tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-340363332024-03-06T23:37:20.279-06:00Sisters~Nineties Literary GroupSisters~Nineties is a literary group for people of Afrikan descent. We produce a literary review three times annually. The publication includes poetry, essays, book reviews, and short stories by writers of Afrikan descent. Book discussions and writing workshops are conducted each month in St. Louis, Missouri.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-66907702946759243132009-01-12T12:52:00.003-06:002009-01-12T13:16:48.752-06:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">WELCOME, 2009!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The annual Sisters~Nineties Kwanzaa celebration was wrapped in our former method of observance. Visit our website at <a href="http://web.mac.com/mywriteword">http://web.mac.com/mywriteword</a> to view the photographs of our special affair--teeming with positive energy, poetry, remembering, recommitment, elders and children, books, recitations, and music.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Peace,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">D.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-23924714411758733082008-10-16T06:21:00.005-05:002009-01-12T12:52:00.125-06:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; ">October UPDATE</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;">All is well and there have been several major changes with Sisters~Nineties Literary Group (S~NLG). S~NLG now has a web site that includes pages of the Yari Yari Writers' activities and poetry. We are at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/web.mac.com/mywriteword">web.mac.com/mywriteword</a>.<br /><br />As many know, our grassroots literary review ended with the 2007 Kwanzaa edition. After 18 years bedtime arrived. No regrets. My rewards came with each edition when at least one person would say that they learned something new of our African past in reading the publication.<br /><br />A new addition to the scope of Yari Yari is the Internet radio program "We Are the Future" on WRBG. WRBG is our host station manned by the dynamic Brothas Keepa in Memphis, Tennessee. N'Dea Collins-Whitfield hosts "We Are the Future." This 14-year-old Yari Yari writer has been with the group since she was seven years old. For seven years we have watched her develop into a wonderful writer. N'Dea recently completed her chapbook <span style="font-style: italic;">Trying to Become--</span>a lovely collection<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>of poetry and art she has created. If you want to know what's on the mind and in the heart of teens with missions, you will discover that and more reading N'Dea's chapbook.<br /><br />The final major change with our literary group is the 2008 Sisters~Nineties Annual Kwanzaa Celebration. We have decided to return to our original format from those early days in Madrid, Spain. Those were far less commercial--much more intimate. Friends of S~NLG will receive invitations to our observance at the beginning of December. More than likely we will post photographs on the web site from our 19th annual Kwanzaa observance.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Peace,<br />D.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-3993844174701617882008-01-29T20:46:00.000-06:002008-01-31T12:39:40.807-06:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGN2iE7X_VrFK3I-1GRxyYwbDex1TxvDBPsxA0bZgdSa74ZVJUcNm7lWjC7hI2PvZaGcnsdem71tlSM05PdHXr-wq-55tGpf6g7ARV-e_gblI-HwyRyCDt9qds-HOn4k9lAZBl/s1600-h/Sentchaas-41.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGN2iE7X_VrFK3I-1GRxyYwbDex1TxvDBPsxA0bZgdSa74ZVJUcNm7lWjC7hI2PvZaGcnsdem71tlSM05PdHXr-wq-55tGpf6g7ARV-e_gblI-HwyRyCDt9qds-HOn4k9lAZBl/s400/Sentchaas-41.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161708088122440338" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">BEYOND THE DREAM TO THE MOUNTAINTOP<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">S~NLG presents </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-size:100%;">as readers theatre </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />"I've Been to the Mountaintop"<br />by </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. </span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />directed by Fannie Belle Lebby<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRIZ0X5pNCOySBu0hWCBtw8BhSIOEdWFK6Cr09L3PBFXOohLSm2VOAe8J3zQbPgBbQTL9u0aIMqU-stC9Vzlm1IPcB3Ys4AQxalk19twKJ8kjZVYTtBv8rh_yu3em3IxzxG3mb/s1600-h/Manish+Mekessa-21.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRIZ0X5pNCOySBu0hWCBtw8BhSIOEdWFK6Cr09L3PBFXOohLSm2VOAe8J3zQbPgBbQTL9u0aIMqU-stC9Vzlm1IPcB3Ys4AQxalk19twKJ8kjZVYTtBv8rh_yu3em3IxzxG3mb/s400/Manish+Mekessa-21.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161102446194096418" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUgn87CQO02a_qb6pSUad1Xqjlwk05zYa_WYaxUYmJJjBb3XuftoVNYrNbF6nuWB9fmAsMnbjZZ7Z8WbSKzLy6I5BV1S6bqYujSBJtIefbnTN4FIXB58JwWOdbA7OWdNoJelf/s1600-h/Manish+Mekessa-20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUgn87CQO02a_qb6pSUad1Xqjlwk05zYa_WYaxUYmJJjBb3XuftoVNYrNbF6nuWB9fmAsMnbjZZ7Z8WbSKzLy6I5BV1S6bqYujSBJtIefbnTN4FIXB58JwWOdbA7OWdNoJelf/s400/Manish+Mekessa-20.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161105306642315634" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />musical accompaniment by Dennis Lebby</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZgKTFEjaIXa7glKZiz-eaXUMgMLTG6CuPpjFaN5M5bLa8p2gPxQXDyYhAFKp9CbHEooedsS140Q5e3lKc11Kj4mqCB5qUl-iHxhKchVQYhRP7tBH7PYwx1zKFPyZK-sggBLv/s1600-h/Kiarra+Inquisitive-31.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZgKTFEjaIXa7glKZiz-eaXUMgMLTG6CuPpjFaN5M5bLa8p2gPxQXDyYhAFKp9CbHEooedsS140Q5e3lKc11Kj4mqCB5qUl-iHxhKchVQYhRP7tBH7PYwx1zKFPyZK-sggBLv/s400/Kiarra+Inquisitive-31.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161102437604161794" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CKaFobGAe1kmrROYrc-3soDv58kqBoB1SOKkLRiBi2-bgipjxENGnN4_XtznyfJaeyXQwqtn3jEragLDYSVPY1o6XFCk34mz0nOuieNABLGk9jIE7GqgqWEbIND4hZjjEr34/s1600-h/Manish+Mekessa-25.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CKaFobGAe1kmrROYrc-3soDv58kqBoB1SOKkLRiBi2-bgipjxENGnN4_XtznyfJaeyXQwqtn3jEragLDYSVPY1o6XFCk34mz0nOuieNABLGk9jIE7GqgqWEbIND4hZjjEr34/s400/Manish+Mekessa-25.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161102441899129106" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhQW2AVnOorXo_J2xy4Y0IaY8QtV6rxAvidxtUWRnShWLx7scKUdMDofNLk-EYEJpt_1MTN8OUbzUjjxkUaR3i3WPM6rZ1-w6kNLyDwc486vxbcwBaMAITpPlUsQfnwN-NsdZ/s1600-h/David+A+N+Jackson-34.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhQW2AVnOorXo_J2xy4Y0IaY8QtV6rxAvidxtUWRnShWLx7scKUdMDofNLk-EYEJpt_1MTN8OUbzUjjxkUaR3i3WPM6rZ1-w6kNLyDwc486vxbcwBaMAITpPlUsQfnwN-NsdZ/s400/David+A+N+Jackson-34.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161102450489063746" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br />The performance featured Antoinette Crayton, Chris Hayden,<br />D. Morrowloving, and Bush Ra. <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />All photographs from rehearsals and performance are by Wilma Potts.</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nADVI8RcwOroETczpyMLkEkNOTvhuB_N8fcExyLmRy5WqLRa8qO3pSAE9agNkVU951qWxk0WlyejPauAlC5wtXMcWfULNVUEkUABasyzH7BIHIfA0JD4-8AJkTjmCVKG-abh/s1600-h/Mother+Wraps+Hair-35.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nADVI8RcwOroETczpyMLkEkNOTvhuB_N8fcExyLmRy5WqLRa8qO3pSAE9agNkVU951qWxk0WlyejPauAlC5wtXMcWfULNVUEkUABasyzH7BIHIfA0JD4-8AJkTjmCVKG-abh/s400/Mother+Wraps+Hair-35.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161105315232250242" border="0" /></a>Yari Yari Writers participated in<br />BEYOND THE DREAM TO THE MOUNTAINTOP.<br />In addition to representing the April 3, 1968, Memphis audience,<br />Yari Yari Writers recited their poetry following<br />the presentation of "I've Been to the Mountaintop."<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3M1Rx2nafwey_aNRSTicw-Nucsf1nxXTIaZ6HljoDseLAGYXHOMEPd-z0qY8QdZJZzLhNLUI0HSTELTtYmYdbe1XNM6XyRPIUW6KbtG8y8iHTA20nfYDWP5PqLFwfAJ4-4Oi/s1600-h/email.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3M1Rx2nafwey_aNRSTicw-Nucsf1nxXTIaZ6HljoDseLAGYXHOMEPd-z0qY8QdZJZzLhNLUI0HSTELTtYmYdbe1XNM6XyRPIUW6KbtG8y8iHTA20nfYDWP5PqLFwfAJ4-4Oi/s400/email.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161100934365608114" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8izZi3JNto47CjDcorvzXttI209NufeLVTJOScyS_9fbVqP-FaT43U360wjbLqQXT8Ik99pH19F-jPGOAcpvAsvsB3eEEggarI09uDI1pOvPC_rNZwGDs1YYJ3rZW9RaB-3mT/s1600-h/DSCF1378.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8izZi3JNto47CjDcorvzXttI209NufeLVTJOScyS_9fbVqP-FaT43U360wjbLqQXT8Ik99pH19F-jPGOAcpvAsvsB3eEEggarI09uDI1pOvPC_rNZwGDs1YYJ3rZW9RaB-3mT/s400/DSCF1378.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161105319527217554" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkutvCnOSwp2ryRJqSNAjMCpdLhzFTEskNHnLaxlKYUtzFSP74KhbfbBaGetAlm0_EhlDyq44mcrMSZUYg44B8gObo1nEN00ak1KH65FnyC8KHziXVXep2I1TA1jUy3dWEI54/s1600-h/Three+of+Four+Generations-15.