Woman To Man

Posted on March 21, 2010 by TayariJones

by Ai
(1947-2010)

Woman to Man
Lightning hits the roof,
shoves the knife, darkness,
deep in the walls.
They bleed light all over us
and your face, the fan, folds up,
so I won’t see how afraid
to be with me you are.
We don’t mix, even in bed,
where we keep ending up.
There’s no need to hide it:
you’re snow, I’m coal,
I’ve got the scars to prove it.
But open your mouth,
I’ll give you a taste of black
you won’t forget.
For a while, I’ll let it make you strong,
make your heart lion,
then I’ll take it back.

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Workcrastination, Again.

Posted on March 21, 2010 by TayariJones

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my arch enemy WORKCRASTINATION. (This is when you avoid your writing by doing other work. You don’t feel guilty like you do when you waste your weekend watching Law & Order, but you still haven’t written your book.) Well, I am revisiting the subject.
Networking and other marketing concerns are particularly slick forms of workcrastination. It’s very easy to trick yourself into thinking that you are making progress on your book because you are going to this and that conference where you got to meet a certain famous author (OMG she gave me her card!!), etc. You tell yourself that publishing is all about who you know, so this is all very positive. It’s taking your career into your own hands. And, since you don’t have access to an Old Boys Club, you have to hustle harder. And maybe you should order up a new set of cards now that you think about it. And what about your website, your blog?
You get the idea.
Cut it out. It’s workcrastination. Working for the book is not the same as working on the book.
Working on marketing and networking is easier than finishing your book– especially once you have reached that 100 page mark and you feel like you are trying to bathe an octopus. Endlessly researching agents and scouring Publisher’s Marketplace is a lot easier than figuring out what’s hanging you up emotionally and keeping you from being able to develop your characters. And who wouldn’t rather drink a Bellini at an awards ceremony than read your entire manuscript aloud to check for pacing problems? And anything you do in a party dress is more exciting than sitting at your kitchen table in your robe, struggling to get your heart on the page.
You know what you need to do. Just do it. Sit down, get quiet. Write your book. No one can do it but you. No one you meet at a cocktail party can write your book for you. Even if you were to save Oprah from a burning building, in all her billionaire gratitude, she couldn’t help you write your book. It’s all up to you. Don’t let yourself down.

Posted in Writing | 6 Comments

Let’s Hang Out Brooklyn

Posted on March 20, 2010 by TayariJones




Brooklyn Public Library

Originally uploaded by wallyg

On Sunday, March 21, at 1:30 I will be giving a reading and chat at the Brooklyn Public Library– central location (Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway). I hope that you can come out and say hello! I’ll read from my novels, and then take Q&A about whatever you want to Q&A about. The weather man is promising a pretty day, but right after the reading, you can head to the park. :)

(P.S. Click on the photo to see a lot of cool facts about the beautiful library building.)

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Spinning Around and Around Links

Posted on March 18, 2010 by TayariJones

Tasha

  • A lovely audio of Natasha reading in Key West. Toward the end of the recording she shares her intense new poems.

  • The Orange Prize long list is announced. Congrats to Laila Lalami!
  • Free audio books. (But let me warn you– you get what you pay for.)
  • Larry Flynt’s crazy book proposal.
  • Congratulations to the Lambda finalists.
  • Think you’re too artistic to have a day job? Well even Faulkner punched a clock.
  • Bernice MacFadden on telling our own stories.
  • Learn Italian, French or Spanish in ten weeks at Idlewild Books!
  • The making of a book cover.
  • How agents negotiate a contract.
  • Thank goodness Romeo couldn’t txt Juliette.
  • Quote of the day: ‘The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other cat’s mat is a story.’ – John LeCarre
  • Mayumi hearts Tiphanie Yanique.
  • How did I miss this? Elizabeth Alexander’s gorgeous and weighty rembrance of Lucille Clifton.
  • Marie Mockett says to book reviewers, new writers need love too.
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    Get Gorgeous For Girls Write Now

    Posted on March 17, 2010 by TayariJones

    Do you love Eileen Fisher? I do. A lot. And on March 27 is Eileen Fisher Day for Girls Write Now. (Full disclosure: I am the enthusiastic Vice Chair of the Board of Directors.) New York Area stores will donate 10% to Girls Write Now when you buy Eileen Fisher on our special day. (And, by chance, you don’t wear EF, you can just donate to GWN directly, and help us shape the next generation of women writers.)
    Behold, my sweater-crush.

