another new blog

"Be your own example." That's what my friend Gabrielle told me to do when I started complaining about not having any 30-something black feminist role models a few years ago. It would be so much easier if you could just point at someone and say, "I want a life like hers," but every woman has her own ambition and her own path to follow—I'm still searching for mine. I named Rosetta Press after my paternal grandmother; I bear her name and yet know very little about her. Last month I was giving advice to a young writer on redesigning her blog; last night it was my turn to follow my own advice, and I scoured my apartment for colors and textures and images that represent my imprint. This is as close as I could get: a painted map of Nevis, the Caribbean island where my father was born; a photograph of my grandfather (who refused to tell me anything about Rosetta, whom he never married); the wedding photo of my aunt (who has no memories of her mother, having been raised by another couple); the two cowrie shells I found on the streets of Brooklyn; my father's passport from when he was a teen and a British subject; and my favorite piece of fabric, which is a beautiful sari my cousin brought me from Bangladesh. I took a dozen photos and couldn't decide which was best, so the header changes every time you change the page…