Tayari's Blog: March 2009
March 31, 2009
End of the Month Links
Since the mother of all computer viruses is scheduled to hit tomorrow, let me post these links tonight.
Posted at 09:29 PM | ![[comments]](http://www.tayarijones.com/images/comments.gif){kind=small}
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Doing it For Ourselves Steve Harvey
Steve Harvey's Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man is dominating the NY Times Best Seller list for the eighth week in a row. You know I get excited whenever an African-American makes the list. I get even more excited when it's an African-American that people know is an African-American. (I'm thinking of Malcolm Gladwell. I'm happy for the brother, but the rising tide can't raise all boats if most folks didn't know he's black!) So, back to Mr. Harvey. Maybe his book isn't the most scholarly of tomes. And maybe he is cashing in on the Black-Women-Can't-Catch-A-Man-Hysteria. (Hey, why should Essence have all the fun?) But it is always good to see the power of black women's dollars measured in the marketplace.
All that said, I ran accross this article at the New Yorker blog, referring to the Harvey book as a "bizzare" bestseller. (Don't ask me what's so bizzare about it. This is the sort of book that was born to be on the best-seller list.) The thing that got my attention is that Harvey's race and the race of his devotees isn't mentioned. I know that black women are not the only women bowing at the Harvey oracle, but I know what I see on the subway. I'm aware that we are suppossed to be post-racial now that we've got Mr. O in the white house, but Harvey has led a remarkable campaign in reaching out to black women and I would like to see us recognized as a significant buying block.
This still matters even if the book and the ideas behind it are a little bit silly. That's a discussion for another day.
Posted at 02:59 PM | Comments (1)
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Community Service
March 29, 2009
Come On Down! Links
This is Not "Cool"
There is always a lot of chatter about whether political art is still 
art. Shelley E. at Read Red offers many posts on the subject earlier this year. As you can imagine, I completely believe that art can be political. I don't go so far as to say that all art should be political, although much of my favorite art is.
Since I have been on bed rest the last couple of days, I have even more time that usual to search the internet. I ran across the illustration on the left. I assumed that this artistic rendering of Rhianna's police photos were a piece of political art. I thought that this was somehow to make a point about domestic violence. Maybe the high-contrast colors are to bring attention to her disfigurement? However, the accompanying article quotes the artist as saying that he just thought the shapes of her bruises were cool. No political message intended.
I think ail the NyQuil has sort of fried my brain because I am having trouble expressing what I find so obscene about this work. Maybe I am just appalled by someone who could not see what is human about Rhianna and her suffering. Or maybe it's that I am disgusted by anyone who is not enraged by the prevalence of domestic violence. Or maybe my feelings are loftier. Maybe at the end of the day I am repelled by someone who goes out of his way to make art that doesn't matter.
Posted at 05:38 PM | Comments (2)
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Current Events
March 28, 2009
Really Good Things Are Happening
To people who read this blog!
I wasn't planning on posting this until next week, but I am soooo sick with a terrible cold. Please forgive me, but I need to post this good news right away in an effort to cheer myself up. Please give these good folks a standing ovation.
Got good news? Tell me about it! And stay tuned for a special edition of the Good News series. Five folks out there-- 1,2,3,4,5 --- are celebrating thier first books! If there are more, let me know.
Posted at 05:38 AM | Comments (1)
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The Writing Life
March 26, 2009
Sniffling, Sneezing, Coughing, Etc Links
My throat is very very sore and I am lying in bed feeling sorry for my self. While I am waiting for the Nyquil to kick in, here are some links.
Good night. I have to try and get some sleep. The Toni Morrison event is tomorrow and I WILL BE THERE!
Posted at 11:33 PM | Comments (1)
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R.I.P. John Hope Franklin
If this blog had a flag, it would be at half-mast. John Hope Franklin has passed away at age 94. I am sure there will be many tributes in the morning and I will do a link round-up. Below, I am re-posting an entry I wrote a couple of years ago when my friend, Rocky, travelled 800 miles just to get of glimpse of the great man.
