older friend who screamed with laughter. "What?" I said. "I don't get it." That friend, began to sing.
Stagger Lee is the archetype of the "gangsta". "The Ballad of Stagger Lee" (the ditty performed by my friend) was written about a real life shooting. (For more info, you can click here.) Anyway, I was sort of interested in the graphic novel, and then sort of not interested. I am at the gangsta saturation point.
One of my New Year's plans is to read books that I am sort of suspicious of. I guess I can start here.
January 20, 2007
What Are You Wearing?
Nichelle Tramble has this great feature on her blog called "What's On Your Desk," where writers send her pictures of thier writing areas and say what they have there and why. I think we should start one called "What Are You Wearing?" Folks can send in pictures of themselves actually writing. And I think a real picture of a writer at work would be really really inspiring. And if not inspiring, demystifying.
And if you to are too shy to be photographed, you can just tell us about it. (But I would really love photos.)
January 17, 2007
Monster Hall of Fame
The theme of Week One in The Artist's Way is RECOVERING A SENSE OF SAFETY. One of the assignments is to make your "Monster Hall of Fame" in which you record the names of people that have injured your creative spirit. Another assignment is to make note of your champions. Am I the only one who is finding that there are a number of people who show up on both lists?
The reason for this, I think, is that a lot of people who discourage us from being artists do so because they fear for us and the people who care enough to fear, will cheer you on once it's safe.
Here's an example.
Posted at 08:13 AM | Comments (6)
Category:
The Artist's Way
January 15, 2007
Walking in Memphis or Remembering MLK
I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, right downtown, just off Peachtree Street. You can't get more Atlanta than that.
As you can imagine, the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King is everywhere in my home town. After all, he grew up there. He's buried there.
There's another city in this country that cannot forget Dr. King: Memphis. Although we claim him as a native son of Atlanta, Memphis is where he died on April 4, 1968.
I had never thought much about the burden of Memphis until I was on my first book tour in 2002. I was headquartered in the legendary Peabody Hotel for an entire week. The Peabody is known for its lavish appointments and the ducks that swim in its opulent fountain. My ten days in the Peabody were uncomfortable. For one thing I was homesick and longed for the stripped-down accommodations of my little apartment and also, I was the only black person in the hotel that wasn't working there. I felt under intense scrutiny each day-- I imagine I was something of a oddity to the white people staying there the black people were counting on me to represent.
I was raised in a "movement" household, so you know I wouldn't have been in the Peabody with my nose in the air, treating the black employees like servants. Instead, I called everyone "ma'am" and "sir" and tried to need as little help as possible. I eventually got to know everyone on staff and soon people wanted to know where I was from. When I said, "Atlanta," everyone wanted to talk about Dr. King.
Posted at 12:26 PM | Comments (4)
Category:
The Arist's Way
I am so thrilled so many folks have signed up to do The Artist's Way! Let's think of today as the first day of Week One, putting us on a Mon-Sun schedule. The first week will be a little bit challenging because you have to read the introduction as well as the first chapter. But in the following weeks, all you have to read is the chapter. We'll check in mid week to see how everyone is coming along.
And, of course, anybody is welcome to jump in!
Posted at 07:20 AM | Comments (2)
Category:
The Artist's Way
January 14, 2007
Free-Lancers' Treasure Trove
This was on a writers listserv. It's a long listing of websites for freelancers. I have to tell you that I have not investigated each of the sites, but it seemed like a good resource.
Posted at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)
Category:
The Writing Life
January 12, 2007
Contest Alert
The deadline for applying to the Salem National Literary Awards is coming up. (Feb. 1) The contest covers the categories of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The winners will be flown to Winston-Salem to accept the awards and read from their work. There is also a cash prize of $1,000.
And don't worry, I won't charge you a finder's fee.
Posted at 08:16 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
The Writing Life
The Artist's Way
I'm in need of creative renewal. The goal of unpublished and undiscovered writers is to become published, to be discovered. I think that the goal of the published writer is to get herself back to spiritual place where she lived before she was published. The ideal space is to be in the middle zone between published and unpublished-- when you are working for the sake of the story, but feel confident that good things are just around the corner.
To get back to this place, I am doing The Artist's Way: A course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self. I've done the course before, years ago, when I was in that golden zone, scribbling my heart out, trying to figure out what a novel was. This is when I wrote my *true* first novel, which was never published and never should be. The point of writing that novel was to figure out how it was done. I often look back at the experience of writing that book and I remember myself as an artist at work. You've all heard the story about this book, how I wrote it in a bathroom stall on my lunch hour at work, how I sunk my whole savings into the world first (and largest) laptop computer. I want to get back to that place, and so I am doing The Artist's Way. I invite any of you who are interested to do it with me.