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkutvCnOSwp2ryRJqSNAjMCpdLhzFTEskNHnLaxlKYUtzFSP74KhbfbBaGetAlm0_EhlDyq44mcrMSZUYg44B8gObo1nEN00ak1KH65FnyC8KHziXVXep2I1TA1jUy3dWEI54/s400/Three+of+Four+Generations-15.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161711034470005474" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TkfkLLFv3McB0r1KJspW7VSSferKq3fC0ZBwHooMRsc_Laqy6l7vc_fn-6vs_fIWbMTtrlRLorQPwQUjXGXfu8pqXF2-TW0Ur3HmMWAjVo5vxqqzYMAz06pzqq7bADGHlcll/s1600-h/Coy+Carrie-17.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TkfkLLFv3McB0r1KJspW7VSSferKq3fC0ZBwHooMRsc_Laqy6l7vc_fn-6vs_fIWbMTtrlRLorQPwQUjXGXfu8pqXF2-TW0Ur3HmMWAjVo5vxqqzYMAz06pzqq7bADGHlcll/s400/Coy+Carrie-17.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161102450489063730" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7ZHrvyeTdLu21jxU07-weOEmFBqhYgw0PJRoUztHxLnkPHwK3-N9AY9_-U7LAXJ7nKwtx2biDVSc9RF0ALMI1qFJauAxl_AhQpddOGCKl_Hp5jE_CVlmB6qG-VZMbxLOjEgb/s1600-h/DSCF1304.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7ZHrvyeTdLu21jxU07-weOEmFBqhYgw0PJRoUztHxLnkPHwK3-N9AY9_-U7LAXJ7nKwtx2biDVSc9RF0ALMI1qFJauAxl_AhQpddOGCKl_Hp5jE_CVlmB6qG-VZMbxLOjEgb/s400/DSCF1304.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161105306642315618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5MB6l0y0Dz37c4GKzozzzXbafsPyOES7RjrxOYUA30jWdjdymbKzvJtFc2bcAafBHTa2Xd6BCE-7pcgH7mfkgRM7S_lOLgdOKV3dEsErCrmkDJ4IhsNbVLqnl4K6jHQSfHEl/s1600-h/DSCF1419.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5MB6l0y0Dz37c4GKzozzzXbafsPyOES7RjrxOYUA30jWdjdymbKzvJtFc2bcAafBHTa2Xd6BCE-7pcgH7mfkgRM7S_lOLgdOKV3dEsErCrmkDJ4IhsNbVLqnl4K6jHQSfHEl/s400/DSCF1419.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161100938660575426" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmaslCFRE5JzVjmGUhpHMeoOkniqG9K4OrzRpC7tRGHKNKq4qcxtOso6zu3o7CTvy1-eKYQ6ghmpZ9QrpxnmalhGctPt2HSfdTISAtfI1cUiit6sg8NA_meadVc_K9NCKjTTQ/s1600-h/DSCF1418.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmaslCFRE5JzVjmGUhpHMeoOkniqG9K4OrzRpC7tRGHKNKq4qcxtOso6zu3o7CTvy1-eKYQ6ghmpZ9QrpxnmalhGctPt2HSfdTISAtfI1cUiit6sg8NA_meadVc_K9NCKjTTQ/s400/DSCF1418.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161105302347348306" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKC1_uJuaJ0ZLo1N5OY-y-UkNnHfsX6KzkiHpdzN3Y5YLp2YBH-ADiFqbX-L_gjQ6fbhVrx9E88Tf_hyZYMq2lcQmzvbzusTiJwxdH9KNlBBDtEQd9qAnoPBi749J_jzqOyo4/s1600-h/Mandela-14.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKC1_uJuaJ0ZLo1N5OY-y-UkNnHfsX6KzkiHpdzN3Y5YLp2YBH-ADiFqbX-L_gjQ6fbhVrx9E88Tf_hyZYMq2lcQmzvbzusTiJwxdH9KNlBBDtEQd9qAnoPBi749J_jzqOyo4/s400/Mandela-14.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161708075237538418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxv7RyV4ctZpogD9NUwxqWyNKzQXTO4Zw5RpP67zeRc270Umuuziyt-0fT2WdmGuFi_BaJJqP81-3hWvrzP11Cv0FwDIFdJBbeCpcd7ZVvbqeUfrKFXFQuj6x2pKLfcLNm-I7/s1600-h/DSCF1380.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxv7RyV4ctZpogD9NUwxqWyNKzQXTO4Zw5RpP67zeRc270Umuuziyt-0fT2WdmGuFi_BaJJqP81-3hWvrzP11Cv0FwDIFdJBbeCpcd7ZVvbqeUfrKFXFQuj6x2pKLfcLNm-I7/s400/DSCF1380.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161100951545477346" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">About 50 people attended the performance of Dr. Martin Luther King's last speech ("I've Been to the Mountaintop") as readers theatre at the Julia Davis Branch Library in St. Louis on Sunday, January 27. Writes Marie Chewe-Elliott, "Debra, The performance was phenomenal.It was inspirational to revisit the themes of unity and economic boycotts and realize how relevant they still are to our community. I meant it when I said the show should tour. My family members loved it because it provided us another 'teaching moment' with our children."<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhlTlVb_PJwt5XC9O06wZah0rYKGHnDY49rvAf6EFXVP85xi2KyIV2BEHqX98R565hEjW9XHLptYGDtC-o2t9cXs-UpjTxxkudelZOKboLimUyDjZcC5z3iUozl2hLAnKslXW/s1600-h/D+Morrowloving-37.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhlTlVb_PJwt5XC9O06wZah0rYKGHnDY49rvAf6EFXVP85xi2KyIV2BEHqX98R565hEjW9XHLptYGDtC-o2t9cXs-UpjTxxkudelZOKboLimUyDjZcC5z3iUozl2hLAnKslXW/s400/D+Morrowloving-37.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161109219357522338" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Wilma Potts delivered a powerful "Marching with the White Folks" to close the program. Ms. Potts' photographs from BEYOND THE DREAM TO THE MOUNTAINTOP are above and below.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Asante to all who attended and those who helped promote the Sisters~Nineties program BEYOND THE DREAM TO THE MOUNTAINTOP.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwVJlCq510-74WOcDFVP7xcQ3xWK81JStWAte3YuhXrLjwvYO5rJeGG7P_TTZMQ3ypfgscubxf-wud5mg3-37l6v3j_S15WIGbwKnVbPP3sm8njNDuIBtgO0l4xNAJIJ-vP8f/s1600-h/Manish+Mekessa-23.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwVJlCq510-74WOcDFVP7xcQ3xWK81JStWAte3YuhXrLjwvYO5rJeGG7P_TTZMQ3ypfgscubxf-wud5mg3-37l6v3j_S15WIGbwKnVbPP3sm8njNDuIBtgO0l4xNAJIJ-vP8f/s400/Manish+Mekessa-23.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161711025880070850" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyL8ErPrRSspdi5ZfoqQV9dE1DOo1eKpRmlZ26jL-8OMNbZ7wAptsRKGGPouEQA_P5eS3YdxgZ4JwHb1hJMsjzbG9OKuYJPiV36-IICxoMVfRZ5prZj3K4tp8O8fjfQA9Jn8Ip/s1600-h/Housekeeping-16.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; 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display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUpY_HiyCjKMMLIdHim3ISZuLCTzUU8Fx5h42wW1kM1k7920fQyDcSHjrg_d3tVeNft5MfoRYrlp-WROHFM7s8JdlgEvNdYeEpKZMWlevhGYAXIC3REH7F4cz-WWVEHxulh65/s400/NDea+Meditative-27.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161364482148825618" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgis0CfhcbgWTzZJ8fylcUx9DN9KB95stoDV38zCM897xJ80ipqqvVQclRpNdwWM3_wLWa3f9CB4ybKrBZsfUySm-R76fa4CgqBQUrkVM54kwoccSeeHnWv2Oj1_TVCKF7CwC2z/s1600-h/Manish+Mekessa-22.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgis0CfhcbgWTzZJ8fylcUx9DN9KB95stoDV38zCM897xJ80ipqqvVQclRpNdwWM3_wLWa3f9CB4ybKrBZsfUySm-R76fa4CgqBQUrkVM54kwoccSeeHnWv2Oj1_TVCKF7CwC2z/s400/Manish+Mekessa-22.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161364490738760226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHsK0c1TP0mh3KFmzP0WINZLlj_2QONwlwmYDDhgIAPAgCZqX_LQ8lvoVEDARjhFm_059EFeJTcFhGWBZWzvo52VO1HvNEmWcrQqkL3EsU6Jrx7aj9vhWBO5O9j_gwInrCf_g/s1600-h/Sentchaas-38.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHsK0c1TP0mh3KFmzP0WINZLlj_2QONwlwmYDDhgIAPAgCZqX_LQ8lvoVEDARjhFm_059EFeJTcFhGWBZWzvo52VO1HvNEmWcrQqkL3EsU6Jrx7aj9vhWBO5O9j_gwInrCf_g/s400/Sentchaas-38.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161364495033727538" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1qrnT4BHIp_cCqY0Nvp8PEDuaO6cPDX5EK69HwKU7auYqI8TzZdUxgJJm-SCgg0GFp5PZuJLjIxGJlPCah4iGmxtku3pV0A2i9xB9aYY9GhmeBx8g4AqMdHYB8b8SniPtkRL/s1600-h/DSCF1303.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ1qrnT4BHIp_cCqY0Nvp8PEDuaO6cPDX5EK69HwKU7auYqI8TzZdUxgJJm-SCgg0GFp5PZuJLjIxGJlPCah4iGmxtku3pV0A2i9xB9aYY9GhmeBx8g4AqMdHYB8b8SniPtkRL/s400/DSCF1303.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161708096712374962" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUsUJtyV9tspWMZRlJu1Xeepkl-MRxZQzBzkYFsGhB3BqnTRT88m5xUdmD8Cp8XKVuV7Qf-F47zEaWJqQzqYxlZf1_fU6WvFSgY6J8WcgXOIQ-ZOc4Ol_5ZseqHcU7Bt8CuiE/s1600-h/Sentchaas-40.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUsUJtyV9tspWMZRlJu1Xeepkl-MRxZQzBzkYFsGhB3BqnTRT88m5xUdmD8Cp8XKVuV7Qf-F47zEaWJqQzqYxlZf1_fU6WvFSgY6J8WcgXOIQ-ZOc4Ol_5ZseqHcU7Bt8CuiE/s400/Sentchaas-40.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161364499328694850" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mjFHtXDu4JCF_Obf83RX4IQoXqHpibj0R4_EaT7kWA07JQWsnI23ZxBYYjYv6Z8tZLfgwb200O7vggWbqQN7HNkWosEsABIQYVZV541Vh61rbp55yOyDB-XiQvbWrgoGWGba/s1600-h/Mother+Wraps+Hair-36.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mjFHtXDu4JCF_Obf83RX4IQoXqHpibj0R4_EaT7kWA07JQWsnI23ZxBYYjYv6Z8tZLfgwb200O7vggWbqQN7HNkWosEsABIQYVZV541Vh61rbp55yOyDB-XiQvbWrgoGWGba/s400/Mother+Wraps+Hair-36.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161711030175038162" border="0" /></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-19415902159403092412008-01-15T10:50:00.000-06:002008-01-15T11:41:34.726-06:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Sisters~Nineties Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.</span></span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;">Dr. King delivered his last speech on April 3, 1968. He spoke in support of the Memphis sanitation workers who were on strike. In his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" oration, Dr. King emphasized the necessity of unity among the Black people of Memphis. He called for cooperative economics and named the companies from which people of Afrikan descent should withdraw patronage.