Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 102

DIY

So I'm sure I've mentioned this a zillion times already, but I've got 20 unpublished picture book manuscripts.  And you know I've been wanting to learn how to paint…well, artiste extraordinaire, Rosamond S. King, gave me this book she found at the library and now I'm on my way to MAKING MY OWN BOOK!

I am following Taylor's directions, and am several steps into the process. You can make your own book from scratch or you can refurbish an old book, which is what I decided to do.  Taylor has compiled actual storybooks made by mixed-media artists; he shows you how they look, summarizes the story, and then describes how the artist made the book.

Step One: Buy a board book that you're willing to deface.  I got two for $3.99 at Marshall's.

Step Two: Lightly sand the surface of the book's pages and cover.

Step Three: Apply three coats of gesso.  This stuff is like primer; it doesn't completely cover the original illustrations, but your acrylic paint will do that.

Step Four: Sketch your book using page frames.  My story, "Let the Faithful Come," is a little too long for this board book so I'm going to have to use the back cover, too.

Today's task is to finish framing the story and choose colors for each page.  Once I paint all the pages, I'll apply crackle medium and let it sit for a few days.  When I get back from New Orleans, I'll be ready to use pastels and textiles and cutouts and found objects and stencils and stamps to illustrate my story!  I'm hoping to have it done by Xmas…

have hope

It's Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day here in the US.  My 6-year-old niece made this beautiful piece of art to pay tribute to our troops and veterans—notice the peace sign in the sun, the red poppy, and soldier in camouflage.  The art some kids make just amazes me—it gives me hope to know that they're processing everything in the world around them.  I saw some fantastic art at a middle school in East Harlem yesterday; Behind the Book, my favorite literacy org, sent a car to pick me up and as we inched our way up Flatbush Avenue, I saw an Asian boy hustling to school—book in hand.  Later that day I was walking along Flatbush and again saw a black boy with his face buried in a book.  During my workshop, three boys in the class started to cry—and despite their distress, all raised their hands and wanted to read their postcard to someone far away.  One child lost his mother; one lost his grandmother when he was just a baby, and wept over that missed opportunity to know and love her.  A third boy showed me the gold link bracelet his stepmother gave him the time he was hospitalized after an accident.  Later, when I discussed the experience with a friend over lunch, she asked if the boys were black and Latino and reminded me that in many families, boys are socialized to take up space no matter their emotional state.  She's right, and the boys in that class definitely raised their hands *a lot*, while most of the girls were silent.  But it's still a touching scene—and a moment that, unfortunately, doesn't seem to last beyond the 6th grade.  At the end of the workshop, one of the girls presented me with this beautiful bouquet of paper flowers—and a boy, Joshua, raised his hand and said, "I made them!"  So proud—as he should be!  How long will that last…

Another ray of hope is Jesse Joshua Watson's new book, Hope for Haiti. You can read a digital copy at the We Give Books website, and each free viewing leads to an actual book being donated to children!  The holidays are coming—this book would be a lovely gift for the children in your life because it IS hopeful and shows how one gesture of generosity can transform lives.

