Tayari's Blog: December 2009
December 30, 2009
R.I.P. Don Belton
I am sorry to post such bad news in the middle of the holiday season. Don Belton, novelist and scholar, has been murdered. Don was on the MFA faculty at The University of Indiana. Although I didn't know him, I was familiar with his work and I am sure that there are readers of this blog who considered him to be a friend. articleHere is an about the incident. Also you can visit his website which he was just getting off the ground. I love the little placeholder bio he put up:
"Don was born in posh penthouse on the Right Bank of Paris with a silver spoon in his mouth, listening to Miles Davis playing live in celebration of his birth."
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December 28, 2009
2010 is Right Around The Corner
I almost wrote, "We'll I'm back home now," but after the holidays, it's hard to know where you are. Am I back home, or was I home when I was "home" for the holidays? The overlap with old-life and real-life is part of what makes the holidays so maddening, but also so stimulating for creativity. I have an idea for a new book and the voice really came to me over the last week. Something about displacement, I think. Anyway, I am back in my own-self apartment now getting ready for the new year.
I was also thinking, as I prepared to write this post, how lame it is that every year, everyone says the same thing as we approach January 1. We always say, "This year will be better than the last", or "This year I am going to take better care of myself." "This year, I am going to devote more time to my writing!". You get the idea.
Well, I can't help it. I am going to say all those same things again. Taking better care of yourself is a process and, if we're lucky, every year we get a little closer to our goals. If we have a bad year, we get set back, and we have to push even harder to get things in order again.
2007 was a miserable year for me and the smack-down lasted well into the middle of 2008. I won't get into it, but let's just say, I was catching hell on every front. 2009 felt like an opportunity to make a fresh start and I have it all I had. It was like the universe was helping me out. A $50,000 grant from the United States Artists Foundation gave me the financial flexibility to be able to take a semester off from teaching and to sequester myself in Martha's Vineyard to finish my novel. The money also gave me some wiggle room for some creature comforts like a new bed and a fancy new winter coat.
In this week before New Years I am trying to keep some of that momentum going. Of course I am doing life-hacker stuff like cleaning the apartment, unsubcribing to a lot of commercial email lists (bye bye Land's End!), and organizing my computer files. I am also getting a TV for the first time in twenty years(!).
Once I get the apartment together, and get things physically in shape for maximum productivity, I am going to turn int he other direction and stop demanding maximum productivity for myself. 2010 is going to be a year of balance for me. I want to work hard, but not too hard. I want to dial the stress back and learn to be more content with what I have. I want to learn to be more grateful. And happy.
Posted at 08:33 AM | Comments (1)
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The Writing Life
December 22, 2009
Closing Down for Christmas
I am heading home to Atlanta in about an hour. I'm not taking my computer, so no new posts until after the holidays. I hope that everyone has a lovely holiday. I know this season is difficult for a lot of people, so for those folks, keep in mind that it is brief. This time next week, it will be all over for another year. For folks who enjoy this family time, you too, should keep in mind that it is brief and enjoy every second.
Take care. See you in a few days.
Posted at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)
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December 21, 2009
Whoops! I left out some links from today's list
This is proof that the holiday stress is kicking in. I forgot to include some of the links I had planned to share today. (you can get the rest of the list a little lower on the page.)
Okay, that feels better. You have the whole list. Now I can go do my hair. xoxo, t
Naughty or Nice Links
Posted at 07:06 AM | Comments (0)
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December 16, 2009
Leaving Vermont
Well, here are a few links as I am heading home. Vermont Studio Center is really a nice place. The food was deee-lish and they've just built new studios for the writers, which overlook the river. It's a little pricey to go here, but there are scholarships. But okay, on with the links because I have a plane to catch!
December 14, 2009
You Have GOT To Be Kidding Me
(via harperstudio) full cover w.o label
I was just going to let the picture do the talking, but I have to say that this cover is abusive. It makes black literature seem foreign and weird. This picture does not make you want to read a book by a black authors. And the fists? Good Lord, as if sisters-- in writing and in life-- don't have to worry about seeming scary and intimidating. (Mrs. Obama, can I get an Amen?)
I probably should take some more time before posting. You aren't supposed to blog when you're angry. But whatevs.