<br /><br />Come out to hear the nationalistic concepts of Dr. King as members of Sisters~Nineties present "I've Been to the Mountaintop." This is the speech for which Dr. King should be best remembered.<br /><br />Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated the day following his delivery of "I've Been to the Mountaintop."<br /></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZpRMBRWjbVVvAkGndW7GrkHb3LvODT1eO_MSp_mr3g0Mb-g6SjCP9-H6FRdsWZspQn1qR6zUHgu3No7xIrhXd9TOH8zFnOVfAORkTEtl7Akt3JL-s86g0BEgSiKPgD1z1yKz/s1600-h/86Uo0Z.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZpRMBRWjbVVvAkGndW7GrkHb3LvODT1eO_MSp_mr3g0Mb-g6SjCP9-H6FRdsWZspQn1qR6zUHgu3No7xIrhXd9TOH8zFnOVfAORkTEtl7Akt3JL-s86g0BEgSiKPgD1z1yKz/s400/86Uo0Z.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155756375359841202" border="0" /></a><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-66259483394528786332007-12-02T08:32:00.001-06:002007-12-24T10:36:09.606-06:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;font-size:180%;" >Sisters~Nineties Literary Group<br />observes Kwanzaa </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;font-size:180%;" >2007</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHQI9m5ZIadcOJ-igTca1n46Qtar0W7Ajvqgxj9TEJLKBn_HxnEcS6g-ZT8qBbYwB77adL32r8YDrKVwR6SX8zo53TAg1fN5t3Ge_xl3h010fuNDpk5mqr-iD8Kr4RtPhcG6d/s1600-h/sc001b0b5b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHQI9m5ZIadcOJ-igTca1n46Qtar0W7Ajvqgxj9TEJLKBn_HxnEcS6g-ZT8qBbYwB77adL32r8YDrKVwR6SX8zo53TAg1fN5t3Ge_xl3h010fuNDpk5mqr-iD8Kr4RtPhcG6d/s400/sc001b0b5b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146022665207112514" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Asa Hilliard Night</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday, December 27, 2007, at 6 p.m.<br />Schlafly Branch Library</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">225 N. Euclid, St. Louis.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />The program begins with a sharing of information about Asa G. Hilliard, III, and the legacy he left us. We then screen a video of Hilliard's lecture "Cultural Genocide as a Tool of Armed Warfare." Discussion follows in the spirit of Kujichagulia.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Join us for ASA G. HILLIARD (Nana Baffour Amenkwatia) Night</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" >Celebrate Kwanzaa with</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" > </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" >Sisters~Nineties and Yari Yari<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLax9RWd0xAs-sfte6dBtbeMyvP9stC2kf997B3f4GVohx8K7Q8RfbpjZ6BPNXXbb_JkG3e_uGr_CrxFu6qfHssc7hJOvT8snZbNR_pQBiPpd9ctgz5jBsWNqyqIFsQRYNTwe/s1600-h/Slide1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLax9RWd0xAs-sfte6dBtbeMyvP9stC2kf997B3f4GVohx8K7Q8RfbpjZ6BPNXXbb_JkG3e_uGr_CrxFu6qfHssc7hJOvT8snZbNR_pQBiPpd9ctgz5jBsWNqyqIFsQRYNTwe/s400/Slide1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146074715915772834" border="0" /></a></div><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo by Wilma Potts / © 2007 by Wilma Potts</span><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Poetics of Ujima</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">is the title of our 2007 annual Kwanzaa program<br /></span></span><br />Friday, December 28, 2007, 6 p.m. at </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Kingdom House</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">1321 S. 11th St.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">St. Louis, Missouri</span><br /></div><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Poetry from Mama Collette, Baba Senntchaas, Marie Chewe-Elliott, Antoinette Crayton, Wilma Potts, Bush Ra, and Linda Jo Smith. Special guestis Ms. Nterpretation, who will have CDs available for purchase.<br /></span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Art exhibit features work of Linda Darnece Jones Hawkins, KUSH, Wilma Potts, </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Byron D. Rogers,</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Yari Yari visual/graphic artist </span><span style="font-style: italic;">N'Dea Collins-Whitfield</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, Rochleigh Z. Wholfe, and others</span><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span></li></ul><ul><li>Vendors include UJAMAA MAKTABA and Ken-Amen Bettis of ABORIGINALS<br /></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Light refreshments served after the program, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.</span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">This program is free and open to the public.</span></li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, community, and culture<br />for people of Afrikan descent</span> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-11609038178196031562007-10-24T07:07:00.001-05:002007-11-02T11:45:06.195-05:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HAdv00WesxTSfeMlIFoCE6LiatWSQmLeQcNz6ivTQweNASVV70_7oVXLQGEbbJSF8ksVv47fOCCg0MXrxI-FhsfOUF0tHvr0HqF6cEIz8ZUZLjzbrJct_2DtcyECXK7ZNhlL/s1600-h/DSC09467.JPG"><span style=""><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Time Is It?</span></span></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">TIME FOR THE<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >S~NLG 2007 KWANZAA FAMILY WORKSHOP: </span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:180%;">MAKING ZAWADI<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuchkXnc29-Vev2Z5XL5OIbaD89cgfT_H9yzBOfxcG3osgd7FFQr0Ej-jbQqmS1OXBe9MfIu0D51K7VQ8MZyl1x-QozStXsqx4FYQygwd1UuYCpPeOiY_fUqe-hDnrmUooX7Lz/s1600-h/DSC09466.JPG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuchkXnc29-Vev2Z5XL5OIbaD89cgfT_H9yzBOfxcG3osgd7FFQr0Ej-jbQqmS1OXBe9MfIu0D51K7VQ8MZyl1x-QozStXsqx4FYQygwd1UuYCpPeOiY_fUqe-hDnrmUooX7Lz/s400/DSC09466.JPG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124876281694272370" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">The 2nd Annual<br />S~NLG Kwanzaa Family Workshop is </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><br />Saturday, October 27, 2007<br />from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Rowan Center, 1401 Rowan<br />(one block east of Hamilton and Ridge)<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXZRy3Dh9D6-M37oeYMIBXcLLJ6W1fTNfnrjl-hj5Ip8CCNr9AvzQToHmwwLVBFMcyST4M5JHrhHZgEO5AtM12ddq67zZ3FFlhjC4RpSXUl_yLv2NywQKxz8w2wGzvIuZg7eW/s1600-h/DSC09545.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXZRy3Dh9D6-M37oeYMIBXcLLJ6W1fTNfnrjl-hj5Ip8CCNr9AvzQToHmwwLVBFMcyST4M5JHrhHZgEO5AtM12ddq67zZ3FFlhjC4RpSXUl_yLv2NywQKxz8w2wGzvIuZg7eW/s320/DSC09545.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125088633211880210" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Kwanzaa Pillows<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Is’Mima Nebt’Kata Blessing Boxes<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Kwanzaa Wrappers<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Bookmarks<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Adinkra Magnets<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Kwanzaa Coloring Pages</span></li></ul><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HAdv00WesxTSfeMlIFoCE6LiatWSQmLeQcNz6ivTQweNASVV70_7oVXLQGEbbJSF8ksVv47fOCCg0MXrxI-FhsfOUF0tHvr0HqF6cEIz8ZUZLjzbrJct_2DtcyECXK7ZNhlL/s1600-h/DSC09467.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HAdv00WesxTSfeMlIFoCE6LiatWSQmLeQcNz6ivTQweNASVV70_7oVXLQGEbbJSF8ksVv47fOCCg0MXrxI-FhsfOUF0tHvr0HqF6cEIz8ZUZLjzbrJct_2DtcyECXK7ZNhlL/s320/DSC09467.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125088620326978258" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSeHgtG_2X2wXbM6BG8uAj9qcVb6wlXSjxEJxW11_HWYHDfgKPOh2giAIUkug5RT0-zpdATX3n6D24HnoFqa6p557teBa7EFs44FeyNp06UydZH8UZwMMjCcQgd0KkWwyViA3/s1600-h/DSC09511.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSeHgtG_2X2wXbM6BG8uAj9qcVb6wlXSjxEJxW11_HWYHDfgKPOh2giAIUkug5RT0-zpdATX3n6D24HnoFqa6p557teBa7EFs44FeyNp06UydZH8UZwMMjCcQgd0KkWwyViA3/s320/DSC09511.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125088620326978274" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Mz0A9nkrfCbkSnkL90UB9DcI7tlf_Hf8y_dGpgWLOLeeGRmzCqTrFAJAoVSQiZ_kjqVpitehtXEJF6Zjhi5BmZnOhznCKHNM8cknwbBtZTfyS5VBPfhJnArpI5_FH2IdmMdR/s1600-h/DSC09528.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Mz0A9nkrfCbkSnkL90UB9DcI7tlf_Hf8y_dGpgWLOLeeGRmzCqTrFAJAoVSQiZ_kjqVpitehtXEJF6Zjhi5BmZnOhznCKHNM8cknwbBtZTfyS5VBPfhJnArpI5_FH2IdmMdR/s320/DSC09528.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125088624621945586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPjhlYa98vDUtaOclYe850UWrFsznR3fcNfo53tZ4exQook6EHDCU1xWNbFg_2hAzh4hchW0mRh2uPRLOeUZCWvVmPZwFV7VTL7PKwLc_LdgQpoiHkq9gelphIHRw0CasPWMF/s1600-h/DSC09534.