A couple weeks ago, a fellow poet, Rebeca, sent me the most inspiring message on Facebook. She told me a funny story of how her 9 year old daughter, Kassandra, discovered a copy of my book, Northside Cries Lullabies, and how she read a haiku, loved it, and felt inspired to write her own. She ended the message with this: "Just thought you should know. You inspire."
How cool is that! I was completely humbled by her story. Of course I wanted to read the haikus she scribbled down, so I asked my friend and her daughter if she wouldn't mind sharing them with me. She did, and I fell in love with them so much that I wanted to feature them on here and share them with all of you. Please read...
Nintendo
dark pink and pretty,
I heart you.
Crazy man
green glasses and short
I'm laughing.
Jellybeans rolling
down, around and inside small
dark brown fourth grade hands.
Jump, jump high
the moons a baseball
for the night.
Each haiku is a colorful and innocent look into the perspective of a 9 year old. Just perfection.
Much love to Rebeca and Kassandra for being awesome and for allowing me to share her growing, yet beautiful poetic voice.
Reading her poems actually inspired me start a project with my own students. Now the inspiration has come full circle. Its a beautiful thing when we are able to inspired and then become inspired, isn't it?
Hello good people! Well, I know its been a while since my last blog post. To be honest I really don't have an excuse since I have been out of school since mid-May. However I go back mid-July, which means I will make it my duty to blog as much as possible before my brain goes back into school mode. Promise.
I just want to share a few photos from my book signing last month, which was a complete success by the way! I was really nervous about turn-out, but everything came along very well that night with the support of my family, friends, and the night's awesome host, YTG - fellow poet (I'm a lucky girl).
Anyway, I usually get really nervous before any show, but some reason I was really dreading having to speak and read at this event. I think the nerves were a combination of it being my first book signing event, and the fact that I would be reading in front of family and friends, some who have never seen me read before. However, I have to say that because of their presence, I actually felt really comfortable up there. I felt more at ease than usual :)It was definitely a night to remember! I remember having a much needed drink with my friends afterwards over at the bar area and feeling so...accomplished! I remember my friend Helen saying with a smile, "take it all in, sweetheart". And I remember trying really hard to take in the moment and the feeling, and part of me did. But the other part of me was ready to move along and take on more. I think the book signing was exactly what I needed to keep pushing along this crazy journey I got myself into. I'll keep pushing for myself, for Northside, and for every person who was there to support me and my poetry. More than ever, I am ready to do more and to be more.
So while I leave you all to prepare myself for my next "thing", I will leave you with a small glimpse of that special night...
Ps: As far as writing goes, things are looking a little....dry. Just a little bit. So I decided I'm going to pick up a few poetry books to read over the summer. Any suggestions??
I'm in good spirits this week. Do you know why? Because my baby, Northside Cries & Lullabies, is FINALLY going to be published at the end of this week! Yup, you heard right. And I must say, its coming along well with over 50 poems and featured collaborations with fellow poets Christian Alvarez, Kevon Crute, This_isjust_M, Rome, and Irwin Roman who recently published his first collection of dope poetry, Philadelphia Demeanor.
I'm hoping and praying for the nothing but dopeness and positive energy while the birth of this collection comes to an end.
I'm feeling...
*satisfied
*ready
*hype
*relieved
...but mostly excited to finally place this baby into your hands :)
In the meantime, I'll also be brainstorming ideas for the release and the promotion which we all know I suck at. So again, any ideas or resources for online and/or offline book marketing would REALLY help!
First, I haven't been around much because (1) Having technical issues (aka my computer is down and my tech guy isn't really feeling me at the moment) (2) Writing has been put on the back burner for the last few weeks. I was busy doing some soul searching - talking to God, talking to myself and stuff. Yeah, and I'm in the process of going back to school in January for Early Childhood Education :)
Excuses, excuses...I know. However, since then I've been trying to get this train rolling on my second collection of poetry, Northside Cries & Lullabies. I know I keep pushing back the release date but it just doesn't feel ready yet. Every day a new idea hits me and I fall back into it like an ex-lover I can't let go of. So I decided not to rush it. It's done when it's done! sigh. That's the advantage of self-publishing.
But seriously, words fail to express how nervous and excited I am about releasing this collection...
Nerves: As a writer, most of my inspiration comes from my own real life and from the things and people around me. It isn't easy for me to put myself out there and there are a lot of personal pieces in this collection - true thoughts and feeling; real life experiences.
Excitement: Once again, putting myself back out into the universe and improving my skills in book marketing and self-promotion (which I SUCK at so ideas are always welcomed).
I'm also excited about the several collaborative poems I decided to add to the book. It was truly a last minute idea, but I think it's a good way to display some of my collaborations with the cool, talented poets I met via writing communities and open mics.
My new month resolutions (I know we're already a week into November, but work with me):
*Get a new tech guy *Finish up collaborative poems, and editing. *Develop a GOOD marketing plan (aye aye aye) *Show my blog some more lovin' (blog more often)
November has brought me a whole new wave of positive energy. I think I'm finally learning that I have to put out what I want to receive :) I'm feeling good, ya'll! It's going to be a long ride for sure. Hold tight!
In the mean time, you can enjoy this video blog by my MetroLine Media partner and homeskillet, Mr. Angel Lozada! Aside from his awesome sense of humor, dude is hella talented, smart and has a great future in telecommunications ahead of him. Make sure you subscribe to his BLOG and YouTube Channel.