Here are relevant tweets:
@carleenbrice: Did I wake up in 1971? NEW trends in writing = Afro picks? & a headful of them, no less!
@Dolen: And hello!! They described my book as being about "four white female friends."
@notell:maybe pw's plan to stay in business is to alienate all their readers, one segment at a time?
@ruthellenkocher:i think the PW cover depicts american black writing as cultish, personally. voodoo. foreign.
Posted at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)
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Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Goodbye!
Kirkus Reviews has closed it's doors and I have to say that I am not sad to see it go. Their reviews of both of my books were so scathing that I actually teared up. For those not in the loop, Kirkus of a "pre-pub" review source, which it means that it weighed in on teh book before it even hit the shelves. For new writers, Kirkus often provided their very first review ever. The reviews in Kirkus went unsigned, so you didn't even know where to send the hit man.
One disturbing trend I see is echoed my Michael Bourett at DGLM. (Full disclosure, DGLM represents me.) In his farewell to Kirkus he says,
I don’t think any other publication can make an author cry the same way that Kirkus did. On more than one occasion I have warned an author before the review to be prepared, because if you’ve never read one of their reviews and they go after you, it can be soul-crushing.But when they did give an author and book a good review, it always meant that much more. Pleasing them wasn’t easy, so doing so was all the more satisfying.
To me, that's giving power to people just for being harsh. It's like the abuse made it all the more important to win thier favor.
I think one of the reason Kirkus failed is because any publication that is known for playing one note-- snarky-- becomes known as an unreliable source for information. A consistently hard review source is just as corrupt as one that is habitually smiley.
For kicks, here's a post I put up a couple years ago after Kirkus savaged The Untelling. And while you're reading it, I'll be pouring myself a glass of prosecco.
Posted at 04:16 AM | Comments (0)
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The Writing Life
December 13, 2009
Radha Says: Last Poems
Today, Leslie McGrath handed me a copy of Radha Says, the final 
volume of poems written by Reetika Vazarani. Leslie and I spoke yesterday about the volume and she offered a copy, so receiving the book wasn't a surprise. What did surprise me was the chill that crept over my body as handled it. Toward the end of the book are poems written in the poet's own hand, dated just days before she took her own life and that of her child.
The editors of this collection toiled for countless hours over these poems which were discovered in a sealed envelope addressed to Copper Canyon Press-- who declined to publish them. I cannot imagine the emotional weight of sifting through half-finished and marked-on drafts written by a woman in the throes of a psychic break. Ravi Shankar and Leslie McGrath traced Vazarani's imaginative footsteps, knowing the brutality to come, but unable to change history. I cannot imagine that they would put themselves through this if they did not believe that Vazarani's voice is a vital part of the American literary tradition.
I have held the book here in my hand for over an hour now, but I have not begun to read the poems inside. Partly is because I feel revulsion for her final acts and because there are people who matter to me that were terribly wounded by these acts. But, if I am to be honest, I must also confess that I am fighting an almost supersitious dread of what her verses might contain.
December 10, 2009
Arrived Alive!
I'm here at Vermont Studio Center. I've just arrived in my cozy little apartment, but I feel snug as a bug in a rug. (When I was a kid, that was my favorite expression.) The photo on the left is just a quickie that I snapped with my phone from the window. It is too cold and wet to go out.
Posted at 02:29 PM | Comments (0)
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December 09, 2009
On My Way To The Frozen Tundra
I am getting myself ready to go to the Vermont Studio Center, where I will be a Visiting Writing. I'll give a reading, give manuscript consultations, and deliver a craft talk. I know it seems like a lot of work, but in return I get a little extra Christmas cash, and I will be able to enjoy VSC and spend some quality time working on my own manuscript. I am looking forward to the trip, but Man-Oh-Man is it going to be cold up there!
I'll have wi-fi in my apartment, so I'll post photos and a report about how the place is set up, food, etc. It seems like a nice idea-- as a resident writer, you would get your own quiet workspace, but also have access to the visiting writer who would look at your manuscript. Also, it seems that the resident writers are there for about a month, but visiting writers are rotated every week and the roster of visitors looks pretty swanky. So, more details to come.
xoxo, T
Posted at 08:27 AM | Comments (1)
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December 08, 2009
Trying to Get Myself Together Links
I don't know what's up with me today-- or yesterday, or the day before-- I am having trouble connecting with the world. I suspect that I am just overwhelmed. You know having too much to do can make you do nothing? I'm kind of there. Yesterday, at my writing date, I was having such a hard time concentrating. That said, here are some links until I can get it back together.