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPjhlYa98vDUtaOclYe850UWrFsznR3fcNfo53tZ4exQook6EHDCU1xWNbFg_2hAzh4hchW0mRh2uPRLOeUZCWvVmPZwFV7VTL7PKwLc_LdgQpoiHkq9gelphIHRw0CasPWMF/s320/DSC09534.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5125088628916912898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhil6DFxumYhBfuCqVRbQEacbAD3SEWH_-xjKPyyp0Rd3bU_5cjc10pdU2n9whGkWZ7cfdd8zBI_3fQtzihyphenhyphenabhNiWuDUAIH_ceNL85VORkrKzzuhqtpKQwLdagcrNvyuQEmAgP/s1600-h/DSC09540.JPG.jpg"><br /></a></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Recommended Kwanzaa gifts (zawadi) are those that are handmade; zawadi otherwise should be a Black doll, a book, or a symbol of our heritage. Families are invited to join the fun in creating zawadi. Every hour on the hour information on observing Kwanzaa will be announced while children and parents make their zawadi.<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />For more information telephone 367-4223.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">KWANZAA IS A CELEBRATION OF FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND CULTURE FOR PEOPLE OF AFRIKAN DESCENT.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhil6DFxumYhBfuCqVRbQEacbAD3SEWH_-xjKPyyp0Rd3bU_5cjc10pdU2n9whGkWZ7cfdd8zBI_3fQtzihyphenhyphenabhNiWuDUAIH_ceNL85VORkrKzzuhqtpKQwLdagcrNvyuQEmAgP/s1600-h/DSC09540.JPG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhil6DFxumYhBfuCqVRbQEacbAD3SEWH_-xjKPyyp0Rd3bU_5cjc10pdU2n9whGkWZ7cfdd8zBI_3fQtzihyphenhyphenabhNiWuDUAIH_ceNL85VORkrKzzuhqtpKQwLdagcrNvyuQEmAgP/s400/DSC09540.JPG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124876225859697506" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRz7L77gbJYT7BsiWShZKY-IBTyDaMQdolf8Qoeg3Xh5XQ_hAhm3LDyBBjqe2d5rJHNv0toAGJVH2o-J_I28HdCyzh7Y4iRuHAQ1mPnXYx7CsaXKTHdmpvA7aLu2cmJd5uH_38/s1600-h/DSC09541.JPG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRz7L77gbJYT7BsiWShZKY-IBTyDaMQdolf8Qoeg3Xh5XQ_hAhm3LDyBBjqe2d5rJHNv0toAGJVH2o-J_I28HdCyzh7Y4iRuHAQ1mPnXYx7CsaXKTHdmpvA7aLu2cmJd5uH_38/s400/DSC09541.JPG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124876359003683730" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RX9XwcF6Xd1ESm_ABX6vXKwgyb2ZECoXBN8jMrOTNJn8M2AH7lfNa2siNBRWQItsKbKpGZlzLEygDxrxzcbBwlHJU5zOkqOzyf3OTRKGjXoS2PKtV4ZvSpbZ0INiXXg0_iXK/s1600-h/DSC09533.JPG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RX9XwcF6Xd1ESm_ABX6vXKwgyb2ZECoXBN8jMrOTNJn8M2AH7lfNa2siNBRWQItsKbKpGZlzLEygDxrxzcbBwlHJU5zOkqOzyf3OTRKGjXoS2PKtV4ZvSpbZ0INiXXg0_iXK/s400/DSC09533.JPG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124876333233879938" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-88853854495262886372007-10-01T22:44:00.001-05:002007-10-23T12:55:51.954-05:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEr_SFRXxkPyrRC-gXLQGt1PV1N0m8RjNbvbXKMAJ1YCB10srrQa-s80L39VKarV8EKaZnztdIXMKEBQtbkNuGY1ALG9qbZ_wJ8M1oBPEbjuw6XlGUlnHRRYCf9cjFALj0Mh1B/s1600-h/Oct+11,+2007+S%7EN+Natl+Blk+Poetry+day..jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEr_SFRXxkPyrRC-gXLQGt1PV1N0m8RjNbvbXKMAJ1YCB10srrQa-s80L39VKarV8EKaZnztdIXMKEBQtbkNuGY1ALG9qbZ_wJ8M1oBPEbjuw6XlGUlnHRRYCf9cjFALj0Mh1B/s400/Oct+11,+2007+S%7EN+Natl+Blk+Poetry+day..jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116580475142869234" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">On Thursday, October 11th, Sisters~Nineties Literary Group promotes National Black Poetry Day. National Black Poetry Day honors Jupiter Hammon, born October 17, 1711. Hammon is the earliest poet of Afrikan descent to have work published in the United States. </span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Join us at Schlafly Branch Library at 225 N. Euclid Avenue in St. Louis at 7 p.m. for poetic edutainment from </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Marie Chewe-Elliott, </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Antoinette Crayton, D. Morrowloving, Wilma Potts, Freida L. Wheaton and special guest David A. N. Jackson.<br /><br />Come out and take home poetic ideas to commemorate the work of Jupiter Hammon. Share the legendary past and present of Black poetry with your family, friends, and youth on October 17th every year.<br /><br /></span></span><div align="center"><strong><u><br /><br />Calls for Submission et al.</u>: </strong></div><div align="justify"><strong></strong></div><div align="justify"><strong></strong></div><ul><li><strong>"Writer Beware" at <a href="http://www.sfwa.org/beware">www.sfwa.org/beware</a> provides detailed information on literary scams. Covers contests, literary agents, book doctors, and vanity publishers.</strong></li></ul><ul><li>Here is a great link for serious writers who understand the importance of avoiding cliche-ish items in composing: <tt><a href="http://www.gotpoetry.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=1212.html"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" id="lw_1176386183_0">http://www.gotpoetry.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=1212.html</span></a></tt> </li></ul><br /><br /><ul><li><strong><u>Say it Loud: Poems about James Brown </u></strong>Edited by: Mary E. Weems, and Thomas Sayers Ellis We grew up on James Brown's hit me! When he danced every young Black man wanted to move, groove and look like him. Mr. Brown wasn't called the hardestworkingman in show business because he wasn't. Experiencing a James Brown show was like getting your favorite soul food twice, plus desert. His songs, like Black power fists you could be proud of and move to at the same time. When Mr. Brown sang make it funky we sweated even in the wintertime. Losing him was like losing somebody in our family. This is a shout out for poems about the impact James Brown had on our lives. Poems that will help people remember, honor, and celebrate his legacy. Don't be left in a cold sweat, send us your old and new James Brown poems today. Submission Guidelines: 3-5 Unpublished and/or published poems with acknowledgement included. No longer than 73 lines. <strong>Deadline: December 31, 2007 (Receipt not postmark)</strong> Send hard copies along with a Word Document and short bio on a CD to: Dr. Mary E. Weems, English Department, John Carroll University, 20700 North Park Blvd., University Hts., Ohio 44118 end via e-mail attachment (Word Documents Only) to: <a href="mailto:weems45@sbcglobal.net">weems45@sbcglobal.net</a> and <a href="mailto:tse@case.edu">tse@case.edu</a></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"> The submission deadline is fast approaching for LEE & LOW BOOKS' eighth annual NEW VOICES AWARD. Manuscripts will be accepted through October 31st, 2007, and must bepostmarked within that period. For submission guidelines please visit our Web site at <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.leeandlow.com/editorial/voices.html"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" id="lw_1191299942_0">http://www.leeandlo w.com/editorial/ voices.html</span></a><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > The NEW VOICES AWARD is given for a children's picture book story by a writer of color. The Award prize is a cash grant of $1,000 and LEE & LOW's standard publication contract, including an advance against royalties. The Honor Award prize is a cash grant of $500. Please help us spread the word and pass along this information to anyone else who might be interested. We look forward to receiving your submission!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >The Editors</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >LEE & LOW BOOKS</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://leeandlow.com/"><span id="lw_1191299942_1">leeandlow.com</span></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.maafasfbayarea.com/general%20info.htm#maafareadernarrative">http://www.maafasfb ayarea.com/ general%20info. htm#maafareadern arrative</a><br />CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS<br />MAAFA READER PROJECT<br />Deadline: until complete<br /><br />To celebrate the 10th anniversary (2005) of the San Francisco Bay Area's "Black Holocaust Remembrance, " scholars, poets, writers and artists are invited to submit work for inclusion in the "Maafa Reader." The goal is to have a reflective record of the various ways African people in the Diaspora recall the Middle Passage, honor the ancestors and heal the trauma.<br /><br />We hope the reach is national and international, drawing on traumatic stories or residual memories and the consequences of having been forcefully removed from our homeland five centuries ago. The call is also for those left in Alkebulan (ancient name for Africa) to reflect on the devastation this loss wrought on the families and communities left behind. What was the cultural drain to the collective consciousness? What should or how does the New Afrikan feel about the Motherland, a place where most of us have never lived? Who's responsible for our enslavement? Can we forgive those who sold us, those who bought us?