April 29, 2013

A Magpie's Wisdom


"You gather your insights like a magpie." Dennis Scott.

When Dennis first said this to me, I was stung. I'd always thought of myself as having an overarching philosophy that I'd applied to my life and work. But as the years have gone by, I've begun to see the truth in his words.

That's how it's been with all my books. Every book that I've written began with an "inspired moment" that led to further research, distillation, selection, first draft, revision, revision, and revision. And then, after a few years, I finally figure out what I've been trying to say.

The same has been true of the campaign to exonerate Marcus Garvey, which has now become something bigger: RESPECT Garvey. The more I've gone back into my notes from when I taught Garvey at Miami Dade College, the more I've seen the themes/values/memes of Redemption, Education, Self-Reliance, Entrepreneurship, Purpose, Community, and Tradition demonstrated in Garvey's life and in his seminal work, The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey.

I am even more convinced that if these values were embraced by our communities, beginning with Jamaica, with a sustained commitment to demonstrating these values, we'd begin to see the changes that we all desire.

Then, truly, Marcus Garvey's words would have come to pass.




***

The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey 

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support..



*** 

So appropriate that this should be the 2000th post on this blog and with over 1, 900 000+ page views since I began blogging on December 13, 2005.

Give thanks to all the readers and supporters of my work.

One Love,
Geoffrey


April 22, 2013

Why I Support Marcus Garvey's Exoneration



I want everyone to be comfortable in her or his own skin.

Racism has been a source of suffering for my people.

In order to become comfortable in our own skins, we need to change HOW we think about ourselves.

Marcus Garvey's ideas changed how I thought about myself.

Many people do not know about Marcus Garvey’s ideas.


With the exoneration of Marcus Garvey, more people will learn about his ideas of RESPECT (Redemption, Education, Self-Reliance, Entrepreneurship, Community, and Tradition).

I believe that if we incorporate these ideas into our lives, it will begin the healing process of becoming more comfortable in our own skins.

“Set the captives free!”

***


The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

Thank you for your support.

April 16, 2013

1 Minute Review: Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat


Name of the book: Claire of the Sea Light

Author:  Edwidge Danticat 

Publisher:  Knopf 

What's the book about?  

Claire Limyè Lanmè--Claire of the Sea Light--is an enchanting child born into love and tragedy in a seaside town in Haiti. Claire's mother died in childbirth, and on each of her birthdays Claire is taken by her father, Nozias, to visit her mother's grave. Nozias wonders if he should give away his young daughter to a local shopkeeper who lost a child of her own, so he can give her a better life. 

But on the night of Claire's seventh birthday, when he makes the wrenching decision to do so, she disappears. As Nozias and others look for her, painful secrets and startling truths are unearthed among a host of men and women whose stories connect to Claire, her parents, and the town itself. 

Told with the piercing lyricism and economy of a fable, Claire of the Sea Light explores what it means to be a parent, child, neighbor, lover, and friend, while indelibly revealing the mysterious connections we share with the natural world and with one another, amid the magic and heartbreak of ordinary life. 

Why am I reading the book?  I am a fan of all things Danticat.

Quote from the book:

"Twenty miles south of the capital and crammed between a stretch of the most unpredictable waters of the Caribbean Sea and an eroded Haitian mountain range, the town had a flower-shaped perimeter that, from the mountains, looked like the unfurling petals of a massive tropical rose, so that the major road connecting the town to the sea became the stem and was called Avenue Pied ose or Stem Rose Avenue, with its many alleys and capillaries being called épine  or thorns."


Where to pre-order: http://www.amazon.com/Claire-Sea-Light-Edwidge-Danticat/dp/030727179X

EDWIDGE DANTICAT is the author of numerous books, including Brother, I'm Dying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a National Book Award finalist; Breath, Eyes, Memory, an Oprah Book Club selection; Krik? Krak!, a National Book Award finalist; The Farming of Bones, an American Book Award winner; and The Dew Breaker, a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist and winner of the inaugural Story Prize. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, she has been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and elsewhere.