The exercises and the book really help you identify what it is that is blocking or restraining your creativity. It also helps you realise the ways that you may be sabotaging yourself. I know that lots of smart people sort of bristle at the idea of "self-help" which is where this book is shelved, but don't let that be just one more reason why you don't take that first step, or that third step, or whatever step you're on. It really doesn't matter, the step number... most of us just need to take the NEXT step.
All you need to get started is the book, which is easily available at any bookstore. (I say, go to your local independent, but do whatever works for you.) The book costs about $15. You'll also need a large spiral notebook, or its equivalent. Also bring your true heart and your courage.
The course is broken up into 12 one-week lessons, so once a week I'll post about my progress and you can post about yours. Let's do this.
Posted at 07:51 AM | Comments (10)
Category:
The Artist's Way
January 11, 2007
A Good Time for a Good Cause
** oops! There was a broken link in the post. I've fixed it. Here is the link to VONA.
This post is a 2-fer. Remember a few months ago when I was saying that we should all take a writerly vacation? Well, one summer writing opportunity is the VONA Workshops for writers of color which take place in San Francisco. (Full disclosure: I have attended this workshop and LOVED it.)
I've just gotten word from poet, Leslieann Hobayan, that VONA is putting on a fundraising extravaganza in NYC. (It's enough to make me want to hop on the Hound for one last NY run.)
SUPERNOVA
When: Jan. 18, 2007, 6:30 pm
Cost: $10-$20 (no one turned away for lack of funds)
Where: Bowery Poetry Club
212.614.0505
308 Bowery (First Street, between Houston & Bleecker)
F train to Second Ave, or 6 train to Bleecker
SUPERNOVA brings together acclaimed writers at the Bowery Poetry Club. Suheir Hammad hosts this stellar event, which features Sapphire, Willie Perdomo, and Victor LaValle, with a special appearance by Beau Sia. During this electrifying evening, award-winning writers and veteran performers light up the stage with their unforgettable work in support of VONA (Voices of Our Nations Arts) Summer Writing Workshops for writers of color.
Joining the internationally acclaimed VONA faculty on stage are VONA alumni. A raffle of the authors’ books will also take place at the event.
Posted at 10:32 AM | Comments (1)
Category:
The Writing Life
Linky-Dinky
I am slamming to meet a couple of deadlines, so forgive me for not providing much new content this week. Here are some interesting links that you may want to check out.
The NAACP Image Award Nominees are announced. Natasha Trethewey and Pearl Cleage, two writers we love-- both on the page and in life-- are nominated. (On a related note: Jack and Jill Politics is too through with the NAACP.)
Last week, I went to lunch with Ladylee. She blogged it. Not once. But twice. That girl cracks me up.
Charlie Rose interviews Toni Morrison.
Posted at 07:06 AM | Comments (1)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
January 09, 2007
Look At Me, A Jersey Girl Already
The good people of my home-to-be emailed me asking if I thought Toni Morrison should be inducted into the NEW JERSEY HALL OF FAME. My first impulse was (in the reverse spirit of Whitney Houston) Hell to the yeah! But that was before I got a look at the ballot.
You'll have to check it out yourself, but here is my dilemma. The Great Ms. Morrison is nominated in the "general" category, but so is Harriet Tubman, the woman known as Moses. (This, of course, could be a non-issue if Ms. Tubman was listed under HISTORY, where she belongs.)
So this brings up today's thought: We all believe that literature is important. Our stories are who we are. They are our collective memory, our psyche. But how does the beauty and red-hot truth of Beloved compare to the work that Harriet Tubman did? Morrison wrote about slavery, but Tubman literally freed people from slavery. Harriet Tubman was black, female, and epileptic, yet she physically delivered hundreds of black folks from chattel slavery in the American south-- she did this work knowing that the penalty was death.
Harriet Tubman is getting my vote, even though she is in the wrong category. If she were listed in History where she belongs, I'd choose her over Einstein and Edison. (Freedom is more important than light bulbs or nuclear fission.) Let's all trot over there and cast our votes for Harriet Tubman. I am sure Toni Morrison will approve.
Posted at 07:25 AM | Comments (1)
Category:
Current Events
January 04, 2007
Congrats to CL Contest Winners
Last night, there was a strange gathering at Eyedrum, an Atlanta gallery.(By strange I mean, men in blood-spattered tank tops, a nurse wearing white leather and platform shoes, and the plastic corpses piled in the corners.)
The gallery, Eyedrum, is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. If you have read any of my novels, you will know that I know MLK Dr. like the back of my hand. Or so I thought. Eyedrum is on the *other* side of MLK, near the Oakland Cemetery which houses such dead celebrities as Margaret Mitchell and Maynard Jackson. Who knew there were galleries, lofts, etc way out there? Not me, and not Natasha Trethewey who was riding shotgun.
Existential Question: What is urban renewal? When you get lost in your own hometown.
