Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 77

just us

On March 29th I had the chance to share Ship of Souls with students from the Jackie Robinson School in Crown Heights; they were invited to attend the youth program of the National Black Writers Conference held at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. Cheryl Willis Hudson and Wade Hudson (authors and publishers of Just Us Books) were wonderful hosts and emcees, and the kids were great, too! Unfortunately, I had to dash back to work and so I missed Jerry Craft's presentation, but I'm sure he wowed the crowd.

soon come

To celebrate the end of this ridiculously hectic month, I'm having a day of silence. I also subscribed to HBO in order to watch the second season of Game of Thrones, which airs tomorrow night—at the same time as Masterpiece Theatre's adaptation of Great Expectations! I devoured novels by Dickens when I was in high school, but I also wrote my senior thesis on The Mists of Avalon…and Game of Thrones reminds me of my teenage passion for all things medieval. It also makes me wish they had hired a woman director for at least some of the episodes—maybe then we could avoid the gratuitous female nudity and "rutting" scenes. For every powerful queen there are at least five naked whores prancing around the castle/brothel/tent. It did end with dragons, though, which is what made me sign up for season 2. Yes, they were all perched on the naked body of a white-blonde white woman, and yes, the only women of color in the show are cast as "savages" who dance naked around an open fire…but I'm hooked. If I can grade twenty more papers, then watching Game of Thrones tomorrow night will be my reward.

I only have two school visits lined up for April, and I'm looking forward to getting back into my usual routine over spring break. I went to the park and the garden yesterday and was amazed to see some cherry trees and magnolias in full bloom and others dropping their white/pink petals already. I almost missed the arrival of spring! Definitely need to slow down a bit.

Ebony Mom Politics recommends Ship of Souls for parents looking to ward off spring break boredom:

My kids will be on spring break soon and by Day 3 I will hear this familiar phrase, "I'm bored." To cure that boredom I am going to let them read Ship of Souls by Zetta Elliott. This novel details the journey of D (Dmitri) an orphaned math whiz, Hakeem, a basketball star and Nyla a spunky Army brat. Their paths intersect when D becomes a tutor for Hakeem who only has eyes for Nyla. In this fantastical tale D meets a magic bird who has the ability to morph into all sorts of things, but the bird has a specific mission for the trio that will ultimately change their lives. This urban fantasy is centered around Brooklyn, and it is exciting to watch them navigate in search of their own truth. This sometimes frightening tale will keep the reader on pins and needles as they watch the trio walk toward their destiny. It successfully combines African history with modern day mystery. The beauty of this story is it is a learning experience and an adventure. I also love that the fact that the reader also gets the opportunity to reflect on the tale with a series of thought-provoking questions at the end. This is a great read for adults and kids alike.

Ship of Souls also got a nice review over at Finding Wonderland. Thoughtful reviews are always appreciated, but critiques by fellow authors are especially meaningful:

Dmitri, or D, is a great narrator—he's a smart kid who's trying to muddle along and be strong in the wake of his mother's death, but that's hard to do when your world has turned upside down and you're living with a foster mother. Endearingly, he wants to do everything right, and he really is a good guy, but he still feels set apart from his classmates at his new school. The two new friends he makes couldn't be more different from one another—Hakeem is a Muslim basketball star D is tutoring in math, and Nyla is a worldly-wise, mouthy military brat who hangs out with the self-confessed "freaks". But they quickly forge a bond when they're drawn into D's adventure. I loved that both Hakeem and Nyla are as multicultural as you can get, from diverse families, but in a way that was still realistic rather than seeming forced. I also liked D's foster mother Mrs. Martin, although I kind of wished she'd had a bigger part somehow.