***

I've modified this format from One Minute Book Reviews: http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/

***

April 15, 2013

Donate to Poetry is an Island


"Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."

Poetry is an Island is a loving portrait of Derek Walcott, who has been telling our story for the past fifty years. The documentary is now in post-production and the director, Ida Does, needs YOUR help to complete the project.

I am supporting by word and deed this remarkable documentary. If you'd like to assist in funding this project, here is the link:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/poetry-is-an-island-derek-walcott

One Love,
Geoffrey


***


The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

Thank you for your support..

April 11, 2013

R.I.P. Dr. Olive Lewin



Facts on Dr Lewin

Birthplace: Vere, Clarendon, to Richard and Sylvia Lewin, both educators.

Musical instruments: Piano, violin (tutor).

Involvement: Music therapy at Bellevue Hospital for the mentally disturbed and music in correctional institutions. An honorary Maroon.

Books published: Messengers - Timeless truths from humblest hearts, Rock It Come Over - The Folk Music of Jamaica, Come Mek Me Hol Yu Han - The Impact of Tourism on Traditional Music (collection of papers presented), Dandy Shandy, Beeny Bud, Alle, alle, alle, Forty Folk Songs of Jamaica, Some Jamaican Folk Songs.

Early work: In 1947, she played the role of May in the play, Dragnet, on the London stage. She was the wife of an African-American man from the south who gets blinded during a scuffle with a white policeman in a 'whites only' bar.

Schools attended: Hayes Elementary School, Hampton School, Royal Academy of Music (London), Queens University, Belfast, Ireland.

Letters behind her name: OJ - Order of Jamaica, CD - Commander of the Order of Distinction, LRSM - Licentiate of the Royal School of Music, LRAM - Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, LTCL - Licentiate of the Trinity College of Music, FTCL - Fellow Trinity College of Music, ARCM - Associate of the Royal College of Music

For more information, please follow these links:


http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080414/flair/flair2.html
Dr Olive Lewin is dead - News - JamaicaObserver.com:

'via Blog this'

***

The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

Thank you for your support..

Behind the Scenes at Ring Ding with Miss Lou


Rare footage of Miss Lou and Mas Ran taping Ring Ding. Ring Ding which began in 1968, airing on the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) and which continued until 1980 was hosted by the redoubtable Miss Lou (Louise Bennett-Coverley, O.M.) and was one of the first of its kind produced locally. This is a rare behind-the-scenes look at that iconic program.

I hope I don't spoil anyone's enjoyment of the clip with the reminder that Mas Ran and Miss Lou first public appearances were with Marcus Garvey's Edelweiss Amusement Company.

And now, back to our regular programming.


***

The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey
We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support..

April 10, 2013

April 9, 2013

Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2013 Shortlist | Commonwealth Writers




The Commonwealth Foundation has announced shortlists for the 2013 Commonwealth Book Prize and Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Part of Commonwealth Writers, the prizes unearth, develop and promote the best new writing from across the Commonwealth, developing literary connections worldwide.
The Commonwealth Book Prize is awarded for the best first novel, and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the best piece of unpublished short fiction. Writers from around the world have been shortlisted in anticipation of being announced as overall winners at Hay Festival, on 31 May 2013.
Political, religious and social conflict runs through many of this year’s shortlisted entries, but there are also humorous stories, stories of hope, and stories full of imagination and power. The unmatched global reach of the prizes allows readers internationally to engage with a world of literature that might otherwise remain undiscovered, consistently bringing less-heard voices to the fore.
Encompassing a span of 54 countries, entries are judged within the five regions of Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific, each of which will produce a regional winner for the two prizes. These will be announced on 14 May 2013.
The prizes’ judging panels are made up of eminent members of the international literary community. Commenting on the shortlisted entries, Chair of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, BBC Special Correspondent Razia Iqbal, said, ‘People often assume short stories are easier to write because they're, well, short! But it takes a particular skill to establish mood, character and tone in quick strokes, and tell a story which leaves a lasting impression. These stories open windows on worlds which seem familiar but, through fiction, which is tightly written, reflect those worlds, in richer and more surprising colours.’
Chair of the Commonwealth Book Prize, Godfrey Smith, said, ‘Our five judges did an admirable job of shortlisting  from a bountiful harvest of debut novels, based on originality, linguistic flair, depth, quality of writing and freshness of tone. A number of books boldly pushed the boundaries of form and explosively rebelled against the conventional structures of fiction-writing, inspiring lively and passionate debates among the judges.’