But enough of my musing. The point of the gathering (and the point of the post) was to celebrate the winners of this year's Creative Loafing Atlanta Fiction Contest. (The theme of the contest was BLOOD, which accounts for all the party-strangeness.)
After serving as one of the judges, it was a great pleasure to meet the writers in the flesh after first meeting them on the page. Congrats to Brett Bender and the other winners! You can find their stories on the CL web site.
Linky-Dinky
Laurel K. Hamilton sends a message to her unhappy fans. "If you're unhappy with my books, and have decided you never want to read another thing that I write; great. I mean that. Life is too short to read books you don't like, so if you're not having a good time, stop doing it. I'm sure there are other books out there that will make you happier than mine. " (via Gwenda)
New Year, New Book, New Name. How far would you go for a fresh start?
Al Young prepares for the year ahead. "My brother Richard used to test his proposed resolutions for the coming year right after Halloween. "The ones I can see aren't going to work out," he said, "I get rid of those."
Are you a madmanperson, architect, carpenter or judge? Some thoughts on writing.
A twenty-something Pisces from Osaka, Japan has written five novels in 14 months-- all on her cell phone. She's sold a million copies so far-- to other people's cell phones! (thx champ)
Posted at 05:11 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
Rutgers-Newark Now Accepting Applications!
Last year, I announced the happy news that I would soon be joining 
the MFA faculty at Rutgers-Newark University. I am thrilled to announce that we are accepting applications for the 2007-08 academic year in fiction, poetry and non fiction. Please visit our website for application guidelines.
Our program has a motto: Real lives, Real stories. I think that tells you just about everything you need to know about our mission. I know that there are many of you who have been toying with the idea of going to school to study creative writing. It's a new year and it might be the right time for you to make the commitment.
Below is a letter of invitation from program director, Jayne Anne Phillips:
Posted at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)
Category:
January 03, 2007
The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez
The short version is that I love this novel. It was so good, I wanted to eat it.
The Last of Her Kind, the fifth novel by Sigrid Nunez, is a breath-taking and utterly engaging story of Georgie and Ann who meet as roommates at Barnard in the 1960s. Ann is an rich white woman who says things like, "I wish I were black" and Georgie (who is also white) knows enough about being poor that she doesn't wish for any additional burdens.
Despite this roommate set up, this novel is much more than an extended pajama party. This is the 1960s and Barnard is changing, the world is changing, and the friends are changing. Ann, who is singularly focused on her brand of social justice, ends up in prison and Georgie narrates the story from the safety of her more conventional life.
Did I mention the writing? Searing, gorgeous and just brilliant. Whenever I feel stuck on the novel I am working on, I go buy another copy of The Last of Her Kind. (You may wonder why I can't keep re-reading the copy I already have. Well, every time I am reading, someone picks it up, reads a few pages and begs to borrow it. Sadly, this is the kind of book that people "borrow" forever.)
Read it. It's really really good. I was surprised that it didn't get more attention last year. It got off to a great start with a starred review from PW, a love letter in the New Yorker, ooh la la from The Village Voice, fever from Salon, but for some reason, it didn't catch fire the way that it should have.
The good news is that books have long lives-- no matter what the idiots in publishing believe. There's plenty of time to read this remarkable novel, which has just been released in paperback!
January 02, 2007
Bathing The Cat: A Metaphor
Over the New Year's holiday my cat, Johnny Baby, was banished to the 
animal hotel. (We had an allergic house guest.) Anyway, he came home in a rather malodorous condition. My first thought was to just let him air out, but after a few minutes, it became clear: Johnny Baby needed a bath.
Cats don't like to be bathed and people don't like to bathe them, but sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do. Procrastinating, I checked my email where I received a message from Jafari
Today's Daily Word
My Year: This new year marks a fresh start for me.
I considered bathing myself as a symbolic act, but I realised that bathing the cat was closer to the real work that has to be done.
As we jump into the new year, let's figure out what needs cleaning in our lives so we can get our writing off on the right foot. It's won't be easy. I had to drag Johnny Baby out from under the bed to even get him in the sink. I had to ask my mother for help, as washing a cat is a two person job. (You have to realise you can't go it alone.) Then, there is just the element of hard work. Scrubbing a cat is manual labor, no art to it. Just wet and dirty and a little bit dangerous. Finally, we blew him dry which he didn't like one bit. Now this is important. Cats hate to get wet. We were drying him and he fought that even harder. The message: relax and accept the balm. Sometimes it takes a moment to know when you've got a good thing. And finally, there is the maintenance issue. As soon as we got him all clean and dry, he started licking himself. Although the point of the bath was for me to teach him a lesson, at the final step he reminded me of something crucial. It's not enough just to clean up your act. Once you get it together, you have to keep it together.
More pics here.
Posted at 01:08 PM | Comments (2)
Category:
The Writing Life