you dig, you discover

Tricia Rose was my advisor in graduate school, and she once gave me some advice that has made more and more sense as I've continued to age.  "If you look back at your life," she said, "you'll find that you've always been drawn to the same things–the same themes, even the same colors."  At the time, I was in my 20s and I could see a slight pattern but now, as I near forty, it's very apparent that I've been loving the same things all my life.  Yesterday I went with a friend to see the King Tut exhibit in Times Square.  I *loathe* Times Square, but Rosa got us special discounted tickets and we didn't have to view the exhibit with a horde of tourists.  I was 7 when King Tut's treasures first came to Toronto; in my memory, my older sister was taken on a school trip to see the exhibit and she came home with a calendar and coloring book and scarab jewelry.  Earlier this year, my sister insisted that wasn't true—she, too, had missed the first exhibit and so went by herself to see the current exhibit touring North America.  It was a bit of a let down, she said, and many of the artifacts didn't actually belong to Tutankhamun.  She's right—the exhibit is small, but the pieces on display are still stunning and for me, that was just the right amount of objects to consider at one time.  I go into overload-mode pretty easily, and in a way, I've been looking at Tut's treasures all my life.  Poor Rosa—she had to listen to me rambling on and on about the *three* ancient Egypt specials I've watched on PBS in the past few weeks.  I remember moving into my current apartment three years ago and painting the living room only during commercials because I didn't want to miss the Discovery Channel special on Queen Hatshepsut.  Would I say I'm obsessed?  Perhaps.  Fascinated, for sure.  When I think of my interest in history, architecture, and archaeology—the drama of all three—I trace that back to Tut.  I gazed at that Klimt painting for quite a long while, and what impressed me most was how he depicted the sitter's jewelry—an ornate silver choker dotted with jewels.  Her gown was a mass of gold symbols, which I'm now trying to replicate.  The first symbols I ever studied? Hieroglyphs.  I'm drawn to anything gold and glittering; I love mosaics, stained glass, sequins.  And all of that started when I was seven.  Back then I didn't know Egypt was part of Africa; I was on my way to graduate school before I found out about Cheikh Anta Diop and the efforts of African scholars to reclaim Ancient Egypt and prove its link to Nubian civilization.  Yesterday Rosa and I were able to scoff at the curator's remark that brown was "the traditional color for males"—not their *actual* color, of course, just the color they picked out of the sky to represent themselves.  We watched the rather silly 3-D film at the end, and noted that everyone building the pyramids was brown-skinned but Ramses himself was mighty white.  I won't lie—I watch those Brendan Fraser Mummy films when they come on TV.  And I grew up loving Indiana Jones films, too.  It never occurred to me then that there was a problem with some white guy going into other people's sacred spaces and pilfering the treasures he found there.  I'm not "Afrikan-centered;" I won't name my child Ptah.  But Cleopatra did *not* look like Elizabeth Taylor, and I'm sure my seven-year-old self appreciated seeing beautiful, brown-skinned people swathed in gold and admired by all.  I'm glad that I now have this awareness of the impact King Tut had on my life, the strange debt I owe to a handful of white male adventurers who thought all the glory was theirs alone.

Brooklyn Museum Children's Book Fair 2010

It's that time of year again…and books are the perfect gift for the holidays!  I'll be at the Brooklyn Museum this coming Saturday for their annual Children's Book Fair.

CHILDREN'S BOOK FAIR

Saturday, November 13, Noon – 4 p.m.

The Rubin Pavilion

Meet your favorite Brooklyn authors and illustrators. Featuring storybooks, picture books, and graphic novels Author readings, a game for children, and cafe service will be offered.

Readings

1 p.m. Randall de Seve, author of Matilda and the

Orange Balloon

2 p.m. R. Gregory Christie, illustrator of Black Magic

3 p.m. Artie Bennett, author of The Butt Book

Participating Authors and Illustrators

Artie Bennett, Cathleen Bell, Sophie Blackall, Peter Brown, Lauren Castillo, R.Gregory Christie, Nina Crews, Randall de Seve, Zetta Elliott, Buket Erdogan, Emily Goodman, Melanie Greenberg, Lisa Greenwald, Jenny Han, Mike Herrod, Isabel Hill, Paul Hoppe, John and Wendy, Nancy Krulik, Diane Landolf, Alison Lowenstein, Laura Ljungkvist, Meghan McCarthy, Leslie Margolis, Diane Muldrow, Roxie Munro, Johan Olander, Claudia Pearson, Sean Qualls, Sergio Ruzzier, David Stein, Scott Teplin, Lauren Thompson, Robin Wasserman, Jacqueline Woodson, Dwight Zimmerman

shady

This short TV documentary is an introduction to the issue of shadeism, the discrimination that exists between the lighter-skinned and darker-skinned members of the same community. This documentary short looks specifically at how it affects young womyn within the African, Caribbean, and South Asian diasporas. Through the eyes and words of 5 young womyn and 1 little girl – all females of colour – the film takes us into the thoughts and experiences of each. Overall, 'Shadeism' explores where shadeism comes from, how it directly affects us as womyn of colour, and ultimately, begins to explore how we can move forward through dialogue and discussion.