<br /><br />What is the link between colonialism and enslavement? Are the consequences of the two similar? What role did religion play in the colonizing of Africa? Why are so many Africans in the Diaspora Christian or Muslim, is this in itself a contradiction and or a barrier to true mental and spiritual liberation? Can holding onto any tools: language, religion, history, or systems of government lead to anything positive, if while under colonial rule or enslavement, the only beneficiary was the white power structure?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We are especially interested in the stories of incarcerated African men, women and children and children in group homes and foster care. This in itself is its own special type of Maafa.<br /></div><br />Stories of those impacted by <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1191327798_0">Hurricane Katrina</span> and this government's neglect and weak response to the predominately African American affected populations are also desired. Connections between this Maafa and that experienced by ancestors of those Alabama, <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1191327798_1">Louisiana</span>, and <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; cursor: pointer; height: 1em; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" id="lw_1191327798_2">Mississippi</span> (now Texas) natives are evident. Oral histories, along with photographs of key moments in our diasporic history, are encouraged.<br /><br />Reflect on the whole notion of freedom. What does it mean to be free? And while you're at it, what about what's due to those who labored for centuries without pay? Are reparations in order? Choose your topic. There is no length requirement; just be clear, succinct and edited. Submissions may be made by email in Microsoft Word or text file to<br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:mail%40maafasfbayarea.com" target="_blank" href="http://us.f819.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mail%40maafasfbayarea.com"><span id="lw_1191327798_3">mail@maafasfbayarea .com</span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />or<span style="font-weight: bold;"> by mail to </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Anthology Editor, </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">P.O. Box 30756,</span><br /><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em; font-weight: bold;" id="lw_1191327798_4">Oakland, CA 94604</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span><br /><br />Please include a short bio - no more than 50 words - with your work. You will be notified as to whether or not your submission was accepted. This call is being reissued because the response was insufficient.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Contact: Dashiell Thompson, Publicist</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Urban Echoes Entertainment, LLC</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">P.O. Box 61494</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Durham, NC 27715</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">(919) 672-1161</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Dashiell@UrbanEchoes.net</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Durham, NC - Urban Echoes Entertainment, LLC, is pleased to announce the first annual Solaris Prize for a first book of poetry! The prize is open to any U.S. citizen with a book-length collection of poems that has not been published with an ISBN assigned to it.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Entry fee is $25.</span> All submissions must be a minimum 40 pages, unbound (no binders, clamps, etc.), and typed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Manuscripts must be previously unpublished in book form; may be simultaneously submitted elsewhere, but please notify if accepted. There are no restrictions on the kind of poetry or subject matter; however, translations are not acceptable, neither are works written by multiple authors. Poems published in journals, chapbooks, and anthologies may be included but must be acknowledged. Submission of more than one manuscript is permissible; however, each must be under separate cover with a fee. Postmark deadline for submissions is </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Friday, December 14, 2007</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Winner will be announced in February via nationwide press release, in Poets & Writers Magazine, on Urban Echoes' website, and in Urban Echoes' quarterly newsletter. A cash prize of $1500, as well as publication of the book, will be awarded. The winner will receive a standard publishing contract, with royalties paid in addition to the $1500 prize, as well as 10 free copies of the book and worldwide distribution to bookstores, libraries, and online retail sellers.</span><br /><br /><br /><br />The 2nd TimBookTu Poetry Contest is underway and you are invited to submit your entries to compete for cash prizes. Awards: 1st Place - $150, 2nd Place - $100, 3rd Place - $50 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Contest Deadline: December 31, 2007</span> All winners will be published on the TimBookTu website and in a souvenir booklet to be published at a later date. Each winner will receive one free copy of the booklet. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Criteria</span>: Entries should relate to the African American or Afrocentric cultural experiences. They will be judged on impact, content, creativity, and relevance to African American culture. For <span style="font-weight: bold;">Contest Guidelines</span> and to submit your entry, follow this link or visit the TimBookTu website: http://www.timbooktu.com/contest_2008a.htm. Here's your chance to compete against the best poets in the nation and around the world.<br /><br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/contests.html">http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/contests. html</a><br />THE PRISM INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL SHORT FICTION CONTEST<br />$2,000 GRAND PRIZE<br />3 RUNNER-UP PRIZES OF $200 EACH<br />All winning stories will be published in the 2008 PRISM Summer Fiction<br />Contest Issue and receive an additional payment of $20 per printed page (in Canadian<br />dollars or the U.S. equivalent).<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Entry deadline: January 31, 2008.</span><br />Download a printable entry form & guidelines (160 kb - requires Adobe<br />Acrobat). <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/contests.html">http://prism.arts.ubc.ca/contests.html</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ECOTONE: RE-IMAGINING PLACE</span><br />Guest editors: Sebastian Matthews and Camille T. Dungy<br />CALL FOR POEMS BY BLACK AMERICAN POETS<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Deadline: February 15, 2008</span><br />The introduction to the Oxford Book of Nature Writing, claims that "the most convincing nature writing is… a history of our views about ourselves." This is most certainly true; however, the prevalence and scope of Black writing with nature as a core theme has been generally underestimated. Many poems by Black American writers incorporate treatments of the natural world that are historicized or politicized, thus inclining readers to consider these poems political poems, historical poems, protest poems, socio-economic commentary, anything but nature poems. This is particularly true when the definition of what constitutes literature about nature or the environment is limited to poems that address the pastoral or the rugged, spaces and subjects removed or distanced from human contact. Such compartmentalization excludes African American nature poetry, which frequently engages contemporary and historic concerns within social, political, and cultural contexts. The result of such assumptions is that lists of American nature writers rarely include many African American names. As guest editors for the journal Ecotone: Re-imagining Place, we’re making a call for poems by Black poets about and engaging the natural world. Founding Editor David Gessner says this about Ecotone’s mission: “Much of our best writing grows out of the land. More specifically, it grows from rich, overlapping areas, those unstable, uncategorizable places that aren’t one thing or another. Biological ecotones are areas of great species diversity and biological density, of intense life and death; literary ecotones are the places where words come most alive. These edges—between genres, between science and literature, between land and sea, between urban and rural, between the personal and biological, between the animal and spiritual—are not only more alive, but more interesting and worthy of exploration.” Black poetry in America has recorded perspectives on the natural world as different as the Black perspective on this country. We’re looking for poems that re-imagine the boundaries of the genre, poems that remind readers that we are always part of the natural world, even when we feel most alienated from it. Please submit up to 4 poems, by February 15, 2008, for an Ecotone feature issue on nature poetry by Black American poets. Send poems c/o Guest Editors, Ecotone, P.O. Box 9594, Asheville, NC, 28815. Include your name, address, email and an SASE. --Camille Dungy & Sebastian Matthews<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-1165285803287874252006-12-04T20:24:00.000-06:002006-12-08T12:12:46.416-06:00<div align="center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7245/3744/1600/553111/KARMELLA.