Lastly, have you signed up for The Book Smugglers' newsletter? I was asked to write something for their April issue, and we'll be giving away five copies of Ship of Souls—so sign up!

tea & sympathy

Grading. Grading on the subway. Grading while on line at the burrito place. Grading before going to bed and again first thing in the morning. Sigh. I took a stack of papers with me to France but didn't make much progress, in part because I got off the plane with a cold. The south of France is lovely but French culture doesn't really work for me: I don't drink or smoke, I hate baguette, I'm not crazy about little dogs, and I can't eat cheese. Sitting at a packed outdoor cafe doesn't appeal to this solitary Scorpio, and so when I first arrived on Wednesday, I actually wished I could speed up the clock. I don't like to travel alone, and as a woman—and a woman of color—with only limited French, I felt insecure in Aix-en-Provence (though I generally found the people to be friendlier than Parisians). It's a pretty town (photo above is Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur d'Aix) but it seems people mostly go there to shop, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. I got some ibuprofen and vitamin C from the pharmacy and spent the first couple of nights recuperating at the hotel. Then Laura arrived on Friday and everything changed—I had a running buddy! A sounding board. A friend. I'm not a big talker but whenever Laura and I get together, we find endless issues to discuss: teaching, grading, the pros and cons of being in the academy, the pros and cons of US & UK publishing, immigration, ambition, relationships. And the conference itself, of course, which was interesting and really well organized. I think both our papers were well received, and we met some interesting people, including American graphic artist/illustrator/professor John Jennings whose hotel room was right across from ours. We ate at Chez Grandmere Friday night and had "authentic Provencale cuisine." The next day we checked out the local bookstores, ambled through the outdoor market, and had pizza in a candlelit, cobble-stoned corner of Aix. We shared our family histories and projected where we'd be in five years. John requires students in his hip hop visuals class to come up with a tag—"What would yours be?" I woke up this morning trying to answer that question. I think I've settled on "bittersweet" or "bittasweet," though it's probably not wise to pick a tag that can be reduced to "b.s." This morning I was at the central branch of the BPL listening to the amazing poetry my two middle school classes created. During our second workshop I asked them to circle ten words that represented the essence of a special memory. A tag is sort of like your essence—if you had to reduce yourself to ONE word, what would it be? I thought about "scribe" but that seemed too one-dimensional. I like bittersweet because it represents contradiction but also balance. In my third workshop with the students I asked them to make two lists: words others would use to describe them, and words they would use to describe themselves. "Sweet" isn't a word that would appear on either of my lists, but I like "bittasweet" because there's at least a little sugar in me…though these days I'm so stressed out that I'm consuming more sugar than I really need. While I was in France I got thirty emails a day, including two stressful surprises: the book I plan to write about African American YA speculative fiction is going to be announced later this spring at another conference (never mind that I haven't actually finished the proposal), and the editors of an anthology on urban children's literature asked me to contribute a chapter (by June). Trouble is, I haven't had any time just to write for myself and that's why the "bitter" is threatening to overwhelm the "sweet" in me. I don't even have time to record all the details of my time in France. I made a dozen mental notes but can't remember half of them now: sugar cubes in the shape of hearts, Lionel Richie's "Hello" and the theme from Flashdance playing on the shuttle bus radio, a thin sliver of a moon in a starless sky. On the flight back to NYC I watched Puss 'n Boots and (when I wasn't laughing my head off) nearly wept at some of the coloring—I remember seeing a Maxfield Parrish exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum and having a similar reaction. How do you capture the color of a child's dream? Do illustrations teach us how to dream? I need to write but can't afford to let myself drift. Not until spring break. I had tea with a friend this afternoon and she reminded me that there is a time to "frolic" and a time to work. What matters most is that you apply yourself fully to every task, trusting that you will be changed by the experience. I think that's what worries me…

au revoir

I woke up feeling ready for this day—my suitcase was packed, my lessons were in order. My flight leaves at 7pm, and I will be heading to the airport just as soon as I administer the midterm in my third and final class of the day. Then I noticed I had a voicemail message so I listened to it before class #1 started and learned that my great aunt passed away earlier this morning in Nevis. I only met my Aunt Maudie once because I've only been to Nevis once before…but she was the matriarch of a large family, and will be sorely missed, I'm sure. I'm planning to return to Nevis this spring and hoped to press her for information about my grandmother, her older sister. Now I'm wondering if I can find a way to wire some money before heading to the airport and on to France. My older brother is adopted, and Maudie is his biological mother—we've no way to reach him. I feel like I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can't do much while I'm at work, and can't do anything really while I'm abroad. Spending all this money to attend this conference and could have bought a ticket to Nevis instead…anyway. Must press on. Will try to blog a bit while I'm in Aix…