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    Read This!

    Posted on March 17, 2010 by TayariJones

    Y’all, this is a delicious book! If you like mystery/suspense/crimefiction, this is a novel for you. I am listening to Black Water Rising, by Attica Locke on audiobook and it is interrupting my sleep. Last night, I was lying in bed thinking, maybe I could get up and listen for one more hour. Granted, it is pretty risky, me endorsing a book a I haven’t even finished yet, but it’s so engaging, that for now, it is all I can think about. And I will confess, that the narrator of the audio book, Dion Graham, has a lovely voice. (And you know with that name- Dion – he is a true son of the south.) It feels like a southern gentleman is hiding in my iPod telling me a bedtime story. I should bake him a red velvet cake.
    (Voice off screen interrupts: Don’t nobody care about the silky-smooth chocolate-dipped narrator, Tayari. Can you at least tell us what the doggone book is about?)
    Sorry.
    It’s set in Houston. (Did y’all know I used to live there?) It’s the story of Jay, a lawyer whose practice has devolved into ambulance chasing. He used to do loftier things, like represent people whose civil rights had been violated, but doing the right thing don’t pay the bills. Also, his wife is pregnant. Well, they sorta semi-witness a crime. The black union workers are going on strike– could shut the whole city down! Somebody is following him and he don’t know why. And what about the white lady that fished out the bayou, more dead than alive? And don’t forget Jay’s activist past, and the fact that when she was in college, the mayor was a radical.. shhh.. And her and Jay used have a little somethin going on!
    I can’t tell you any more, because this is as far as I have gotten. But oooh, it’s good! And go read this dynamite essay where the Attica Locke tells you where she got the idea for this novel.
    P.S. I get my audio books from audible.com. (I have a basic membership) But I believe this title is widely available at public libraries.

    Posted in Bookshelf | 2 Comments

    It’s Colony Season Again

    Posted on March 15, 2010 by TayariJones

    This summer, for the first time since 2002, I am not going to spend the summer at an artists colony. Why? Because I’m too tired. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s where I am. A couple days ago, someone asked me if I where I was going for spring vacation. I said, “I’m too exhausted to take a vacation!” I am looking forward to spending this summer vegging out in my apartment and going to outdoor concerts. I want to be a little bit free of my work and the deadlines I impose upon myself. I need a little me time that doesn’t involve a word count.
    (Even as I type this, I am laughing at myself because I am teaching in three summer programs– VONA, Provincetown, and Pima. But we workaholics have to taper off gradually.)
    Anyway, eventhough I am not going to summer at a colony, this is the time of year that bloggers start talking about retreats. So, here is a really good entry from Nova who has gathered quotes from various writers (including me)about thier experiences. And Christine has done a nice overview.
    Now, I am going to go back to my favorite leisure activity. Baking cakes while watching Law & Order.
    Later, Gators.

    Posted in The Writing Life | 1 Comment

    Do The Hustle, Or Not.

