White funeral clothes and Elysium fields and going ham and Schoolboy Q and Christian imagery and the death of Molly.
Because Kendrick.
h/t to Gorilla vs. Bear
Tag Archives: writing
Mama’s Gun
There are no secrets in my mother’s house. By the time I arrived on her porch steps that balmy summer evening, she had already been notified by Tisa that I was a nut job. Granny Jo, Lula Mae, and Aunt Lettie. Rachel and Leah (the twins) were there too, and they brought their children, only the girls. They were all there, behind the oak wood door, I could hear them cackling over the sound of the television. I was not yet ready to enter.
My sister Tisa, or ‘Tease’, as I called her, called it first. When I didn’t call anyone, not even my best friend Alex, after 12 whole days, Alex called her. Tease drove up to D.C. on the fourteenth day. The Beauchamps are not the ‘not calling or hollering’ type of family. You check in. So when I didn’t call, text, or mail, not for two whole weeks, something went off on their radar.
“Kai,” Tease yelled through the door.
(I was on the ground, there for three days, suspended between lucidity and starvation-induced lunacy).
“Kai,” she screamed again, ”if you don’t bring your ass to the door RIGHT NOW I will BUST THIS SHIT DOWN WITH MY BARE HANDS” Continue reading
StoryTellers: Tracy Clayton (Brokey McPoverty)
Tracy Clayton, a.k.a. “Brokey McPoverty”, has made a name for herself humorously skewering racism, patriarchy, and ratchetry on Twitter, Tumblr, her blog, and around the interwebs. Perhaps most notorious for her “Little Known Black History Facts” , she spoke with DopeReads about her comedy and her future as a writer.
Tracy was recently named editor of theRoot.com’s new Chatterati social network tracking tool. Check it out here.
Sister, Sister (or Nun on the BoltBus)
The other day I received a letter from a nun I met on the BoltBus back in December. Actually, she’s a sister, which she explained meant that she took vows of simplicity and does work in the community instead of being cloistered.
Anyway, while on a long trip to New York City we struck up conversation. I was on my way to visit college friends, and she was headed to see some sisters she was close with. She was sweet in a Catholic sister type of way, her eyes shining with interest as we exchanged small talk, with her closely cropped hair and sensible outfit. She told me about the work she does at the Dominican retreat in Northern Virginia. I told about my day job doing ___. I also told her that I love reading and want to be a writer, and a weekend at the retreat sounds like the perfect escape to do both. We exchanged info and off boarded the bus. Five months passed.
I looked up the retreat a few times, but never got up the gumption to actually apply for a weekend. I am notorious for acting like I will get back to doing something and then forgetting. Infamous. I thought to myself, well I’m applying for a weeklong writing workshop, so what’s the point? I never even applied to the workshop – I got so distracted with other unimportant things – so now the excuses for not writing/applying myself are just shameful. Then I got this in the mail:
!!!
She remembered me! And sent me a handwritten note! And she signed off with a ‘Peace’ (she’s a sho’ nuff sister in my book for that). That handwritten note came at a time when I needed it most. So, it looks like this retreat is going to happen sooner than later. Thank you sister for remembering me.
Free Reads: What’s The Best Free Reading You’ve Ever Received?
Swag.
While off boarding the plane returning from my trip to LA this week, something on the floor caught my eye. It was the May issue of Vanity Fair, which my seat neighbor was kind of reading (and I was eyeing it over her shoulder, but I was slick about it, lol).
I pick up the magazine and say, ‘Hey, I think you forgot your Vanity Fair.’ She’s all, oh-I-sure-did, actually-do-you-want-it? And I’m all, ‘HELL YEAH!’ lol. I LOVE FREE READING MATERIALS. This probably comes from a childhood of hanging out in libraries and scouring yard sales with my 94 year old grandfather. ‘Waste not, want not’ was the motto. And as an avid reader who will buy a book in a heartbeat, not having to pay for reading materials is a relief on the pockets.
I also found another May issue of a magazine, Vogue, tucked into the seat back pockets while walking off of the plane. And before even going on the trip I absconded with my aunt’s May copy of Essence. Three awesome magazines, all at the low price of FREE. Thank you, people who read awesome magazines and books and pass them along within the same circulation month! Thankfully we live in a world where the internet provides us with tons of zero cost stuff to read, but it’s especially awesome when you come across hard copy items that are right up your alley.
That leads me to today’s question of the day: What’s the best free book/magazine/reading material you have ever gotten? Let me know in the comments section!
Book Review: Ghana Must Go (and You Must Read)
What does the unraveling of a family look like? At what point does one realize that things will never be the same? First time novelist and Afropolitan Taiye Selasi tackles these themes in her new novel “Ghana Must Go”. The story hinges on the death and burial of Ghanaian patriarch Kweku Sai. To his American children and first wife Fola he is a dead-beat father and former surgeon who inexplicably left them to fend for themselves just as their lives started to gel in America. As the reason for his flight becomes apparent, nobody recognizes how the world shifts when no one is paying attention.
StoryTellers: Mychal Denzel Smith
Commentator and mental health advocate Mychal Denzel Smith (@mychalsmith) talks to DopeReads about why he started writing, his views on feminism, how his HBCU experience shaped his journalism, and his penchant for pageboy caps. Check it out!