December 07, 2009
All By Myself... Don't Wanna Be..
I have always thought of writing as this solitary thing I do in my home while wearing my slanket. (However, the picture you see here, was taken at my job. Don't ask.) The point is that the solo-Slanket procedure has worked for me. Well, last month, at the National Book Awards, I was seated next to Coe Booth, a judge on the YA panel. She and I became fast friends and decided that we should get together sometime soon. The problem is that we are both working like crazy and also we are both staring at looming deadlines.
Coe suggested that we get together for a "writing date." I had no idea what that could be. She explained that Young Adult writers do it all the time. A group of friends gets together at a nice cafe or something, have a coffee and a snack, and then they retreat to separate tables and write for a couple hours. They do not wear slankets to these gatherings. They wear regular clothes and they fix their hair.
Lord knows I could use a couple of hours with The Silver Girl. I am making a quilt for Tracy K, who just had a baby. My poor apartment looks like Santa's workshop. Fabric pieces are everywhere-- even in the bathroom. I woke up last night at 3 am because I somehow got pins in the bed! I reached for a spoon for my oatmeal and pulled a rotary cutter out instead. I am determined to get this quilt made by the holidays. As a result, I have rendered my home unfit for living-- let alone for writing.
So, today, I am going to meet Coe for our writing date. I feel a little weird about it. It makes me think of the dressing room in Loehmans-- no stalls. Everyone just strips in full view of all the other ladies. But still, I am going give it a try. I'll report back tomorrow.
December 04, 2009
Keeping It Together Links
December 02, 2009
Ain't Nothing Going on But The Rent
Writers, here is a most unique opportunity. The WWE is hiring a creative writer. Here are the deets.
Creative Writer, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Join the most electrifying company in the entertainment industry today! World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. develops & produces the last of the great variety shows on television, combining all the elements of entertainment: sitcom, talk show, soap opera, action-adventure, & drama. With 52 weeks of original programming, without an off-season or re-runs, it is quite a creative challenge to keep characters & story lines interesting & compelling. That's where you come in! More info, including how to apply is available online.
This was brought to my attention by David Dickerson, who spent a good decade of his life writing cards for Hallmark, which was kind of like writing for the WWE. He's got a book about it and a collection of zany videos in which he makes custom cards for weird occaisions.
Posted at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)
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December 01, 2009
Rae Lewis Thornton, Trailblazer
Today is World Aids Day. Last year I wrote about my experience getting tested-- 
which I now do annually as part of my physical. Knowing your HIV status is part of taking care of yourself.
This year, I want to turn the clock back fifteen years. I was about twenty-four years old and I picked up Essence Magazine. Back in those days, Essence was serious. It wasn't all how-to-get-a-man or celebrities-in-love. Back then, Essence was where you went if you were a black woman who was trying to make sense of the world. There on the cover was Rae Lewis Thornton.
She was gorgeous, in that way all sisters are on the cover of Essence. She looked the way I wanted to look. Underneath a photo of her wearing a tight black dress looking at the camera, was the caption, FACING AIDS. As Crystal Wilkinson said on twitter this morning, Rae turned AIDS from "their" story to our story.
In the article, she talked about being a professional woman who only dated professional black men-- the Morehouse man type, and I mean that in the historical way. At a blood drive at her very good job, she found out her status and had no idea from whom she contracted the disease. Keep in mind that this is when Aids was understood to be a death sentence.
Nowdays, there are many Aids activists and people living publicly with Aids isn't such a shocker, but Rae Lewis Thornton came out when no one was talking to black women-- or women period-- about Aids. She is a hero.
Today she is on twitter talking about the realities of living with Aids. (For example, her co-pay is $2400 a month for her healthcare!.) Read her feed to see what she has to say, but also go get tested. You need to know.
Posted at 01:20 PM | Comments (2)
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