pruning

I have finally got my conference paper down to 12 pages! Unfortunately, in my effort to include as many quotes from my interviewees as possible, I cut a really strong passage and *forgot* to paste it into the footnotes. Crap. In that passage I analyzed a troubling review Ship of Souls received from a Canadian bookseller—and one of her critiques was the "unnecessary" inclusion of crude language ("crap" and "pissed off"). I use crap in order to avoid using "sh**"—which is what lots of kids use every day. But that was a minor issue for me. I had more of a problem with her description of Hakeem as "a stereotypical black jock." She did note that he was Muslim, but made no mention of the fact that he's biracial (Senegalese father, Bangladeshi mother), that he's determined to graduate from high school AND college despite his athletic ability, and that he dreams of becoming a chef and opening his own restaurant someday. If he really is a stereotype, I'd love for this reviewer to list the other books that feature a kid like Keem. She couldn't, of course, (especially not in Canada, where there are NO books about contemporary black boys) which was the point I was trying to make in my paper. Bad reviews are part of life for an author; generally we read them, fume a bit, and move on. But when there are only two review journals for children's literature in the country, you really need those reviewers to be on point.

I wanted to say something in my conference paper about the competency of reviewers—cultural competency, which for the most part has nothing to do with race. As I tried to explain to the editor of the journal that ran the review, I'm not qualified to teach Black Studies because I'm black—I'm qualified b/c I've been trained in the field. And several other reviewers—white and black—have noted that the cast of kids in SoS is remarkably diverse. They note that, I think, because they've read enough speculative fiction and African American kidlit to know just what's stereotypical and what's not. Queer kids of color don't often see themselves reflected in MG/YA lit, so my choice to have Nyla question her sexuality was deliberate; this particular reviewer felt the "odd reference to lesbianism" was "unnecessary to the story." But this was the comment that stunned me:

…Canadian children will have to do some quick double think to incorporate the views of the American Revolution presented here in which their ancestors are clearly portrayed as the enemy of the brave Americans.

I still don't know how to process this remark. Is the reviewer saying that Canadian children will feel conflicted because they'll conjure British loyalists while reading the book? There are no references to the British in my novel—in fact, the patriot ghosts recount fending off German soldiers (Hessians). So what's the problem? And I have to wonder which Canadian children she's worried about. I seriously doubt that black children in Canada would read this story and experience anxiety around their loyalty to the Crown. There were black loyalists, of course, but I doubt that's what she's talking about. I suspect this reviewer worries that WHITE Canadian children will be unable to identify with the African American protagonists, and will therefore align themselves with the whites who aren't even present in the novel—the British. Good grief. This reviewer gave Ship of Souls two stars out of four, yet still declared it "recommended." Thanks.

Other African Canadian authors made more concise statements about the issue of race and reviews, so I'll focus on them in my paper. Which it's time to get back to…

National Black Writers Conference

remix at the mall

R. Gregory Christie is an exceptional artist and a wonderful person—please take a moment to learn more about this exciting new project: a store/studio with a focus on kids, books, and art! You can learn about his fundraising efforts at Kickstarter . Here's a description of the project in Greg's own words:

After doing children's books for over fifteen years, I have decided to take my passion for history and culture to the next level.

I am opening up a bookstore and gift shop in Decatur, Georgia (inside of North Dekalb Mall). Although the lease is signed as of a few days ago, the store will officially open up in April. It will feature my children's books along with tangible handmade products for sale. It's my desire to make the space as appealing as the trendiest sneaker store, but instead of the newest gadget or latest $30,000 pair of sneakers, I want to have a heavy focus on books.

I will use this space as a live painting studio to work on children's books and canvases but I will also coordinate weekend workshops to be held right inside of the mall.  Everything from quilt making to dj-ing , the focus is to make people of all ages appreciative of their inner artist and to give the many teens walking around the complex something to do.

