Breathe

So I just returned from Chicago for the 2012 AWP Conference, and I’d love to do a full review of the trip but, alas, time to play catch up. But in a nutshell, here it is: I enjoyed seeing folks both near and far that I hadn’t seen in at least a year. Though I was ill for half the trip, I got to spend some necessary time alone. I think I may have went temporarily mad with all of the stimuli. I ran into a surly Walter Mosley. Attended Patricia Smith’s book release which was off the hook. Spent some necessary time with a new friend, fellow poet, grad student.

Chicago was absolutely beautiful with is slanted high rise buildings. The way the streets bleed from tourist to vernacular bluesy culture. Had one of my favorite meals in a place called a chicken shack. I loved the bubbly energy of the city. In fact as I arrive, there was a massive demonstration. Construction workers handed me leaflets on why I shouldn’t stay at the hotel I stayed at.

More than all of that, I got to see my peeps doing their thing–winning book prizes, leading and participating on panels, doing it big. I was on a lovely panel of current grad students talking about various ways to improve the MFA system. One of my favorite panels included a group of veteran music journalists who talked about the business and craft of music journalism. I really enjoyed it. I took notes.

Though I had a lot of fun, it feels to good to be home in D.C. where it’s considerably warmer, where I feel a lot more in my element.

5 Things I’ve Been Thinking About/Doing

Sorry it’s been so long since I last posted something. I’m so grateful for those of you who still read this blog. I can see that there’s a steady stream of visitors everyday.

Here are some things I’ve learned/done/or am working on since the last time I’ve posted (which was back in January, yikes!)

1. I’m trying so hard to learn to be patient with my writing. I believe in our click-of-a-mouse paced world, we all want to hurry up and finish something and sent it off. I’ m learning to be okay with this NOT being the case for my writing.

2. My editorial internship with The Root will conclude at the close of April. I can’t believe 5 months have gone by so fast. I’ve learned a number of things that I know will enrich my flirtatious relationship with journalism.

3. I’ve been thinking a lot about Father’s Day. My daughter turns 7 this year. Though the journey is hardly over, I can’t believe it’s been almost 7 years.

4. I’ve learned to be grateful for everything I have. It’s so easy to complain but it’s really amazing to wake up with a sense of purpose and to do exactly what I wanted to do since I was a little boy.

5. I’ve been tweeting. You can follow me @abdulali_. There are lovely film strips from 1988 of me, compliments of my Uncle Martin.

Back in the Habit!

trying to keep stress levels down

It’s been a little over a month since I last posted. Here’s what I’ve been up to in the past month:

1. Started an editorial internship with the online news and culture magazine, The Root

2. Saw the play Let Me Down Easy and interviewed Anna Deveare Smith, the playwright-actress who conceived the fascinating show. She plays 20 characters in her one-woman show.

3. Been thinking a lot about the 1990s. I watched Dave Chappelle’s Block Party the other night and got a little misty-eyed when Lauryn Hill came out.

4. Trying to get organized: have to sign Kayla up for summer camp while it’s still early.

5. The spring semester began a few weeks ago. I’m taking a lit course in experimental poetry which is fascinating, all hands down. I’m also taking an Creative Nonfiction course while I rewrite my poems and make them better.

6. I just ordered networking cards for AWP. I’m preparing to talk about Folio’s poetry contest on Jo Reed’s On the Margins, tomorrow morning.

7. Seen way too much snow.

8. I’m happy to report that I paid of my credit card debt, almost $15,000 worth.

9. I finally purchased a copy of Danielle Evan’s short story collection, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self.

10. I’m also preparing to teach poetry over the next four month for the Arlington Public Schools–from elementary all the way through high school.

More soon. . .

Deep Breath

This is just a short note to update Words Matter readers that I appreciate all of the support you all have given me these past four months. The numbers are unbelievable–hundreds of folks are logging-on to see what’s going on in this virtual world I’ve created.

For those of who you may not know the great poet, Lucille Clifton has transitioned. I hope each of you will get your hands on a volume of at least one of her poems and read them out loud either to yourself or someone you love. Her words crawl on you like a welcomed wind in the midst of a heat wave. And they tell the truth like your mama when you’ve done something stupid. Ms. Clifton will not be forgotten. I’m so grateful the brief moment, I spent with her as I was waiting in line to get a children’s book of hers and one of her volumes of poetry signed at the Folger’s here in Washington, D.C. I shared with her that I was a poet thinking about getting an MFA. She immediately said “you don’t need an MFA to write good poems.” I’ll always be grateful to Ms. Clifton for that as I needed to hear that in that moment more than anything.

For those of you who’ve checked out my recent article on TheRoot about the enduring spirit of the film, Love Jones. Thank you so much! I’ve received a number of emails from readers around the country. The article itself has sparked some interest in Words Matter and on the whole it’s made me feel very good to connect with so many visionary filmmakers and writers and movie goers like myself.

Like Al Green sings, Let’s stay together. We really can bring about a radical new framework for black cinema. Stay Tuned.

Happenings

Things have been happening so fast. I looked up this weekend and realized January was out. Everything’s beginning to get crowded: tax season is upon me, writing is backlogged (thanks to new writing group, brother’s gonna work it out), grad school applications, new online publication I’m involved with about to drop about indie black film shorts, and so on.  Not to mention, I’ve been the poet-in-residence for the Arlington Public School Pick-a-Poet program. I’ve been teaching high school. What an interesting experience that has been. God Bless Teachers! Not sure how they do it.

