The January Children by Safia Ehillo is a poetry collection that deals with the author’s woman, Muslim and Sudanese identity. Wait. It’s so much more than that. The title itself opens the reader to Sudanese history and culture. It represents her grandparents’ generation born in Sudan under British occupation, where children…
A maiden name is the difference between uncovering a new family line and being stopped indefinitely. My 2nd Great-grandma, Clifford Lawson’s maiden name had been buried. Although, I had identified her on the United States Federal Censuses from 1900 to 1940 none of them revealed it. Going through Ancestry.com and other sources, the feeling was…
My measuring stick of beauty was breaking my neck over a fat booty. Twisting. Turning. Turning and twisting. A double take left an impression on my mind so vivid we were already dating by the time I said, “Hi.” Her passions nor her purpose mattered to me. When I learned her name I visualized her…
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin is about David, an American man living in Paris who has a love affair with another man. The central conflict is David coming terms with his sexuality. When David and Giovanni first meet they have a conversation about Parisians “measuring” everything. A metaphor about David measuring his desire for a…
“Grandma Grace is in the middle of my brother’s head,” Aunt Vicki texted then sent the photo. I immediately recognized Granddad Charles, a much younger and vibrant man than I had lived with. But this woman couldn’t be my Great-grandma Grace. She didn’t fit my imagination on the melanin spectrum. She wasn’t dark brown like…
It was mile 15 when the right side of my body cramped running the NYC marathon. It had to be the physical manifestation of one throbbing thought, “Quit.” I don’t know when it showed up. This would be my second marathon and first time running one of the largest in the U.S. I had put…
Rain For Under Watered Roses Like You And I by Tammy “Poe-it” Lopez is about 62 pieces of powerful poetry. The poetry collection is sewed around a conversation with a best friend. This best friend happens to be “You,” who has seen some of the worst stuff life has had to offer “Poe-it” like an…
This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz like the title alludes to is nine short stories about relationships. No, it’s not the “love at first sight type.” The short stories are somewhere between what was hoped for and the muddiness of what is in relationships. In “Miss Lora” the reader follows Junior’s romance…
You feel passion about an injustice? You realize a law is not a right? Step up and step into a situation to change. Here are a couple rules to play the political game. Rule 1 – Set a goal to spread awareness about an issue. Put pressure on those in power to make a specific…
The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Sometimes, I read accolades like this and go, “I’ll be the judge of that.” But after a close read of her nine-story collection, I was reminded Edwidge slays with her pen. Writing nine short stories that stand…
