Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 75

the hummingbird’s tongue

I had a moment yesterday when I wanted to quit teaching. As soon as I submitted my grades, the whining began…no matter how clear you are about the course requirements, no matter how many opportunities you give to earn extra credit, there are always a few students who think you owe them something more. I love teaching and I hope to teach for the rest of my life, but I’m wondering if there’s a way to build a life that lets me do what I love and discard all the rest. Yesterday’s meeting with Terry Boddie was great—I can’t imagine what I’d do without the support of fellow artists! Artist/professors who teach, and grade, and deal with ridiculous demands, and yet still manage to get their work out into the world (Terry’s got FOUR shows up right now). Giving up the academy would mean working as a teaching artist and supplementing my income with grants. I’ve gotten three grants so far this year, and right now I’m applying for a fourth. It’s a different kind of hustle but the good thing about writing grant proposals is that the process lends clarity to your work. Why do I do what I do, and what does my writing offer the world? I’m still working on my project summary but thought I’d share what I’ve got so far. This is Nevis book #1:

The Hummingbird’s Tongue

This nonfiction book—a blend of memoir, genealogy, and mythology—will attempt to trace the life of my paternal grandmother, Rosetta Elliott. Born on the small Caribbean island of Nevis, Rosetta was institutionalized approximately ten years after the birth of her two children, George (my father) and Ilis. Both children were removed from Rosetta’s custody when they were quite young; George was raised (alternately) by his maternal and paternal grandmothers, and Ilis was raised by her biological father and his wife (though his paternity was kept from her until adulthood). Stripped of her children, my grandmother continued to live in Nevis until the mid-1950s when she began having “fits” and was committed to an asylum in neighboring Antigua where she allegedly died.

Shortly after his mother’s death, my father emigrated from Nevis to live, for the first time, with his father in Canada. Fifteen years later, in 1972, my father returned to Nevis with my mother (who was pregnant with me at the time). They visited the asylum in Antigua and found no record of Rosetta Elliott. In his unfinished memoir my father implied that Rosetta was involved with prominent men on the island; I plan to investigate this claim and others, including speculation that my grandmother’s “fits” weren’t caused by epilepsy but by obeah (so-called “black magic”). My grandfather once worked as a policeman in Antigua—did he use his professional connections to make his former lover “disappear”? Was the news of Rosetta’s death prior to his departure for Canada a lie designed to sever my father’s connection to the less reputable side of his family?

I have lived with depression and anxiety since my teen years, and suspect that my father battled depression throughout his life as well. Fortunately, I evolved into a black feminist writer, though my commitment to self-expression led my father to call me “a stranger in the family.” I feel a strong sense of kinship with the woman for whom I was named, though we never met and I have not even a photograph of her. My great-aunt once told me that Rosetta had “hair down her back”—a significant feature for a poor black woman. Was she beautiful? Was marriage unavailable or uninteresting to her? Perhaps my grandmother traded whatever assets she had in order to survive.

If my grandmother did indeed suffer from some type of mental illness, I would like to know what symptoms she exhibited and what services were available to women in the eastern Caribbean at that time. Could any “undesirable” be institutionalized? Was Rosetta truly a danger to herself, or was her sexuality deemed dangerous to an insular, patriarchal society that expected women to know and stay in their “proper place”? The 2009 study of Nevisian girls, Pleasures and Perils by Debra Curtis, reveals disturbing patterns of coercion and early experimentation with sex; my book will consider contemporary conditions for women in Nevis and will offer strategies to ensure that girls have the tools they need to recognize and resist exploitation and marginalization.

Green-Throated Caribbean Hummingbird

it’s raining

Actually, it’s pouring. Good thing I went out early to get some groceries: two apples, soy milk, juice, and a mini Toblerone bar. I needed some little treat since today I plan to get ALL my grading done. I’ve got one exam left and about ten book reviews. Once grades are in I can turn my attention to my conference paper for ChLA, which is starting to take shape (in my mind, at least). I wake up visualizing the slides I plan to share, and then I sit down at the computer and my mind is filled with ideas for a new novel set in Nevis circa 1765…it’s about the two siblings who befriended Alexander Hamilton when he was a boy. The brother is thirteen, mixed-race, the emancipated son of a successful white trader; his younger half-sister is black, enslaved, and on the verge of being initiated into a secret society…

I learned yesterday that Horn Book will run a review of Ship of Souls in its summer issue. They chose a Canadian reviewer, which is interesting. She didn’t share the exuberance of The Book Smugglers, but that doesn’t really surprise me:

Elliott’s story is quick, clean, and briskly paced. Although the elements of the fantasy adventure wobble, Elliott engages some interesting content—the historic dead who lie beneath Brooklyn and Manhattan, and the three African American teens, all from different backgrounds.