Shortlists:

Commonwealth Book Prize
  • Sarah House, Ifeanyi Ajaegbo (Nigeria), Pan Macmillan South Africa
  • Disposable People, Ezekel Alan (Jamaica), self-published
  • Floundering, Romy Ash (Australia), Text Publishing
  • Running the Rift, Naomi Benaron (Canada), HarperCollins Canada
  • Mazin Grace, Dylan Coleman (Australia), University of Queensland Press
  • A Tiger in Eden, Chris Flynn (Australia), Text Publishing
  • The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Howard Fry, Rachel Joyce (United Kingdom), Transworld Publishers
  • The Headmaster's Wager, Vincent Lam (Canada), Doubleday Canada
  • Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Nayomi Munaweera (Sri Lanka), Perera-Hussein Publishing House
  • The Death of Bees, Lisa O'Donnell (United Kingdom), William Heinemann
  • The Spider King's Daughter, Chibundu Onuzo (Nigeria), Faber and Faber
  • Em and the Big Hoom, Jerry Pinto (India), Aleph Book Company
  • The Wildings, Nilanjana Roy (India), Aleph Book Company
  • The Great Agony & Pure Laughter of the Gods, Jamala Safari (South Africa), Umuzi
  • The Last Thread, Michael Sala (Australia), Affirm
  • The Other Side of Light, Mishi Saran (India), HarperCollins India
  • God on Every Wind, Farhad Sorabjee (India), Parthian
  • Sterile Sky, E.E. Sule (Nigeria), Pearson Education
  • Narcopolis, Jeet Thayil (India), Faber and Faber
  • Beneath the Darkening Sky, Majok Tulba (Australia), Penguin Books Australia
  • The Bellwether Revivals, Benjamin Wood (United Kingdom), Simon & Schuster UK
Commonwealth Short Story Prize
  • Not for Publication, Rachel Bush (New Zealand)
  • A Killing in the Sun, Dilman Dila (Uganda)
  • NORMAL, Susan Everett (United Kingdom)
  • Chutney, Debz Hobs-Wyatt (United Kingdom)
  • Fatima Saleh, Alexander Ikawah (Kenya)
  • The New Customers, Julian Jackson (South Africa)
  • Notes from the Ruins, Anushka Jasraj (India)
  • A Good Friday, Barbara Jenkins (Trinidad and Tobago)
  • Antonya's Baby Shower on Camperdown Road, A.L. Major (Bahamas)
  • Mango Summer, Janice Lynn (Bahamas)
  • Things With Faces, Zoë Meager (New Zealand)
  • The Sarong-Man in the Old House, and an Incubus for a Rainy Night, Michael Mendis (Sri Lanka)
  • The Whale House, Sharon Millar (Trinidad and Tobago)
  • No War is Worth Debating, Tobenna Nwosu (Nigeria)
  • Take me Home United Road, Sally-Ann Partridge (South Africa)
  • Mortal Sins, Sinead Roarty (Australia)
  • We Walked On Water, Eliza Robertson (Canada)
  • Tug of War, Deborah Rogers  (New Zealand)
  • Raven, Tom Williams (Australia)
For more information, please follow this link:
Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2013 Shortlist | Commonwealth Writers:

'via Blog this'




***


The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
Thank you for your support..

A Community Conversation on the Legacy and Life of Marcus Mosiah Garvey


A Community Conversation…


On the legacy and life of Marcus Mosiah Garvey

Focus:

•Discussion on the life of the pioneer Black Nationalist & Pan-Africanist

•Awareness of the proposed street naming

Date: April 18, 2013

Time: 6-8 PM

Venue: Pentecostal Tabernacle Church, 
18415 NW 7th Avenue, 
Miami Gardens, Florida  33169



Light refreshments will be served.