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7245/3744/400/965191/KARMELLA.jpg" border="0" /></a>"Libation" by Karmella Haynes/<span style="font-size:85%;">Copyright by Karmella Haynes</span></div><div align="left"><br /><br />Greetings,<br /><br />Kwanzaa Greeting Cards by Karmella Haynes are now available! </div><div align="left"><br />”Libation” by Karmella Haynes </div><div align="left"><br />Visit my online store at <a href="http://www.haynesart.com/store.html">http://www.haynesart.com/store.html</a> to purchase these and other gift items, including ceramic mugs, apparel, stamps and prints.<br /><br />Be sure to attend the Kwanzaa Celebration hosted by Sisters~Nineties Literary Group and Yari Yari Writers.<br />Art apparel from my Zazzle store will be on display and order forms for these items will be available.Date: to be announcedLocation: Community Room at Prince Hall4411 N. Newstead, St. Louis , MO<br /><br /><br />HaynesArt.com<br />The artwork of Karmella Haynes<br />View art: <a href="http://www.haynesart.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.haynesart.com/</a><br />Purchase prints and gifts: <a href="http://www.haynesart.com/store.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.haynesart.com/store.html</a><br />Phone: 704-302-7388 </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-1162253873406537622006-10-30T17:41:00.000-06:002006-11-10T17:58:41.460-06:00<div align="justify"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/1600/Zawadi%20wkshp%20Kw%20Pillows.15.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/200/Zawadi%20wkshp%20Kw%20Pillows.12.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/1600/Zawadi%20wkshp%20Kiarra%20Fumi.14.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/200/Zawadi%20wkshp%20Kiarra%20Fumi.11.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/1600/Zawadi%20wkshp%20Kw%20Vessels.13.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/200/Zawadi%20wkshp%20Kw%20Vessels.10.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/1600/Zawadi%20wkshp%20N"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/200/Zawadi%20wkshp%20N%27Dea%20w%20vessel.11.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span>photos by Freida L. Wheaton/2006</span></div><div align="center"><span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Yari Yari writers excel in zawadi creations at</span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">S~NLG Kwanzaa Family Workshop</span></strong></div><div align="center"><br /></div><p align="center"></p><p align="center"><strong></strong></p><p align="center"><strong></strong></p><p align="center"><strong></strong></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:0;"><strong><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span></strong></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em>Kwanzaa Pillows (the zawadi project conducted by Mrs. Darlene Buckner, Yari Yari parent) and Kwanzaa Vessels (created under the direction of Ms. Freida L. Wheaton, S~N writer) were two of several art stations set up for the S~N Kwanzaa Family Workshop.</em></span></p><p align="justify"></p><p align="justify">Young writers joined S~NLG members for a zawadi workshop in preparation for Kwanzaa. Zawadi is the Kiswahili word for gift/s. During Kwanzaa zawadi are primarily given to children for keeping commitments and living up to their responsibilities throughout the year. Zawadi should be from the heart and, therefore, are often handmade. Other recommended zawadi are books, Black dolls, and symbols of our heritage. Children usually create zawadi for parents, other family members, and friends. Adults often exchange zawadi.</p><p align="justify"></p><p align="justify">Yari Yari is a literary group for young writers of Afrikan descent. The Nguzo Saba serves as leadership guidelines for Yari Yari. In the language of the Kurango people (Sierra Leone, West Africa) "yari yari" means "the future." The group meets on Saturdays from 2 pm to 4pm in classroom #3 on the lower level of Prince Hall (Newstead at Carter) in St. Louis, Missouri. Yari Yari writers are from ages 6 to 18. </p><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-size:0;"><div align="justify"><br /></span><span style="font-size:0;"></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-1158784596855736022006-09-20T14:43:00.000-05:002006-09-23T11:27:11.043-05:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><u>Essay & Book Reviews </u></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><u>from summer edition of <em>Sisters~Nineties</em></u></span></strong><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><strong>Earthseed: A New Path to God?</strong></div><div align="center">by Chris Hayden</div><div align="justify"><br />All that you touch<br />You change<br />All that you change<br />Changes you<br />The only lasting Truth<br />Is change<br />God<br />Is change<br /><br />This poem introduces Earthseed: The Books of the Living, a fictional work quoted throughout the late (1947-2006) Octavia Estelle Butler’s science fiction novels <em>The Parable of the Sower</em> (1994) and the <em>Parable of the Talents</em> (1998).<br />These books are set in a post apocalyptic near future America where an authoritarian fundamentalist Christian government has come to power. Lauren Oya Olamina, a Black woman who suffers from a fictional hyper empathy syndrome (it causes the sufferer to believe that she feels the pain and pleasure of other people), is the creator of a movement she names Earthseed, a basic tenet of which is that the ultimate destiny of humanity is to "take root among the stars."<br />Lauren's father is a Baptist minister and teacher who tries to uphold traditional religious beliefs and practices, but Lauren rejects his approach. She ponders the nature and existence of God. She begins analyzing everything—herself, life around her, and history. She concludes that "God would have to be a power that could not be defied by anybody or anything. Change. Everything changes in some way." (<em>Parable of the Sower</em>, page 200)<br />Lauren jots down her meditations, often in verse form, in notebooks that she ultimately gathers into the book she titles Earthseed: Books of the Living. Lauren insists that Earthseed is not a religion and explains that her writings are not the product of divine revelation or visions; they come from logical analysis. She "finds" the name for her movement "weeding the back garden and thinking about the way plants seed themselves." (<em>Parable of the Sower</em>, page 71) Thus by observation and logical analysis she discovers that God exists and that God is not an omnipotent anthropomorphic supernatural being but is that natural process we call change.<br />Humans are not manipulated by but can manipulate God—indeed Lauren constantly exhorts her followers to "shape God" through the exercise of logical, action-based, rational planning.<br />Is Earthseed a mere plot device, or is it a new belief system—a new path to God?<br />Lauren is a teenager when she creates Earthseed. In an interview Ms. Butler gave to Amazon.com she stated that she created "something that I could have believed in and joined when I was 18."<br />Butler was no theologian. She was a science fiction writer. In the cold, super rational atmosphere of that genre, God is almost always absent or unmasked as a fraud or delusion.<br />Despite the predictions, explicit and implicit, of science fiction (and the proclamations, more than a century ago, of Nietzsche’s Superman) God has not departed from human affairs; in fact, lately it seems God has returned to the world with a vengeance.<br />Many readers of the Parables series marvel at how accurately Butler’s books have predicted current events: the rise of religious fundamentalism; its injection into politics, the public discourse and international affairs; and the subsequent effect this has had on the discussion and conduct of such issues as the teaching of evolution, the cloning debate and reproductive freedom—matters which might seem outside the purview of religious thought—its role in the clash of civilizations.<br />Science fiction writers have often addressed important social issues: overpopulation (Stand on Zanzibar), colonialism (War of the Worlds), overabundance created by technology (The Midas Plague), totalitarianism (1984, Fahrenheit 451), and war (Slaughterhouse Five).