It’s cold in Canada. Good thing I’m heading south…

Tomorrow I meet with Terry Boddie, a Nevisian artist who’s been giving me advice on conducting research and making art in Nevis. This morning I emailed the local radio station—there was an address specifically for “requests,” and I’m sure that meant song requests, but instead I asked for help locating listeners who might know something about my paternal grandmother. I could put an ad in the paper, too, I guess. This is new territory for me and I know I should show some restraint, but there’s been so much silence for so long…I feel like I don’t have time to ease into the past. It’s like a ship pulling away from shore. She who hesitates is lost…

expert eyes

I did my 16th school visit this morning and got soaked coming and going…came home, put on some dry, comfy clothes, and made a cup of ginger tea. Checked my email and found a Google alert that led me to The Book Smugglers fabulous joint review of Ship of Souls! Here’s a peek:

WOW. D’s journey in Ship of Souls is breathtaking in its gravity and heartache. While, from a plotting perspective, the actual story proper is a rather small, contained thing, it is not without its taste of the fantastic, drawing a portal between the current world and the ghosts of the past through the magic of a very special park and its historical significance. Do you know what I love the most about Zetta Elliott’s work? In both A Wish After Midnight and in Ship of Souls, Elliott effortlessly weaves history – a painful, grim, but true history – with fantasy. In this novel, she explores one of the first major battles of the British-American Revolutionary war. In 1776, Prospect Park (along Flatbush Ave) was the battleground for British and Hessian soldiers as they fought the Continental Army (led by George Washington) – and this iconic battle serves as a key point for the story. To do this, to add on top of the historical commentary also one that explores the issues of race, gender, and religion in contemporary Brooklyn, this is no small feat. But Zetta Elliott does it all without making the story didactic or dry, by making these threads more than just a Message or underlying theme – each of these facets of identity are a part of our main characters (D, Keem and Nyla).

You can read the entire review here. It’s one thing to have kids tell you they love your book, but it’s something else entirely to have two experts in the field of YA SFF give your book a rave review! I was in such a good mood that I didn’t even fuss when I went back out into the rain to keep an appointment I’d made with a student and he didn’t bother to show up…

Family Literacy Day

Ah…a day of rest! On Friday I wrapped up my last Harlem workshop with Behind the Book. The students had finished reading Ship of Souls, and when I asked if they had any questions, it turned out most of them wanted to know what would happen in the sequel! I should have recorded my answers to all those questions because I actually sounded like I’ve got a clear sense of the narrative. Now I just have to make time to write it! The students did a great job developing outlines for their own magical stories and, as usual, several of them asked me whether Ship of Souls would be made into a film. I could have shown them the audio version of the book, which came out last week. I received my copies in the mail but have only listened to a couple of minutes so far. I think of an audio book being a lot like a radio play, but I don’t think there are any sound effects in the reading of my novel.

Yesterday I spent most of the day in the Bronx with four other Lee & Low authors and illustrators: Tony Medina, Katie Yamasaki, Mark Weston, and G. Neri (via Skype). We had a small group of kids, parents, and educators for Family Literacy Day, but they were amazingly attentive considering our presentations lasted from 10:30am to 1pm. Then each participant got a signed copy of Bird, Honda: the Boy Who Dreamed of Cars, I & I Bob Marley, and Yummy. Lee & Low’s sales manager, Abe, did a great job organizing the event and it was nice to see families resisting the lure of a sunny Saturday in order to focus on books and art. I like meeting other authors, but meeting artists is a totally different experience—it’s a blend of awe and envy because I can write a decent story, but I can NOT paint a beautiful picture. You should see the incredible murals that Katie has made all over the world—and she’s working on another with women prisoners at Rikers Island right now. After the event ended, Katie, Tony, and I talked about the publishing industry and how easy it is for some to divorce multiculturalism from social justice. We discussed the Trayvon Martin case and the news that “minority babies” now make up the majority of births in the US. Ten years from now, will those children be able to find their mirrors in books? Not unless we continue to press for change in the publishing industry. I connected with a few allies this past week, which is just what the doctor ordered—it’s too easy to feel isolated and discouraged…