God bless you, Dr. Franklin. You did your work, now take your rest.
Posted at 02:37 AM | Comments (1)
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Current Events
To Sir, With Love
(This was originally posted on April 22, 2007)
Far be it from me to jugde anyone for being a groupie. From time to time, I put the fan in fanatic and I think it is a 
healthy way to express yourself. So when I call my friend, Raquel, a "hard-core groupie", please don't take it the wrong way.
Rocky came to DC yesterday, all the way from Bloomington Indiana. She invited me to a show. I could get the tickets from ticketmaster. (Y'all know I love myself a concert, so I agreed, still fuzzy on the details.) I hopped on line. "What am I searching for?" I asked her, all while clicking keys.
"John Hope Franklin," she sighed.
"The historian?"
"Yes," said Rocky. "I just love him."
Well, different strokes and all of that. Some people love the Brand New Heavies, other, more sensible people, like Rocky, have a thing for 92-year-old historians who have changed the world.
Although "An Evening With John Hope Franklin" didn't start until 7:30, we decided to leave the hotel at 6:00. After all, Rocky reasoned, it was general admission. We needed to score a good seat. I am glad we headed out so early because the lobby of the hotel was mobbed, police choppers were overhead, fancy-dressed men and women kissed each other on both cheeks. "What's happening?" I asked one of the million security guards-- one of the ones dressed like police. I didn't bother the men in black. One refused to say. Another said, "Sanjaya is coming!" The protesters out front, who wore orange jumpsuits said, "The white house correspondents dinner is tonight."
So there you have it. A Washington moment.
The historic Lincoln Theatre was quite a departure from the privileged zoo-scene at the hotel. A few people stood out front purchasing tickets from the cute and sort of flirty teenaged boy inside the ornate ticket booth. He needed me to verify my address. Smile. Verify my phone number, double smile.
Upon entering the theatre, I was struck by the scent of Afrocentrism-- patchouli and sandlewood. It took me back me college.
The evening with John Hope Franklin was strangely eclectic. The crowd was a bit on the sparse side-- about one hundred people in a theatre that seats about 700. The evening opened with a handsome radio personality wearing a gorgeous kufi and reading from the Koran. Then, Mr. Franklin was interviewed for about an hour. There was a break while martial arts students performed. Mr. Franklin returned to the stage and spoke some more. Then, the MC read a poem in opposition to the cervical cancer vaccine. There was a four minute intermission. Then, two sopranos sang songs made famous by Paul Robeson. Mr. Franklin received an award and the program was over.
Raquel said, "We have to rush the stage! I want him to sign my book."
We finally got the courage to go up to the stage although people on the loud speakers were telling everyone to get out. As we waited in line to shake his hand, Raquel, who holds a PhD from Harvard University told me why John Hope Franklin means so much to her.
"When I finished Harvard, everyone was saying I could write my own ticket, but as a black woman in computer science, I was still having to work so hard just to be considered for basic appointments. When I read John Hope Franklin's work and saw what he experienced at Harvard and how he put his education to use, it changed the way I saw things. John Hope Franklin gave value to my Harvard PhD."
When we finally got to the stage. He signed her book, and I took their picture together. She didn't tell him any long story. She kept it short and sweet.
"I love you, John Hope Franklin," she said.
photos, of course.
Posted at 02:36 AM | Comments (0)
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Current Events
March 25, 2009
Very Busy Day Links!
Today is going to an insanse and busy day for me. But for those of you who have time to enjoy the internets, well here are some things worth checking out.
Zooman and The Sign-- Go See It!
The Signature Theater is hosting a revival of the Negro Ensemble Company plays. The last of the series, Zooman and The Sign, is playing now. If you are in NY, you should go and see it. Tickets are only $20.