I don't know if these kinds of conversations were taking place in Toronto in the '80s, but I wish I could have known some of these smart young women back when I was an insecure teenager.  I found this film, Shadeism, on Neo-Griot, which is a fabulous listserv run by poet Kalamu y Salaam; I also subscribe to the Carl Brandon Society list, which is how I find out about news in the multicultural sci-fi world.  I'm very grateful because I'm not a very social person and being part of an online community keeps me abreast of what's going on in the world.  EXCEPT for Canada.  If anyone knows how to get connected to the online PoC community up there, please let me know.  It sounds like some important conversations are taking place and I hate being out of the loop…

bright future

Ok, so it's just one list for one year, but it's still very exciting to know that THREE black women authors made Amazon's Top Ten Sci-Fi/Fantasy list!!!  Congratulations, ladies!  You can read my rave review of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms here; I recommend Karen Lord's beautifully written Redemption in Indigo, and I'm planning to read Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death (which has been optioned for a film!).  Charles Yu also made the list—you can read The Rejectionist's interview with him here.

farewell, friend

At first it was just a rumor, but I now have confirmation that Brownstone Books will be closing its doors.  This is sad news, indeed—Crystal, the dynamic owner, has been a friend to so many authors, illustrators, book lovers, and members of the community.  I had events for both of my books at Brownstone, and know that many other writers felt just as welcome and supported.  Is Brownstone the last black-owned bookstore in Brooklyn?  Anyone know?  We lost DARE Books a while back…Nkiru, too.  I can remember the first time I visited a black bookstore—I think it was Third World Books in Toronto (also gone).  After spending all my life as the only black student in my classes, I finally audited a Black Literature course at York University and one of our first assignments was to locate all the titles on a long list of books by black authors.  Unfortunately, most of the books were housed in the Toronto Reference Library because they were out of print, non-circulating…and so I turned to Third World and found some old, dusty first editions there.  And tried (unsuccessfully) to talk feminism with the crotchety old owner.  He was the reason I kept going back; in a world that refuses to acknowledge your presence, black bookstores are a sanctuary for many of us who simply aren't welcome anywhere else…

Thank you, Crystal, for opening your doors to us and for serving the community so faithfully.

Meet Shadra & Renée!

If you're in NYC, come out to Bank Street Bookstore at 5:30pm to meet Shadra Strickland and Renée Watson, collaborators on the beautiful book A PLACE WHERE HURRICANES HAPPEN.  I hear there will be cupcakes…

closed doors

I was up late last night—I did have the TV on, but I wasn't really following the various political analyses of the election results.  Woke late this morning, and thought I'd have a victory pancake breakfast since I managed to write two thousand words yesterday!  Was very inspired by my Monday visit to the Neue Gallery and two botanicas in Brooklyn.  When I entered the second botanica, the first thing the (male) owner said was, "Are you from Haiti?"  He wasn't crestfallen when I told him I was from Canada, and while he searched for a wallet-sized photo of Erzulie Dantor/Mater Salvatoris, I scanned the shelves and made mental notes, which helped me write a *long* chapter yesterday.  How would Genna react to seeing a live chicken in a cardboard box—would she freak out, or try to act cool?  I'm trying to prepare several chapters for a friend of a friend who has very generously agreed to review my references to the Haitian religion, Vodou.  I've said before that Wish is very much about doors—especially those that are closed to my main character.  Genna is cut off from her Panamanian heritage because her father left the family, and her American mother discourages her from identifying with her Afro-Latino heritage.  Genna soon realizes that having no access to her ancestral mythology & religion means having no access to her own magic (a closed door).  She does tap into the African American legend of the flying Africans, but mostly Genna's *grasping* at whatever strands of magic she can find in the city.  Yet as her Haitian friend Peter points out, "You weren't interested in my culture before.  You're only curious now because you need something.  Vodou is a religion, Genna.  It's not something you play around with whenever you're desperate or bored."  So in this narrative, Vodou is—for Genna—a closed door.  Still, I need to make sure that what I'm writing is respectful and accurate, and I very much appreciate Cybil's willingness to review my work.  I've got one more chapter to polish up today—it's amazing how much better I write when I know someone else will be looking at my words!

win big!

