The Youth Are Artists Too
Rashaun J. Allen writes about workshopping with youths who have desires to weave different forms of art into artist and personal statements.
The Sounds of Success: A Walk Through Brooklyn Back Then and Now
Back in 2010, I was 22 years old and eager to find a way to put my own work out. But I didn’t know where nor how to begin a publishing journey. Instead, I got on stage to perform pieces that would be foundational to it. Why? My exposure to poetry wasn’t contemporary poets on…
Book Review – Educated
How can a reader measure a book that shares a slice of someone’s life? Does he focus on the story itself or the delivery of the written word? I’d argue a successful book can’t thrive without both working together like fingers on a hand. Tara Westover’s “Education” succeeds in giving the reader a compelling story…
Book Review – Heavy
Why would a reader be interested in a Southern black man talking through his problems with his Mom? “Heavy: An American Memoir” by Kiese Laymon takes the reader on a journey as he unravels to her important experiences growing up that was lied about, denied, and/or omitted.
Book Review – Becoming
“Becoming,” by Michelle Obama, is her journey growing up in the South Side of Chicago in arguably a model black family household: married parents, an athletically inclined brother and sharp minded young Obama. As the story evolves, Obama peeled back her tough exterior to show moments of feeling “Not good enough” navigating Princeton and then…
Ain’t A Black Holiday
Rashaun passionately reads “Ain’t A Black Holiday” from The Blues Cry For A Revolution.
Book Review – Forest Primeval
Who is Vievee Francis? I wondered.
How Your Donations Honored Bri & Aided Other Black Lives
To honor Breonna Taylor’s 27th Birthday, on June 5th, I decided to give away FREE copies of #TheBluesCryForARevolution. I didn’t know if it would have any impact nor was I sure how this move would be received. The result was beyond my expectations and the outpour has been positive. But if all you’ve seen are…
Rewind. Replay. Relax.
Whaddup Peeps? A week or so ago I had the opportunity to be on Poets in Pajamas, a Reading Series, hosted by Sundress Publications, that connects readers and writers around the world. What happened? About 20 minutes of poetry from #TheBluesCryForARevolution and 10 minutes of questions and answers. Between all of that, the comments were…
My Pop-Up Shop Is Open
Peeps, I was ready, willing, and able to go to The Book House of Stuyvesant and Arts Letters & Numbers in Albany, NY two weeks ago and The Bronx Book Fair this coming May. But unfortunately all three events were postponed. And it sucks. Why? Not because I’m not able to sell books and share…
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