Zooman is written by Charles Fuller, who is best known for A Soldier's Play which was made in a movie starring Denzel Washington. Zooman, written a few years earlier is the story of a Philadelphia family, devasted by a stray bullet that kills their twelve year old daughter. I know that black urban tragedy is kind of done, but I cut the play slack because A) It was written twenty years ago and B) THE ACTING IS FANTASTIC.
Rosalyn Coleman plays the grieving mother. I knew that she was a acting powerhouse-- afterall, she has originated several August Wilson roles on Broadway. AND, although this isn't so highbrow, I just loved her on "Law & Order". All this is to say that I went in with high hopes. And I left with even greater respect. Variety describes her as "beautiful and tragic" in the role. I say she is just brilliant. (My fantasy: For her to play Octavia's mother in Leaving Atlanta!)
Zooman is not a perfect play. The costumes are a little off, and there are some plot twists that are just plain hinky. But still, the story gets you in gut. One of the things that really struck me is that the play seemed weirdly dated in some ways-- the killer carries a boom-box, for example-- but in other ways, the pain of neighborhood violence is horribly timeless. One of the major plot-issues is that no one in the neighborhood will come out and identify the killers; doesn't that sound familiar? When I asked Rosalyn Coleman how she prepared for the role, she mentioned watching the news.
That's a shame-and-a-half. To prepare for a role in a story set thirty years ago, she just turns on her TV to the 6pm news. Black mothers mourning their babies-- it still happens every day.
Posted at 07:45 AM | Comments (0)
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March 23, 2009
Toni Morrison Alert!
I heard this on twitter from @faraichideya: TONI MORRISON AND PAULA GIDDINGS WILL BE IN CONVERSATION AT NYU ON FRIDAY! Now, this is where it gets tricky. You have to send an email and then they email you back and let you know if there is space. If you haven't been given the okay, you can't go, so follow directions. More info on the event here.
Posted at 07:09 PM | Comments (0)
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Current Events
March 20, 2009
Warm-Hearted Links
March 19, 2009
Let's Work Together This Summer
And if you can't join us, please help me spread the word. Here is a really nice flyer that you can print out and put on bulletin boards, post on your facebook page or you can forward to your friends. (And you know what friend I am talking about. The one who has been secretly working on a story, but won't take the leap. Tell her to hop in!)
Posted at 05:29 AM | Comments (0)
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Travels & Rambles
March 18, 2009
Hey Jack Kerouac!
Opportunity Alert: I just heard from Justin Quarry about this really cool residency. He was there last summer. It's a commitment-- three months long. Those of you out there who say you want to really take the plunge, to see what would happen if you tried to do the writing thing full-time, here's a chance to stick your toe in. Here are the details.
The Kerouac Project of Orlando. This is the home where Jack Kerouac lived when On the Road was published, and where he wrote Dharma Bums. Each of four three-month residencies allotted for the year is free, plus residents receive a stipend for food in the form of Publix gift cards. The house is a pretty big cottage (2BR/2BA) in downtown Orlando (forget Disney; as it turns out, there's actual history and culture there--for instance, Zora Neale Hurston's Eatonville just down the road), and because each resident is there alone, and because the house can easily accommodate more than one person, residents are allowed to bring spouses or partners--but not kids or pets. Deadline April 15.
What I love about this:
What I don't love:
March 17, 2009
Obscene Bonus Links
March 16, 2009
Wag of The Finger but Also a Hug
Something happened today that I think is worth discussing for all of us out there in Writerland. A friend, a former student, and a terrific writer was accepted into MacDowell for the summer. After seeing my frowny-face report yesterday, he was reluctant to tell me. While I love him to death for having such a tender and sympathetic heart, I hope that he will know that he can ALWAYS tell me his good news. He's my student and I am happy for him, always. (And doesn't he know that his accomplishments are mine, too? I brag about him. BRAG.)
This is an issue that will come up again and again. If you are a teacher, and you're any good, you will have at least one student that passes you by in terms of success. That's the way it's meant to be. You teach them everything you know and they add to whatever they came with and let's hope they end up with something magical and better.