For more information, please contact TaShek Hamlette, Council Assistant at (305) 622-8063 or (305) 622-8000 ext. 2795 or email at: eighodaro@miamigardens-fl.gov; thamlette@miamigardens-fl.gov.


***


The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Senator Bill Nelson, Representative Frederica Wilson, and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey: 

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey 

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey: 

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897 

Thank you for your support.

April 5, 2013

Poetry is an Island: Walcottfilm.com online!


http://www.walcottfilm.com/website/walcottfilm-com-online-2/

Poetry Friday: Future Tense (For Roger Ebert)




It is going to happen isn't it?
Though not from the fiction 
my preacher spun from his pulpit 
about being conceived in sin.

No, from my doctor's version 
it will be the unraveling story 
of my genes measured 
in a tangle of IV drips 

that will cocoon my hospital bed.
But the future I'd like to imagine 
is while strolling with my wife of 50+
summers, and she's walked ahead, 

there'll be throb in my arm.
And I'll stumble toward a bench 
to catch a final glimpse of the wind 
wrapping her skirt around her legs.



April 4, 2013

Reading for the Children



How do you respect yourself? Your family? Friends? Teachers? Classmates?

Those were just a few of the questions that I asked the children at the North Lauderdale Saraniero Branch Library when I read for them during Black History Month.





I read from Marcus and the Amazons, which combines the values of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Marcus Garvey into a fable about an ant who must rescue his colony from an invading army. It was a pleasure to read for the children and pass along a little of the wisdom that I have learned from my heroes.




Give thanks to Melody Chait, Youth Services Supervisor, who invited me to read for the children. I'm looking forward to another reading in June during Caribbean History Month.



***


The Coalition for the Exoneration of Marcus Garvey is petitioning Frederica Wilson, Congressional Representative and the Congress of the United States of America for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1722148-urge-congress-to-exonerate-civil-rights-leader-marcus-garvey

We are also petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey:

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

Thank you for your support.

April 2, 2013

Book Review: A Virtual Love by Andrew Blackman




Andrew Blackman has written a remarkable novel, A Virtual Love, which explores the differences between actual and virtual personas (masks) in a digital age. Even as I write this I am aware of the subtleties of these distinctions that the novel also acknowledges while creating layered ironies in the development of the plot. Set in England and narrated from multiple perspectives, A Virtual Love presents a cast of digital natives, who negotiate actual and virtual realities in an attempt to control their increasingly fragmented lives.

The main character, Jeff Brennan, who appears to be a dutiful grandson, harbors a secret that threatens to unravel his offline and online identities. In order to gain the attention of a beautiful woman, Marie, he has tricked her into believing that he is the famous political blogger, Jeff Brennan. As he tries to balance his actual and virtual relationships with Marie and his friends, he draws everyone, include his grandfather in his conspiracy to deceive Marie. You see where this is going, right?

Actually, you won't.

The moral center of the novel, Arthur Standhope, the main character's grandfather, bristles at his implication in the deception. Eighty years old and grounded in the verities of daily living, Arthur's role as interlocutor highlights his grandson's dilemma.

'It's my identity. It's what I show to the world.'
Something screamed inside my chest. This is not what identity is formed of, I wanted to say. I wanted to tell you all the things I have learned in my long, long decades on this Earth. I wanted to stop you from making the same mistakes as everyone else. I wanted to help you to be wise instead of clever. I wanted all this, but knew it would never happen. You'd never listen, or if you did you'd never understand. 'That's nice,' I said.

A Virtual Love, which I'd only downloaded as a sample to my Kindle reader on Friday night, had me returning to the Amazon s store on Saturday morning to buy the full text  I finished reading it late in the afternoon. I am still deconstructing the plot twists and reversals in a novel whose subject has intrigued me since I started blogging eight years ago. But A Virtual Love isn't only for admitted technophiles. It's novel for anyone who loves to be seduced by characters whose desires and this means that they use to fulfill them are in conflict with a reality for which there is no Undo button.



