Silver Sparrow is the story the two families of James Witherspoon.  One is his “public” family and the other family lives in the shadows.  Both the women become bound to James when they become pregnant in the years before the invention of the pill. When Laverne finds herself expecting, she is a 15 year old kid in 1960 who is kicked out of school because of her condition.  When Gwen becomes pregnant with Dana she’s 19 working in a department store, but she will lose both her job and her apartment when her pregnancy starts to show.  What choice does she have but to hold onto James with all her might?

But in the next generation in Silver Sparrow, Dana and Chaurisse make some of the same bad decisions as their mothers.  They hook up with the wrong guys and engage in exploitative romantic relationships.  The key difference is that Dana and Chaurisse are on the pill.  Yes, their feelings get hurt by these bad boyfriends, but they are able to walk away for the simple reason that they did not get pregnant.  I am not suggesting that there are not other factors involved, but this is what keeps the girls from repeating their mother’s lives.

Women are not the only ones trapped by a lack of access to safe, effective birth control. Look at James Witherspoon.  At one point in Silver Sparrow, he complains, “I just want, one time, to marry a woman who isn’t already pregnant.”  Even though he is castigated as a bigamist and is blamed for causing both women and daughters so much pain, he thinks:  Every time a woman has told me she is having my baby, I have married her.  I have left no woman to have a child alone. (In this, he is not lying, though I imagine his wife, Laverne, does not find this logic compelling.) Of course, he has the option of walking away, but his mother, Miss Bunny, taught him to take responsibility for his actions, so he doesn’t consider cutting these binding ties.

Although Gwen and Laverne would disagree about many things, they both know that an intended pregnancy could derail their daughters’ lives.  Both women insist that their teen daughters start taking birth control.  “Do you know how lucky you are that these pills exist?” Laverne says to her daughter, who has no idea of what life was life in the bad old days. “Better safe than sorry,” she urges her daughter  Of course, Chaurisse understands that without a nurturing relationship with a partner, you can be “safe and sorry at the same time.”  Still, the pill provides her with a much-needed lie of defense against the life-long consequences of teenage folly.

I am writing this post today because I am alarmed at the way birth control is being attacked in recent political discourse.  Up until now, I never questioned that most Americans consider birth control to be a one of the major advantages of living in a modern society.  But despite what I hear in the political debates, I still believe that most people understand people must be able to control their fertility if we are ever going to be to take charge of our own lives. This is an issue that isn’t just about teen girls.  Think about married women who don’t want to have ten children like our grandmothers.  Any sexually active person should have the right to protect herself against unplanned pregnancy.  I stand with Barack Obama in his decision to include prescription birth control as part of women’s healthcare plans.  American women deserve this access.

Passing Love by Jacqueline Luckett.  It’s a lovely, romantic novel.  If we ever get some snow this winter, I would recommend curling up with this in front of the fire with a nice hot chocolate.

Contents May Have Shifted by Pam Houston.  I have been hearing Pam Houston read from this for years and now it’s finally out.  It’s a hard book to summarize, but I’ll try.  This is a collections of vignettes about her live and loves as she travels all around the world.  See, that doesn’t do it justice.  Trust me. It’s really good.  And, I am in it, as myself.  (My first cameo!)

Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination by Alondra Nelson.  I gave this to my dad for Christmas.

After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God by Jacqueline Holness.  I am trying to branch out and read more non fiction and spiritual works.  I am also interested in just hearing the stories of women who have had so many different experiences with the church.

A Gathering of Waters by Bernice MacFadden.  It’s a new look at the story of Emmit Till.  Very creatively rendered. NPR is doing backflips.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It’s a memoir and basically everyone in the entire twitterverse is madly in love with it.

Creatures Here Below by O.H. Bennett.  I think I need more books by brothers in my life.

Okay, that’s all for this list.  I’ll update every month. And after I finish the books, I will post my thoughts on Goodreads.  Tell me, what’s on your TBR list?

If everything happens for a reason, I wonder why I stumbled accross this photo today?

These programs can be costly, but there is often some financial aid available.  I recommend classes for anyone who wants to write, but I especially recommend them for people who are considering pursuing an MFA in creative writing.  The format of the summer classes is a lot like graduate school– roundtable peer critique led by an instructor.  It’s a good way to see how you like it, and to decide if you want more.

Here is a list of some summer programs that I have some experience with.  If you know others, please leave your opinions in the comments.

Napa Valley Writers Conference:  I am listing this one first because I am one of the instructors.  In addition, my mentor, Ron Carlson, will be leading a course.  He’s amazing.

VONA: Voices of Our Nation:  This is a week of classes for writers of color. It’s a rare opportunity.  I took part in the program ten years ago as a student and I was on the faculty a couple years back.  It’s a great program.  Junot Diaz is teaching fiction and Randall Keenan is leading a workshop on LGBTQ narrative. (The photo on this page is some of the students from our amazing workshop in 2010.)

Bread Loaf Writers Conference:  This is thought to be the Caddilac of writing workshops.  I went in 2003 after Leaving Atlanta was published.  It’s a great place to get connected and to really feel what the MFA world is like.  It lasts a long time– two weeks.  And you will be exhausted and may even have a crying meltdown before it’s over.  That said, it should be on your writerly bucket list.

Sewanee Writers Conference:  This one is tricky.  It’s southern.  Real southern.  The hangout place is nicknamed the “Rebel’s Roost.”  I went in 2004.  I made some really friends, with whom I am still in touch.  But I didn’t love the experience.  Would I recommend that you go? Yeah.  I think so. The faculty is amazing this year. Dorothy Allison!

Tin House: I have never been, but other people love it.  The faculty is generally top notch. And Dorothy Allison!

FAWC Provincetown:  This is a cool program.  One week of classes, and there are classes all summer song, so you will be able to find a time frame that works for you.  There is some financial aid, even a special scholarship for students of color.  I taught here in 2009 and it was a wonderful class.

• The most important thing is that you have to be a member of the NAACP.  (Which is a good thing to do, anyway. They do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, especially in the legal arena, that makes a serious difference in people’s lives.)
• You can join right now and cast your vote: Join To Vote
• Are you already a member of NAACP? Vote for this year’s Image Awards using the ID number found in the winter
  issue of The Crisis Magazine, which will hit your mailboxes soon.  Then head over the the Image Award ballot.
• Now, if you are like me and are a member, but haven’t updated your address so you don’t get your Crisis Magazine, just call the Membership Department at 1 (866) 636-2227 for your ID.

The BCALA Literary Awards recognize excellence in adult fiction and nonfiction by African American authors published in 2011. Ms. Jones will receive her award during the 2012 Annual Conference of the American Library Association in Anaheim, CA

• Wednesday, January 25, 7:30pm– State College, Pennsylvania
  Penn State University
  Reading and Signing
  Location: Foster Auditorium
• Thursday, January 26, 7:00pm– Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
  Bucknell University
  Reading and Signing
  Location: Bucknell Hall

I really urge writers to take summer classes.  It’s a great way to meet other writers, with whom you will may form critique groups that will sustain you long after the summer class is over.  If you are thinking about joining an MFA program, this is an opportunity to see how you like talking about your work in a roundtable classroom setting.  In other words– win-win.

Apply.

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones is among five nominees in the category, “Outstanding Literary Work: Fiction.” The awards will be announced on February 17.

Her Word as Witness: Women Writers of the African Diaspora

(Black Enterprise profile of Barrayn)