On the peer side of equation, this will happen again and again. You have to learn how to listen to your friends squeals of delight and be honestly happy for them-- even if you applied for the same position. On the flip side, as a friend, you have to choose friends who can celebrate with you. But also, you have to learn to be friend enough to keep the back-flips in check.
It's a delicate dance, but it's part of the choreography of this life we've chosen.
Posted at 12:43 PM | Comments (2)
Category:
The Writing Life
Clothes For The Fabulous Writer
I know this is a literary blog, but I am going to veer off topic just a little bit, but not too far. The topic is fashion. At the AWP conference this year, several people asked me about my outfits. I'll admit that I was feeling pretty flouncy, and giving the wardrobe a little extra umph. Well, pretty much all my outfits were made my Cozbi Cabrera, a local (Brooklyn) designer whom I love love love. And you know how I am when I am crazy about something-- think The Brand New Heavies, red velvet cake and my Slanket-- I can't shut up about it.
My good friend Nichelle Gainer, who blogs at 55 Secret Street, went along with me to COZBI. While we were there, she made a great video of Cozbi talking about her shop and of me gushing, gushing, gushing while being fitted for my spring looks.
Ladies, if you are in the NY area, you should swing by Cozbi's shop. You will love all Cozbi's special attention and her clothes which she will cut-to-fit. Seriously, once you have worn cut-to-fit, you will never want off-the-rack-again. I know we have all had the experience of feeling like you are wearing clothes designed for some other woman. Well, when you wear clothes from COZBI, you know they are really yours.
Posted at 08:52 AM | Comments (3)
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Travels & Rambles
March 15, 2009
We Love You Paule Marshall Links
Posted at 08:36 AM | Comments (1)
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March 14, 2009
Déjà Vu
Darn. Not again. I've got a sinking feeling that I'll be in spending the summer in a DIY writers retreat in Schenectady. Did anybody else get better news? If so, tell me about it. I could use a vicarious victory.
Posted at 06:15 PM | Comments (0)
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March 12, 2009
Friday Night in Pittsburgh
If you're in Pittsburgh, I'd love to see you tomorrow night, 3/13. I am reading along with poet, Leslie Anne Mcilroy, at the UPWords reading series. The event starts at 7:30, but doors open at 7.
So Many Links, So Little Time
March 09, 2009
Beautiful Things Are Happening
to people who read this blog!!
Got good news? I want to know about it!
Posted at 12:25 PM | Comments (7)
Category:
Travels & Rambles
March 06, 2009
Girls Write Now Day, this Sunday
Just a reminder to everyone that Girls Write Now Day is this Sunday, March 8. 4-6 pm at The New School, Lang Community and Student Center. Speakers will be National Book Award Winner, Annette Gordon-Reed and Marlon James.
Posted at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)
Category:
Community Service
March 03, 2009
Broken Social Contracts
I just found this trailer to the film, Broken Social Contracts, which is a documentary about rape focusing on Spelman and Morehouse College. I am eager to see the film. I know that a lot of you are Pearl Cleage fans. She makes an appearance about halfway through. Other people in this clip include: Mark Anthony Neal, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Spelman Prof.,(Bilal) Mark King, Johnnetta B. Cole, and others.
Posted at 03:02 PM | Comments (4)
Category:
Current Events
Lunchbreak Links
Jericho Brown Has Done It Again!
This is good news season. All the applications that were so carefully compiled and submitted at the end of the year are now bearing fruit.
Everybody's beloved Jericho Brown has won a Bunting Fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard! I had to post this photo because he was smiling that hard BEFORE he knew about this amazing award. You just have to wonder how hard he's smiling NOW.
If you have good news, let me know.
Posted at 06:37 AM | Comments (0)
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March 01, 2009
Coming to Central Georgia
Just a heads up.
On Wednesday March 4, I am giving two readings in central Georgia at Macon State College:
Posted at 12:34 PM | Comments (1)
Category:
Travels & Rambles