<br />Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, held by many to be the first work of modern science fiction, warned that science unchecked, in that case creating Life in a laboratory—in effect playing God—might lead to disastrous consequences.<br />Could Butler, out of concern for the fate of humanity, have created Earthseed as a rational alternative to the fear and superstition that is the basis of fundamentalist religious belief?<br />"Fixing the world is not what Earthseed is about," Lauren says. But then she adds, "This world would be a better place if people lived according to Earthseed. But this world would be better if people lived according to the teachings of almost any religion." (<em>Parable of the Sower</em>, page 254)<br />In the conversation Butler had with Amazon.com the interviewer calls Earthseed a religion and Butler does not correct her. Some articles which discuss Earthseed also refer to it as a religion.<br />There is now a real sect based on Earthseed principles called Solseed, so at least some have found Earthseed principles serve as a viable base for a real religious system.<br />Sigmund Freud, psychologist (and atheist), supposedly said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." Perhaps Earthseed was just a plank Butler laid over a plot hole, but she may have deliberately planted Earthseed with the intent that it grow into a new path to God; one based on observation, rationality, logic and science; a path leading humanity to survival and its rightful and ultimate destiny. </div><div align="justify"><br /> </div><div align="center"><span><span style="font-size:100%;">___________________________<br />Copyright © 2006 by Chris Hayden </span></span></div><p><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></span></span></span></span> </p><p><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:78%;"> </p><div align="center"><br /></div></span></span></span></span></span><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><div align="justify"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><u></u></span></div></span><div align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u></u></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Linda Jo Smith reviews<br /></u><em>Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns</em> by J. California Cooper<br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;">Doubleday, New York, 2006, ISBN 0-385-51133-7, 209 pages, $24.00</div></span><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">J. California Cooper has written a collection of stories that carry the theme of love and success with a strong dose of morality. All the protagonists are women who are seeking lives of prosperity and passion but in all the wrong places.<br />The book opens with "As Time Goes By," told in third person (I assume Ms. Cooper is the narrator) which is a story about a girl named Futila Ways. Yes, the name suggests a hardheaded young lady whose mentality is that of a sloth. Her sister, Willa Ways, finds an interest in botany as a child and pursues her interest as an adult by earning a Ph.D. suggesting a willingness to learn new things and to apply her intellect to a successful career. Unlike the irony in The Wake of the Wind (Cooper’s third novel) there are no surprising outcomes.<br />"The Eye of the Beholder" is a more substantial effort and the longest story in the book. This story has more depth as a homely little girl (Lily Bea) matures into a poised and desirable woman; respected and successful despite a lifetime of rejection and humiliation she endured from her mother and siblings. She does pay a hefty price, but I get the impression that Ms. Cooper considers this paid price as a stroke of good fortune.<br /><em>Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns</em> is a collection of Cinderella stories that result in either unhappy and/or unresolved endings. In the stories I mentioned previously, I took exception to the fact that the success of the two heroines was dependent upon white people. Granted, white people are no more or no less members of the human family, but the supernatural occurrence of white people changing the course of the lives of the women in these two stories is exasperating. One woman pursues her education with the assistance of her white friend and classmate. I did not find this to be as insulting as the other heroine who became no more than a "concubine" for a wealthy white man to find her success.<br />I think the <em>Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns</em> would be very dynamic presented as oral stories to young women. In these current times, many women find themselves setting superficial requirements as prerequisites for entering relationships that turn out to be dysfunctional. This collection of stories addresses issues of self-esteem illustrating the consequences of unprotected sex, the perception of inner versus outer beauty, the importance of education, narcissism and promiscuity, and last but not least, the insignificance of wealth and education without love and spirituality.<br />I recommend this book to young adult women (14 – 21), but if you are looking for the adventures found in some of Ms. Cooper’s previous works, you may be disappointed.</span></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /><u>Linda Jo Smith reviews</u><br /><em>Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster</em> by Michael Eric<span style="font-size:100%;"> Dyson</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Basic Civitas, New York, 2006; ISBN 0465017614 (hardcover); 258 pages, $23.00</span></p><p align="justify"><em>Come Hell or High Water</em> is a well-documented account of the events surrounding the failure, or more accurately the refusal, of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), state and local politicians from the State of Louisiana (Governor Kathleen Blanco, Mayor Ray Nagin) and the President of the United States, to take immediate proactive measures to rescue the predominately Black residents living in the Ninth ward of New Orleans.<br />Michael Eric Dyson’s citations are impeccably documented. He reminds us of the initial reporting of the pitiful responses and ineptitude of local and federal officials and their failure to take command of available resources before and after the storm hit. Dyson cites the fact there was ample warning from the National Weather Bureau that Katrina’s wrath would be devastating. The Army Corps of Engineers concluded years ago that the levee would be unable to stave off a level 4 hurricane (Katrina was a level 5). This conclusion was documented during the Clinton Administration. It was common knowledge that when (not if) the levee would break, it would wipe out the entire Ninth ward and a few parishes in the periphery.<br />Dyson cites how initial media accounts were augmented by the National Security Agency to deflect the truth with whitewashed reports of feigned concern.<br />Dyson indicts African-Americans with means by suggesting that they believe the victims of Katrina were too ignorant to be prepared to evacuate, therefore making themselves susceptible to being swept away. In this statement I find no credible documentation. Dyson continues to insert his obsession to malign Bill Cosby calling him too white to care about the less fortunate, uneducated African Americans. It is also disappointing that Dyson finds merit in the entertainers of the hip-hop genre making a sincere difference in the African American communities. Personally, I see no evidence of any consistent impact.<br />As an ordained minister, <em>Come Hell or High Water: the Color of Disaster</em> would be considered counterfeit without Dyson’s usual pontificating. He raises the moral issue that some believe that New Orleans, being the sinful city that it is, suffered from the wrath of God’s judgement. What do you think?<br /><em>Come Hell or High Water</em> is a worthy, well-documented read. Check it out for yourself!</p><p></p><p><br /><u>Linda Jo Smith reviews<br /></u><em>Riding Westward: Poems </em>by Carl Phillips<br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2006; ISBN: 0374250030 (hardcover); 64 pages, $22.00</span> </p><p align="justify">After reading and re-reading <em>Riding Westward: Poems</em> I finally got some semblance of coherence. At first, I blamed myself for being so structured in my poetic thinking…like is this a sestina or a pantoum? or am I just not deep enough to get it? or why are the lines in this poem indented without symmetry or fluency?<br />Carl Phillips is lauded for his imagery as he was a finalist for the National Book Award, winner of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, and recipient of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature. I guess you have to be in the club.