    Posted on March 14, 2010 by TayariJones

    Now that The Silver Girl is in the hands of my editor, I’ve been thinking a lot about publicity and how best to launch my new novel. My inner teen-ager wants a big party to which I will wear a silver dress, and silver shoes! My Play-Granddaddy says he is going wear silver suspenders! But a book party does not a publicity campaign make.
    There is a lot of pressure on authors to take responsibility for publicizing your own book. But frankly, I am not sure if Do It Yourself is the best way to go about this. PR is a skill and if you are not properly trained, you may very well make a mess of things. It seems like it would be easy enough to get the word out about your book, especially in the age of internet. All you have to do is talk yourself up, facebook status your good news. Gather the emails of everyone you ever met and BLAST! Isn’t that getting the word out? Kinda. Making a lot of noise about your book is not the same as a carefully plotted PR campaign.
    DIY marketing is not the same as DIY dentistry. It’s more like selling your house without a real estate agent, or cutting your own hair. You probably won’t kill yourself, but things will likely turn out a lot better if you hire a professional.
    I know that the economy is tight, and a lot of writers can’t fork over major bucks to hire a publicity person. If you aren’t able to make the investment, I would suggest that you take some classes on the subject. Often writers’ conferences will have a lecture on how to promote your book. There are lots of books on the subject that you can score at the public library. And there’s always The Google. Or maybe even pay a PR person just to review your plan.
    Personally, I think it’s sort of unfair burden that we are expected to write the book and market it, too. It seems like a really disparate skill set we are asked to employ. For several years you are chained to your desk channeling your deepest thoughts, as vulnerable as a newborn. Then, all of a sudden, you have to think of your book not as art, but as product, and grow this really thick skin and hit the pavement.
    But I guess that’s just the way it is.

    Posted in The Writing Life | 3 Comments

    Run With It Links

    Posted on March 12, 2010 by TayariJones
  • Erica posted a opportunity and one of her blog readers took the ball and ran with it!
  • Everything you wanted to know about a career at a publishing house, but were afraid to ask.
  • Very touching post about how Bernice MacFadden’s daughter is paying it back.
  • Octavia Butler is named to the Sci-Fi hall of fame.(Better posthumously than never.)
  • Are you an MFAer with something to say?
  • How make the leap from self-publishing to traditional publishing.
  • Delicious photos and delicious poetry. What’s not to like?
  • The Cave Canem poetry prize is like American Idol for black poets. It can make you a star!
  • Rigoberto Gonzalez, the hardest working man in literature, has edited Camina del Sol: Fifteen years of Latino and Latina Writing.
  • Joy Castro is right on point about this one. It’s getting ugly out here, or it’s always been ugly. I think that’s the point.
  • What’s your genre? Here’s a guide.
  • DGLM summarizes all the advice they gave during slush week. (Read this if you’re trying to find an agent.)
  • Collector donates artifacts belonging to Harriet Tubman.
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    Moleskine,Where Have You Been All My Life?

    Posted on March 12, 2010 by TayariJones

    Spring Break is here, so I will be blogging more and I won’t be blogging so much about ways to keep going when you think you’re about to crash and burn. Since vacation is here, I will be blogging calmly in my robe and my reindeer slippers. (This robe is great. A shop lady in Martha’s Vineyard bascially gave it to me so I could finish my novel. I wish I had her contact info to say thank you. The robe is not sexy, but it’s snuggly, and it helped me make it over the finish line.)

    Anyway, a few months ago I blogged about wanting to start keep ing a journal. So many people recomended their favorite notebooks and a few folks even sent me journals in the mail. (Y’all are the best best best.) Well, none of the notebooks went to waste. I pressed them into service for various purposes, but I hadn’t yet found the journal for daily use.

    Well, I have worked it out.

    I have been using a thin moleskine notebook. It’s about the size of a regular sheet of paper folded in half. I use the pink one, but they come in lots of pretty colors, and there is always the moody black one. Dainty without being precious or fragile, it can easily be thrown in my purse, or even hidden up my sleeve! The picture on the right shows a hardcover, but I use the inexpensive paperback. Since it has only 96 pages, it only takes me a month to fill it up. Then, I just get a new one. This works for me because I DO NOT like to flip back through and revisit my old thoughts. It’s like listening to my own voice on a tape recording. Can’t stand it.

    I write in the journal while I have my coffee. I wake up with my mind brimming and sloshing. I feel like an over-full martini glass. When I spend just about twenty minutes with the journal, I feel much more stable. Even though those extra minutes mean I have to get up even earlier on a school day, it’s worth it.

    Posted in Writing | 2 Comments