Consider it a store, my own personal passion, and a community space. However, Georgia has quite an expensive process to open a small business. Although I have covered many of the costs, I'd like to make the space stunning. So I humbly reach out to you, hoping that you'll be willing to be a part of this as a well wisher, sponsor, or promoter.

Learn more about Kickstarter's all or nothing sponsorship.

Thanks in advance!R. Gregory Christie

www.gas-art.com

THE ELEVENTH NATIONAL BLACK WRITERS CONFERENCE

I'll be presenting on March 29th in the Youth Program…

THE ELEVENTH NATIONAL BLACK WRITERS CONFERENCE HONORS NIKKI GIOVANNI, ISHMAEL REED,

DR. HOWARD DODSON AND NGŨGĨ WA THIONG'O

MYRLIE EVERS-WILLIAMS, HONORARY CHAIR

The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, will host the Eleventh National Black Writers Conference (NBWC) on Thursday, March 29 through Sunday, April 1, 2012, on the college campus at 1650 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. Centered around the theme "The Impact of Migration, Popular Culture, and the Natural Environment in the Literature of Black Writers," the 2012 Conference will honor literary and cultural icons Kenyan-born writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o; poet, novelist, essayist, and publisher Ishmael Reed; poet Nikki Giovanni; and Dr. Howard Dodson, former director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Hailed by best-selling author Walter Mosley as "the most significant gathering of Black writers in the country," the NBWC is the only gathering of its kind in North America. "Black writers and artists are natural cultural explorers and investigators," said Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Director of the National Black Writers Conference and Executive Director of the Center for Black Literature. "Their works reveal the importance of memory on our concepts of self and family; examine the impact of popular culture on our personal lives, belief systems, and traditions; and chronicle the effects of our actions on our natural environment. They use the power of words and the literary arts to stir our imaginations." Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams, Honorary Chair of the Conference, reminds us that "Perhaps one of the most powerful things that we have as human beings is not only the spoken word, but the written word that lasts forever."

Black Writers Conference

Highlights of this year's Conference will include a poetry presentation by South African Poet Laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile; a conversation with author and broadcaster Tavis Smiley; and a roundtable discussion and critical response to Manning Marable's Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention with Haki Madhubuti, Herb Boyd, Ron Daniels, and Michael Simanga. This year's Conference will also devote a day to film screenings by Black filmmakers. "Films are our words in motion; every film begins with the written word. There are many films that are adapted from books to begin with, so to include them in the Conference is a natural and organic evolution," added Dr. Greene.

Since its inception in 1986, the National Black Writers Conference has consistently attracted a stellar roster of writers and scholars who have been featured in panel and roundtable discussions; youth and elder writers' workshops; talkshops on fiction, poetry and drama; film screenings; and author readings and book signings. Confirmed participants for 2012 NBWC four-day lineup include authors, poets, and publishers such as Haki Madhubuti, Sterling Plumpp, Tavis Smiley, Herb Boyd, Patricia Smith, Camille Dungy, Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, Nnedi Okorafor, Lita Hooper, the Rev. Conrad Tillard, William Jelani Cobb, Tony Medina, Maulana Karenga, Teju Cole, Bernice L. McFadden, Elizabeth Nunez, Karen Hunter, Sofia Quintero, Keli Goff, and Joan Morgan, among others.

Ishmael Reed, on speaking as to why we need to continue to present National Black Writers Conferences, recounts, "In 2009, I published a story that was translated from the first Alaskan language to become extinct in the previous year. This is what happens to a culture that loses to the inexorable forces of assimilation…. The National Black Writers Conference at Medgar Evers College is needed and is more than a gathering of scholars and writers; it is a meeting of resisters."

This year's Conference has received major funding from the National Endowment for the Arts; Con Edison, Barnes & Noble Inc., New-York Historical Society, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, New York Council for the Humanities, CUNY Office of Collaborative Programs, Office of the Provost, Medgar Evers College, CUNY, and Hachette Book Group.

For media credentials and/or to schedule interview requests, contact Joy Doss at East West PR, 646-489-4432, joy@eastwestpr.net. For further information about the National Black Writers Conference, for updates and pre-conference programs, call 718-804-8883 or visit the Conference website at http://www.nationalblackwritersconfer....