Wake Up, South Florida! Changes are Coming!






One way or another, the "open door" policy of Miami Dade College and the twenty-seven other community colleges in Florida will be changed by August 2013.


"Two higher education reform bills, HB 7057 and SB 1720, portend some significant changes regarding the delivery of developmental education at Florida colleges. Not all the changes are bad such as being able to choose from multiple assessment instruments instead of just the PERT.  The bills also would allow for flexibility in how college prep instruction is delivered in other ways besides stand-alone courses.

The Senate bill, however, eliminates the ability of colleges to charge tuition and fees for stand-alone prep courses. It believes it will reduce student costs by not having them pay for courses that ultimately do not get applied toward their degree. It also promotes tutorial, co-requisite and other optional approaches to helping students.  But it redefines college preparatory instruction from that which is needed to help students successfully enroll in college-level courses such as ENC 1101, to that which is needed to help students succeed IN college-level instruction.  

It would also refer students who are skill deficient to adult education courses offered either at the college or though the school district. Both the House and Senate bills impact several other areas like faculty, accreditation, and common course numbering. The House bill is on the calendar for second reading in chambers.  The Senate bill is on special order calendar for April 4 to be introduced on the floor.  It has passed all committees of reference.

The Senate bill strikes at the very core of the Florida College System “open access” model and would impose a “sink or swim” mentality, de-emphasizing college success.  It also potentially adversely impacts Latino and African-American students, and all students receiving financial aid.  

Certain legislators simply believe that maybe not all persons are suited to go to college.  However, with a historical enrollment of largely returning students (young adults who have been out of school about 5 years), the proposed changes can have a major adverse impact.  

Below is a summary provided by the Division of Florida Colleges regarding the student population served at our colleges.

Students of all ages enroll in Developmental Education.
Recent high school graduates were least likely to need Developmental Education. During 2011-12, 14% of students enrolled in Developmental Education were Less than 20 years of age.  (21,371/152,389).
Nearly 4 out of 10 students taking Developmental Education were 25 years of age and over. (37.8 percent, 57,648/152,389).
Nearly one-half of all students enrolled in Developmental Education were between 20 and 24 years of age. (48.1 percent, 73,301/152,389).
Recent high school graduates were the only age group to show decreases in the need for  Developmental Education both short term  (-5.4 percent compared to last year) and longer term (-9.9 percent over 5 years).
2 out of 3 students enrolled in Developmental Education received financial aid. (65.0 percent, 99,079/152,389).
Nearly one-half of all African American students participated in Developmental Education.  (47.7 percent, 44,965/94,233).
3 out of 4 African American students in Developmental Education received financial aid. (76.9 percent, 34,561/44,965).
African American students are over-represented in Developmental Education. (29.5 percent Developmental Education & 18.0 percent lower division credit).
1 out of 3 White students participated in Developmental Education. (34.8 percent 53,051/235,954).
55 percent of White students in Developmental Education received financial aid. (29,363/53,051).
1 out of 4 Latino students are enrolled in Developmental Education. (25.9 percent, 39,477/132,159).
Two-thirds of Latino students in Developmental Education received financial aid.  (66.7 percent, 26,349/39,477)."

Source: Perception: A Weekly Legislative Update for AFC Members.

April 1, 2013

April Fools' Humor: Jamaican Style


An elderly Jamaican man lay dying in his bed. While suffering the agonies of impending death, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite Jamaican pastry, Gizzada, wafting up the stairs. He gathered his remaining strength, and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort, gripping the railing with both hands, he crawled downstairs. With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen.
Were it not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven, for there, spread out upon waxed paper on the kitchen table were literally dozens of Gizzadas.

Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife of sixty years, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man? Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself towards the table, landing on his knees in a rumpled posture. His parched lips parted, the wondrous taste of the Gizzada was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life.

The aged and withered hand trembled on its way to a Gizzada at the edge of the table, when it was suddenly smacked with a 'dutch-pot' by his wife......

"Move yu back-side," she said, "Dem ya a fe you nine-nite!"