<br />There was one title I liked: "Radiance Versus Ordinary Light," but I didn’t find the poem illuminating. "The Smell of Hay" stimulated my memory of how hay smells but the poem makes no reference to hay, or the animals who eat hay, or what the hay (obviously, I didn’t get it). "Ocean" described obsession for a man so I was grateful that I got the redundant codependency message. "Bow Down" impressed me as a self-loather looking for the slightest hint of affection from someone who holds him in contempt as he bends over.<br />In conclusion, my impression of this book is that there is some sordid preoccupation of male genitalia masked in images of birds and their wings and their ability to elude tangible, confining relationships.<br />THE END (thank goodness!)</p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;">____________________________<br />Copyright © 2006 by Linda Jo Smith</span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;"></span></p><p align="center"><strong>Linda Jo Smith is the book review editor for <em>Sisters~Nineties</em>.</strong></p><p align="justify"></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34036333.post-1158331621746124502006-09-15T09:23:00.000-05:002006-09-18T08:31:28.883-05:00<span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Art and poetry from the summer 2006 edition of <em>Sisters~Nineties.</em></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><strong>WARRIOR SUPREME<br /></strong>(Katherine Dunham Kwansaba)<br />by Mama Collette</span></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Hail, queenly African scholar sublime teacher supreme<br />the creator of pelvic mastery voyaged blessed<br />waters east St. Louis, Senegal, Haiti, tropic paths<br />danced islands' ancient rituals calling kinfolk present<br />A rainbow-dressed warrior whirled history lessons<br />changed twisted beliefs bearing African customs forever<br />Radiant rhythms always rise through stormy sundews<br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;">________________________________<br />Copyright © 2006 by Mama Collette</span></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;">EMPRESS<br /></span></strong>by D. Morrowloving</span></div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">royal icon of anthropological dynamics<br />Empress Dunham pulverized lies into Vodun flames<br />to reclaim Afrikan past with goodwill grace of movement<br />And we shout, <em>Kaiso</em>!!</span></div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In tradition of Bessie Coleman and Josephine Baker<br />the Empress refused stages for segregated audiences<br />We applaud her defiance—void of egocentrism—<br />and cry out, <em>Asante!</em></span></div><div align="center"><em><br /></em><span style="font-family:arial;">Striking fast against western injustices to Haiti<br />Katherine Dunham, priestess and majestic choreographer,<br />neither faltered nor wavered nor fell into<br />the need to accommodate or placate<br />No dreams deferred</span></div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Historical eyes remember La Grande Dame<br />for opening front rather than rear doors<br />to Hollyweird and mainstream america<br />so that we continue with confidence, pride<br />and we raise fists in solidarity stating,<br /></span><em><span style="font-family:arial;">Asé<br /></span></em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">_____________________________<br />Copyright © 2006 by D. Morrowloving</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></strong></span></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:100%;">POWER DANCE DARK</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">by Mama Collette<br /></div></span></span><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;">blash!<br />black<br />Oya hurled through St. Louis<br />breaking light into pieces<br />Sango spit fire in a roar<br />horizontal trees—log like/roots up<br />sirens . . .<br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;">Half million without power<br />without power?<br />america’s got talent no more<br />101 heat indexes/advised get to cooling centers<br />no air to condition you</span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><div align="center"><br />Foremothers/ fathers wiped their brows<br />an eon summers ago<br />navigating their way to freedom . . . freedom calls<br />they power danced through the blackness of night<br />quick stepped to so-called hallelujah grounds<br />shimmied from strange fruit</div><div align="center"><br />I sat on the side of my bed/ soaking in the darkness<br />not a flicker of stars after the storm<br />visualizing my freedomscape . . .<br />making zero apologizes<br />‘cause my nappy hair makes me happy,<br />full hips and lips I love<br /></div></span><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;">slowly I rose from the bed<br />flung my short Alvin Ailey arms<br />in the air as far as I could<br />energized/ I felt tall<br />I swayed across my hot dark room/ hands loose<br />sweat dripping from my face into my eyes</span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><div align="center"><br />I closed my eyes, did a slow dance in circles for Andrew<br />the drumming got louder the beat faster<br />I persuaded my African feet to move as fast<br />as they could accommodate my well-endowed hips,<br />bending/turning/high stepping/jumping and kicking</div><div align="center"><br />Angels on my shoulder/I did a low level bend for Alberta<br />washing family clothes on a washboard hot summer days<br />back steps no/I stepped for Jim<br />walking to work in 100 degree temperatures<br />stomped/kicked for ancestor cotton pickers<br />that endured crackers’ whips for slowing down<br />I danced for sisters/ old/ elderly/ wheelchair bound/ fat/ plump pleasingly/ queen<br />size/ holding to the side of a chair/ can’t get up/ don’t want to get up/ holding on . . .<br />holding on . . .<br />sweating as never before<br />I went beyond myself/physically exhausted<br />I crossed my hands to my breast<br />did a bow thanking the drummers<br />I heard in my nappy head</div><div align="center"><br />Brightness<br />I hurried to the store/105 heat indexes predicted<br />Sisters’ carts loaded with two, three cases of soda<br />some with batteries, some with flashlights, candles, a few with water<br />we forgot about our differences yet more similar to each other<br />the talk in line was about the outage/ where we live<br />I had little in my cart/ a sister asked if I had power<br />Power? Indeed I do/the electricity is off</div><div align="center"><br />black out<br />Black in<br />Let us dance in the stillness<br />when we can see and feel the movement of unity<br />when we drum together as a community of people<br />Let us bounce/slow drag/shimmy/chittlin strut/hip hop/snake hip/slide/bop/two step/<br />two steps forward . . . /out of the darkness/wake up to our power of greatness<br />Celebrate Blackness</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">____________________________</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">Copyright 2006 by Mama Collette</span> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/1600/sa06%20by%20r2%20paradise%20lost.0.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7245/3744/320/sa06%20by%20r2%20paradise%20lost.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"> "Paradise Lost" by r2c2h2/1998</span></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>PARADISE<br /></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;">by D. Morrowloving</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Red birds of paradise fly<br />from man-made terracotta pots<br />to nowhere<br />He was her paradise lost<br />Women's intuition screams clear<br />third eye vision<br />She was his paradise found </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">______________________________<br />Copyright © 2006 by D. Morrowloving<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>PARADISE LOST<br /></strong>by Wilma Potts</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Bulbous, jeweled hand<br />Smashes against bridge<br />Ejects her across room<br />She clutches swollen belly<br />Shields cauliflower ear<br />Broken teeth clatter to floor<br />Dam bursts from puffy eyes<br />He was her paradise lost<br />She was his paradise found<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">__________________________<br />Copyright © 2006 by Wilma Potts<br /></span><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>PARADISE LOST<br /></strong>by Toni Crayton</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Don’t paint me with same brush of colors<br />Don’t see me the same always<br />Don’t box me in<br />She was his paradise found<br />Brash, gentle, intriguing, sweet<br />With a touch of bitters<br />He was her paradise lost<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">____________________________<br />Copyright © 2006 by Toni Crayton</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1