While mostly everyone I know has a television, I just got a new one the other day and realized there was a live cable wire in my apartment. So for the past week, I’ve been OD’ing on too much TV One, BET, National Geographic, and Food Network. It’s all very new to me. I went through college without a television. I listened to the radio. Read the newspaper. Log-in to Facebook…

I just finished reading a wonderful collection of poems and hope to interview the poet really soon. I also have some other things that I’m working on that I plan to post.  Stay Tuned.

Peace.

Starting a Poetry Band

One of the challenges of being an artist is having to decide which “art” to push centerstage. We’re all so very complex. Even as writers, there’s such a fertile ground. And, God forbid you don’t choose, you’ll descend into a dilettante. And it will begin to affect other areas of your life. It’s difficult to move forward with your attention compromised in so many directions. 

 Lately, though, I’ve been trying to see the connections between what I do and others do. For instance, I’m a writer  interested in  performance. Ossie Davis was a writer who performed. And I’d like to think that his understanding of language I love music. Always have. When The Roots performed live at Constitution Hall, I was floored that they were an actual living, breathing Hip Hop Band.

I wonder how difficult it would be to piece together a Poetry Band? Nothing big, an instrument or two,  a DJ, and me reading some poems. I’d want to keep it light.

Any takers? Suggestions? Drop me a line!

Some Things I Did When I Wasn’t Blogging

1. -I had Thanksgiving dinner for the first time at a buffet. It was lots of fun. No dishes. Same food. Easy to clean-up.

-My Dad took the bus from NYC to be with me and his granddaughter. It was an interesting experience. Some fatherhood posts are forthcoming.

-On my weekly trip to the library I picked up a couple of books that I read before (Naomi Shihab Nye’s You & Yours, and Lucille Clifton’s Voices) I think re-reading is so absolutely necessary. I think the meaning becomes clearer and strikes different chords on the second round, and third, fourth, etc.

 -I thought a lot about writing. Writing poems. Shaking the dust off a couple of essays I have rattling in my head which reminds me, I haven’t gotten paid for a piece I did for a local newspaper. I need to make a phone call tomorrow.

-I’ve been working on my grad school applications: requesting recommendation letters, slapping a few poems around like I’m a bad mama jamama (shut yo mouth) I’m really excited that I’ll only have to pay one application fee: compliments of being a Ronald E. McNair Scholar.

 -I watched the movie Hairspray with my daughter; It was set in Baltimore and since she’s a native of Baltimore it was interesting, though the film is set in the 1960s. I’m a huge fan of Queen Latifah and found the flick entertaining. Though, I couldn’t figure out why John Trovolta played a female character…? We also watched the beginning of Miss Jane Pittman. It’s hard to watch these films with children in the room. Kayla wants to know…why doesn’t the girl have shoes? Because she’s a slave. What’s a slave?

- I had a wonderful show last Monday on my radio show, Poet’s Corner. I have a new host, poet Carolyn Joyner, and we discussed political poems. We got quite a few calls. It’s a topic I’d like to explore more as it’s not discussed in a way that I find satisfying.

- I have yet to see the film Precious. I absolutely have to see it not so much because I think I’ll enjoy it but because I’m a culture critic; it’s my job to the a watchdog of sorts for black cinema.

-And finally, I’m looking for film enthusiasts. I’m a part of a team starting an online publication dedicated to black independent film. We could really use some interns, and film enthusiasts who don’t mine donating an article pro bono.

Catching My Breath

It feels like a week since I’ve had time to post.  But there’s good reason, I’ve been busy. I started a new gig with Split This Rock working with Sarah Browning & company (Melissa, Katherine, Jaime, Alicia, and Reggie), activist-poets based here in Washington. Here’s a short interview I did with Sarah on a previous blog, Poetic Notes, some years back.

Aside from all of the enthusiasm associated with landing a new gig, I’ve been reading a lot. I must have five or six different books spread across my bed. There’s Carolyn Forche’s Country Between Us which is growing on me. I’m not sure if I’ve encountered a narrative poet with this kind of force and beauty and high drama in my reading life.

There’s also Michael Harper’s Dear John, Dear Coltrane. His poems are sexy, not all cerebral like so many “name” poets. I found his poems about the death of his son especially touching. For some reason, I’m drawn to poems written by male poets, especially black male poets, that we often don’t read or hear about. I like those vulnerable poems that we once thought was the exclusive soverign of female writing. Also, there are new and fresh subject positions that Harper creates for this voice. This is also important. So many poets are writing from their own voices and not necessarily creating voices in the traditional way.

Oh, and I finally read for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf. Shange has an awesome ear and command of the language. Yet I found it a chore reading the text. The idea of this choreopoem is exquisite and it gave me some ideas for my own dramatic writing. I’d like to see this staged. Plays are truly meant to be seen up on stage. And since there are so few stage directions, the director has free reign in producing this work. It’ll be interesting to see what Tyler Perry does (or doesn’t do) with this play.

I also read most of Best African American Essays 2009. I found the collection to be satisfying, particularly the essay written by Walter Mosley about his mother, Gray Shawl; and I thoroughly enjoyed James McBride’s Hip Hop Planet.

 My reading gets scattered and all over the place but this is how it is when I’m not writing. I need to draw every source that comes my way. When I browse the shelves of my neighborhood library, I grab what catches my eye. And usually I strike oil between the pages.

I just started reading Tara Bett’s Arc & Hue and plan to post something in the next few days about the book as Ms. Betts will be in town soon. I’ve also solicited things from a few friends so stay tuned. If you’d like to write for Words Matter, drop me a line. The numbers have been really good. My only regret is that I don’t have more time to ensure more regular posts.

Thanks for your patience as I catch my breath.