Today: rest, read (I’m halfway through Toni Morrison’s Home), write out a summary of The Deep, and then prepare for tomorrow’s school visit. Just five more to go…

home on the grange

Today I reached out to the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society—I’m planning to spend some time there during my week-long visit, and asked for help with my two writing projects: a memoir about my family, and a historical novel about life on an 18th-century sugar plantation. I understand the pride Nevisians feel when it comes to being the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton, but I’m more interested in writing about the people who didn’t go on to fame and fortune. Still, I can’t pretend the man didn’t exist, nor can I pretend it doesn’t matter that he and I share links to the islands of Nevis and Manhattan. Barbara Christian once said you have to know the facts of history in order to be freed from them, so this afternoon I visited The Grange, the only house owned and built by Hamilton in what was once the country (it took him an hour and a half to reach NYC, which was 9 miles south). The impressive house was moved to St. Nicholas Park in 2008 (the video showing that engineering feat is a must see), and now you can learn more about this founding father by watching a short film, touring the gallery, and taking a guided tour led by a National Park Ranger. It was great to show up and see a familiar face—Ranger Sean was transferred from the African Burial Ground to The Grange, and we speculated on the possibility that Hamilton might have African ancestry (though there’s no evidence of this). As I watched the film about his role in the American Revolution, I found myself wondering about Hamilton’s early life in Nevis—who were his friends? Did he become an abolitionist in later years in the US because of his affection for free or enslaved blacks in the Caribbean? Believe it or not, I already have a YA novel sketched out in my head. NOT that I have time or energy to take on yet another book project, but still. So far I’ve only found one novel about Hamilton’s childhood, and I doubt it privileges the perspective of Afro-Caribbean kids…

more, please

After my presentation up in Harlem this morning, the students actually begged their teacher for more homework—they wanted permission to read ahead in Ship of Souls! This class was selected by Behind the Book to receive copies of my novel, but they’d only read the first two chapters by the time I arrived today. Their teacher assigned the next few chapters, but the kids wanted to read up to Chapter 10 so they could find out what happened to D, Nyla, and Keem (I read from Chapter 9). By the time I finished my presentation, the kids were so excited I could barely hear myself think! And my voice was giving out…doing five school visits a week in addition to teaching my own courses is just too much, I think. On Thursday, by the time I got to my third and final class of the day, I actually taught sitting down. I never do that! It reduces the overall energy level of the class, but I was simply too tired to stand. I gave my students an in-class writing assignment and then graded some of their papers until it was time to reconvene. I don’t have the energy to teach public school—nor the patience. Last Monday I had a small class of about a dozen students, but two of the boys just wouldn’t stop talking—one even cursed while reciting a rap. I was waiting for their TWO teachers to rein the boys in, but it didn’t happen. If they’re disruptive again next Monday, I might ask for the students to be removed from the room. It’s not a long-term solution, but I’m only there for 40 minutes—I can’t help the kids who actually want to write poetry if the two that don’t are raising hell. Then today I was just starting my presentation when a boy raised his hand and asked to see the copy of BIRD I was holding in my hand. I gave it to him but asked that he not read it during my presentation. He ignored my request, of course, but I later learned from the teacher that that particular boy has *never* expressed interest in a book before. HE is the reluctant reader I’m hoping to reach with my writing. Maybe on Monday I better arrive at that other school armed with more copies of my books. If those two boys don’t want to write, maybe I can get them to read…

blessed

When I’m not feeling tired and overwhelmed by the many demands of May (8 school visits down, 11 to go), I would say I’ve been feeling quite blessed as of late. I got the Canada Arts Council grant last month, and then learned yesterday that I will receive a faculty development grant from my college. That means I *will* be heading to South Carolina this summer so that I can do the research required to FINISH Judah’s Tale. All I have to do now is finish the semester—two teaching days left, then exams…

I’ve booked my train ticket to Boston for this year’s Children’s Literature Association conference at Simmons College. Imagine my surprise when I checked the program and discovered that one of my novels is the subject of another presenter’s paper! Mary J. Couzelis will present “Confronting Whiteness in the Past and Present: A Wish After Midnight” on Thursday morning. My train arrives at 10am so I may not make it to the conference in time to catch her paper—but how exciting! And no doubt due to the fact that Michelle Martin, president of ChLA, wrote about Wish in her membership letter last fall…

Lastly, it’s that time of year again—the New Voices contest is underway. Visit the Lee & Low website for more information—and submit!

I just met a girl named Maria…

I’m not a big fan of musical theater and I’ve never actually seen West Side Story, but I caught a glimpse of the film version last month on PBS. And that song just came to mind because today when I was signing books at the BPL, a young woman wearing the hijab came up to me and said, “I really loved this book because everything that Hakeem feels is just what I feel, too! Because he’s Muslim and so am I.” I told her how much that meant to me, but I’m not sure I was able to fully convey my meaning and there was a long line of kids behind her waiting to have their books signed. I won’t start gushing about the Brooklyn Public Library, but this is yet another program that serves the kids in my community—50 kids got a copy of Ship of Souls, and then they came in to hear my author talk and have their books signed. And they were SO ready to talk about the book! I started off with Bird and they kept finding connections to Ship of Souls. There were dozens of hands up in the air by the time I finished my talk, but we only had time for three or four questions. The teachers told me that the entire sixth grade had read the book, and I’ll be going to their school next month to meet everyone else. There’s nothing like seeing kids excited about reading! And, of course, one girl raised her hand and asked, “Will you write a book about us?” I told her that I wrote about Brooklyn and my own neighborhood so that kids like her would see themselves on the page. And half a dozen boys asked when the book will be made into a film. I told them that I had sent the book to Spike Lee (no response so far) and assured them that Nyla’s book was underway…