About the National Black Writers Conference

Sponsored by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, the National Black Writers Conference (NBWC) provides emerging and established writers, literary scholars, critics, agents, publishers and booksellers, as well as the general public, with a forum to share the writing published by Black writers, discuss the trends and themes in Black literature, and identify the major issues and challenges faced by Black writers and those in the business of reading, publishing, and selling Black literature.

Initially inspired by the late John Oliver Killens, the Conference has been held at Medgar Evers College since 1986. John Oliver Killens was a writer-in-residence and professor at Medgar Evers College from 1981 to 1987. The first NBWC held at Medgar Evers College, a year before Killens's death on October 27, 1987, focused on the social responsibility of the Black writer. Each subsequent Conference was built on the previous one, attracting a national and international audience. The Conference is currently held biennially; on alternate years, literary symposia are held.

About the Center for Black Literature

Founded in 2003, and spearheaded by Dr. Brenda M. Greene, the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, was established to expand, broaden, and enrich the general public's knowledge and aesthetic appreciation of the value of black literature; to continue the tradition and legacy of the National Black Writers Conference; to serve as a voice, mecca, and resource for Black writers; and to study the literature of people from the African Diaspora. It is the only Center devoted to this in the country.

###

remix

Yesterday was not my best teaching day. I try to let my students express themselves in class, and I try to listen patiently even when problematic ideas are coming out of their mouths. After all, the point is to figure out where they're starting from—what they know now so that we can try to move forward together. I'm usually ok if they disagree with me on something—so long as they can back it up. But when we're talking about sensitive issues (like homosexuality) I find I sometimes lose my patience. Yesterday was one of those days. I knew we had fifteen minutes left in class and I didn't want to "go there" when it was clear that this one particular student wasn't ready to reconsider her position. So I left her there and moved on. Didn't feel good about it, but I had another class to teach and a faculty film group to facilitate after that…and there will be opportunities later in the semester to revisit the subject. I got back to my office after the faculty group wrapped up and another student from that class had sent me this email:

Good afternoon Professor Elliot, I'm _____ from your noon class on Tuesday and Thursday and I just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying this class. I almost didn't sign up for it but I'm happy i did. You are a excellent professor and I'm really learning more in this class than my others. By the way this Isn't sucking up or anything I'm just showing that i have interest in your class.

Sounds like sucking up to me, but you know what? I really needed to hear that yesterday! Attendance in my morning class was down by about a third, and I couldn't help but wonder if students skipped class because they didn't want to talk about homosexuality. I need to do better. And I'll try, though this semester is proving to be much harder than I thought. On Monday I got this sweet email from a former student, which reminded me of the long-term impact great teaching can have:

I am SO happy to hear you are still teaching and showing some of the materials you used for us at MHC; I really cannot even begin to tell you how much your courses continue to help me. It is really crazy to see how so many students have never spoken about or taken any classes on race relations in the US or on Black studies/Black history at an education school like ____ of all places; so, I find myself longing for and appreciating the work we did in your courses at MHC all the time. I am using so many of the readings from both of your courses, particularly from the Black Studies Reader, Tricia Rose articles, and poems from Amiri Baraka to conduct a literature review on work regarding ethnic studies courses, hip hop collegians, and language (particularly signifying–to this day, the most fascinating thing I ever learned, so thank you!) Please stay in touch and let your students know just how incredibly fortunate they are to have you as their Professor. Best of luck with the launch of your new book!

So tomorrow I'll put on my new school marm dress and try to get it right. I did learn yesterday that I got a travel grant to help pay for my trip to France, so I'm going to focus on the positive and keep pressing on…

highlights

Thanks to everyone who came out today to celebrate the launch of Ship of Souls! My amazing friends and family members did all the work so that I could enjoy the moment, and the party was a success—I gave a talk in the theater, read from the book, three lucky raffle winners won books, and then we went into the multipurpose room for refreshments. I'm so grateful to everyone at the African Burial Ground National Monument for allowing us to hold our event at the site. As Ranger Cyrus Forman pointed out in his introduction, people have been leaving offerings at the burial ground since the 17th century, and Ship of Souls is simply the latest offering to the ancestors…