Here's the press release from the Carl Brandon Society regarding their exciting and original fundraising project:

The Carl Brandon Society, an organization dedicated to racial and

ethnic diversity in speculative fiction, will hold a prize drawing of

five eReaders to benefit the Butler Scholarship, a fund that sends two

emerging writers of color to the Clarion writers workshops annually.

In keeping with the Society's support of literature from and about

people of color, the prizes include five eReaders: two Barnes & Noble

Nooks, two Kobo Readers, and one Alex eReader from Spring Design. Each

eReader will come pre-loaded with books, short stories and essays by

writers of color from the speculative fiction field. Writers include:

N. K. Jemisin, Nisi Shawl, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Terence Taylor, Ted

Chiang, Shweta Narayan, Chesya Burke, Moondancer Drake, Saladin Ahmed,

Rochita Loenen-Ruiz and more.

"Octavia wanted everyone to enjoy the powerful stories writers of

color can produce when we write speculative fiction, so this drawing

would have made her very happy. It's a wonderful win-win-win event,

raising money for a scholarship that helps writers of color while

sharing their creations with the world," said Carl Brandon Society

co-founder Nisi Shawl, winner of the 2008 James Tiptree, Jr. Award.

"It's so appropriate that booksellers are supporting the development

of the next generation of writers, with the next generation of reading

devices. This fundraiser will help ensure that great and

thought-provoking literature will be coming out of our community for a

long time," added Claire Light, CBS Vice President.

"We're thankful for the generosity shown by Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and

Spring Design in donating the devices for this drawing," said K.

Tempest Bradford, Special Events volunteer. "Thanks to them we can

offer some of the best eReading devices available."

The drawing's tickets will cost one dollar US ($1) and can be

purchased at http://carlbrandon. org/drawing. html. Entrants may

purchase an unlimited number of tickets, which will be available from

November 1st, 2010 through November 22nd, 2010. Sales will close at

11:59PM EDT on November 22nd. Winners will be drawn randomly from a

digital "hat" and announced online.

To purchase tickets, read details about the eReaders, or to learn more

about the Carl Brandon Society, please visit carlbrandon.org.

About the Carl Brandon Society

Carl Brandon Society's mission is to increase racial and ethnic

diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction.

We envision a world in which speculative fiction, about complex and

diverse cultures from writers of all backgrounds, is used to

understand the present and model possible futures; and where people of

color are full citizens in the community of imagination and progress.

About the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship

Established in 2006 after the author's passing, the Octavia E. Butler

Memorial Scholarship provides funds to writers of color accepted to

the Clarion and Clarion West writers workshops. The scholarship has

been awarded every year since 2007 to a total of seven students. The

fund allows the Carl Brandon Society to further the author's legacy by

providing the same experience/opportunity that Octavia had to future

generations of new writers of color. In addition to her stint as a

student at the original Clarion Writers Workshop in Pennsylvania in

1970, Octavia taught several times for Clarion West in Seattle,

Washington, and Clarion in East Lansing, Michigan (now located in San

Diego, California), giving generously of her time to a cause she

believed in.

Carl Brandon Society Website: http://carlbrandon. org

Drawing website: http://carlbrandon. org/drawing. html

Barnes & Noble Nook: http://www.barnesan dnoble.com/ nook/index. asp

Kobo Reader: http://koboereader. com

Spring Design's Alex: http://www.springde sign.com

Contacts

Special Events: Jenn Brissett and K. Tempest Bradford – drawing@carlbrandon .org