I’ve received some photos of my visit to North Kipling JMS in Toronto—love this shot of our wide-ranging discussion over pizza in the library. So interesting to discuss 9/11 with kids who weren’t even born in 2001…

try, try again

For the month of May you can get 100 titles on Amazon for $3.99 or less! And I’m happy to announce that Ship of Souls is included in this great promotion. I did three school presentations today, and a librarian at one school held up her copy of SoS and asked, “Is this a true story? It feels so real!” She also said she’ll never see Prospect Park the same way now that she’s read about the nether beings…

Jen Doll has followed up her all-white list of greatest girl characters in YA with another article on “The Ongoing Problem of Race in YA.” I sent her an email after the first piece ran, and others must have shared their concerns as well because she did her homework this time:

It is a sad truth that each girl in my recent list of “The Greatest Girl Characters of All Time” are white. It shouldn’t be that way—but those are the books most of us of a certain age (and class and race) read growing up. The black characters we did get in our books were often peripheral, or were caricatures—or possibly, made to stand as a statement, to educate, to teach a diversity lesson. The latter is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a bad thing if it’s the only way races other than white are portrayed, and continues to be so.

My own essay on the relationship between the murder of Trayvon Martin and racism in children’s publishing is now up on The Huffington Post. Visit your local bookstore and see how many books YOU can find that feature a black male protagonist…

listen up

Having a quiet morning in Toronto—as usual, it’s freezing outside but it IS sunny and I’ve been having a pretty great visit so far. I had to run through the airport to catch my flight on Thursday, but my cousin’s wedding was lovely and I got a chance to catch up with relatives I haven’t seen in a while. The next day I had a full-day visit at North Kipling Junior Middle School and it was absolutely fantastic—I gave six presentations to 18 classes, and had a pizza lunch in the library with 8 students and three educators. I even had three boys who shadowed me all day and solved any technical glitches that came up. I’m always a little anxious when I present before Canadian students because I’m never sure whether my presentation will resonate with them—I write about the US and I know NYC kids really well, but the kids in Toronto are different (only two students raised their hands when I asked who Coretta Scott King was). My first presentation was to a cafeteria filled with seven classes of 7th and 8th grade students. They were SO quiet, maybe even a little timid. I finished the presentation thinking that I’d bombed, but as I walked through the halls later, many of the students waved and smiled and said hello. One senior student in my lunch group said she had been really inspired by my talk, and the other classes were responsive and engaged. And the teachers! I always say that being around teachers feels like being around family; I was raised by two teachers and I’m an educator myself, and I have SO much respect for the men and women who get up every day with a mission to change kids’ lives. I met the district superintendent (who’s a big fan of BIRD) and she recalled sharing Ezra Jack Keats’ books with her own children when they were young because she wanted them to be exposed to children of color. The school principal is determined to integrate the curriculum instead of only inviting black authors during the month of February (YES!). And I owe the entire experience to the vice-principal, Ms. Reid, who “met” me online a couple of years ago and didn’t give up when her efforts to bring me into her previous school didn’t work out. ONE determined educator can make such a difference…

The audio edition of Ship of Souls will be released in May, and I’ve been given permission to share this photo of Benjamin L. Darcie—the man responsible for giving D, Nyla, and Hakeem a voice! I admit that I’m a little anxious—and jealous. I’m used to reading the book to kids myself and I’ve learned how to add certain dramatic flourishes to keep them on the edge of their seat. But Mr. Darcie is a professional actor, so I’m going to trust that he’s better able than I am to bring these characters to life. It would have been cool to hear actual teens reading the book, but maybe that’s a project teachers can develop in their classrooms. I still haven’t done a trailer for Ship of Souls, and goodness knows I’ve got enough on my plate already without taking that on, too. Yet spending the day in Etobicoke made me want to come “home” for a while—just for a few weeks so I can get to know these kids and then write a book just for them. A book set in *their* city, with a cast that reflects the incredible diversity of Toronto. I read Nalo Hopkinson’s The Chaos last week and would love to hear what other folks think of it. It’s great to finally have a spec fic novel for teens that’s set in contemporary Canada and features an all-black cast…