Most of the year, I'm so busy writing about the mechanics of writing, reading, and publishing that I don't always take enough time to appreciate you, my readers. So this November, in the month of thanks, I want to begin by saying how much I appreciate every view, every visit, and every comment. Knowing I'm … Continue reading To all my readers…
Tag: World
Ugliness The slime we smear across features Different than our own. Denying beauty In the face Of truth and varying tastes. Proclaiming permanence On changeable humanity. We say beauty Is skin deep But it is always there To be discovered In the unlikeliest of candidates Despite wrinkles Tears and cares Despite age Shape and size Despite … Continue reading Beauty and Ugliness
Description from Goodreads: Love, Life, and Logic captures the individual struggle of a young man against the seemingly unnamed, unknown, anonymous power of the universe. In a shocking revelation of his innermost thoughts, the book depicts a painful account of his emotional turmoil arising out of his own confusions and dilemmas, and his personal developments … Continue reading Book Review: Love, Life, and Logic
I realized that I've been looking at racism a lot from an artistic and a personal viewpoint. But this doesn't always cover all there is to be said, so I wanted to look at it more philosophically. In the light of all that is going on in our country, there are many questions we have … Continue reading Affirmative Action and Our Hearts
I grew up watching LeVar Burton in "Reading Rainbow" and later, in "Star Trek" alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Michael Dorn. Skin color was about "significant" as pointed ears or angled eyebrows; it might set you apart and make you more interesting than the rest of the population, but nothing more. And I thought racism was dead. … Continue reading The Year I Learned What Hate Was
In the aftermath There is silence More tears than words. What can I say? What do I know? Never should this be Never again Never And yet it repeats Another city Another death. Murder dresses as self-defense And though we mourn And press all the right buttons, Like all the right pages, Do we … Continue reading Black Lives…We Need You
Every fictional novel not set in contemporary times requires world-building. You might be able to "cheat," as it were, and do it via extensive research about what a past time period was like, rather than creating a brand new realm, but the situation is similar. Either way, the details are what sets your story apart. … Continue reading The Secrets to World-Building #amwriting #atozchallenge
Beware of sidewalks Most especially the cracks Be wary of strangers And don't cross the tracks And so we play with shadows Fractions of a heart Playing games with secrets Until we break apart. Could things be different If we turned grown? Instead of splintered fragments, Fully loved and fully known? Copyright … Continue reading Playing Games
I recently came across an ad that showed a picture of a young woman, a celebrity, I suppose, though I’d never heard of her, and the caption read that so-and-so was half black. And I wondered, why was this was supposed to be so interesting? If race really doesn’t matter—if skin color is supposed to … Continue reading Off to the Races