Women Of The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was a  literary movement of black writers during the 1920s and 1930s. Men like Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen are well noted. There were a number of women who were a part of the movement. Women such as Angeline Weld Grimke, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Anne Spencer and Effie Lee Newsome. Women were very vital to the movement and contributed much, highlight the views of women.

You may not have heard of these women because they have been obscure for so many years.

Words Of Wisdom

Just as outer space is limitless, so is imagination.

On Bucket List

This is one book I'm putting on my bucket list.

Morning Ideas

I find that some of my best ideas come when I wake up in the morning. That's odd for someone who is not a mornong person. That's why I keep a pen and notebook on the nightstand.

There's not the clutter of the previous day so the mind is clearer. Also the thoughts arevpurer. Some of these thoughts strike at the core of my being. I actually feel more connected with those thoughts because it is actually how I feel about events in my life. That's a breakthrough for me as I'm not one to share my feelings with many people.

Already I'm revising a few of my old poems and stories while creating new ones. I thing somewhere in the future that I will write a novella. Don't know if I have the patience to write a novel.

Local Bookstore

This is Word Up, a local independent bookstore which is run by volunteers. The The store originated is 2011 as a pop up site in Washington Heights on Broadway and West 176th Street. The neighborhood wanted  a place where people could share their talents, art, poetry, and singing. Word Up is the only bookstore in Washington Heights. 

I was present when the store opened at its present site on Amsterdam Avenue and West 165 Street. Word is open Tuesdays-Sundays. for more information go to 

www.wordupbooks.com

Words Of Wisdom

The greatest writing comes at the lowest points in life.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is probably the greatest fiction writer of all time.

More Than One

An author may be famous because of the particular genre they write. William Shakespeare is mostly known for his plays. He also wrote sonnets. Beat writer Jack Kerouac is famous for his novels. How people knew that he wrote poetry and haiku? Sylvia Plath is famous for her poems. She wrote one novel titled 'The Bell Jar' ( a great novel in my mind).

I wonder if writing more than one genre helps a writer? I switched to poetry four years ago and believe that it has improved my development of characters for short stories. I can't speak for others but I find that the challenge of a different genre stimulates the mental processes of my creativity. I have written a few plays and some horror stories. I'm curious to see if another genre comes up.

Poem

                                                           Village Streets

Back in '68 I caroused on Mac Dougal Street 
Crowded and boisterous, young people were living life
Bell bottom jeans and sandals were a staple
T-shirt a kaleioscope of red, purple, orange, yellow, green and blue.

Like a flood I was swept away into all the activity
Genders, sexualities, and races were many and varied
It was one happy party
Then I went away.

Life split us apart
I went across the country 
While you stayed behind 
Waiting for the day I would return.

I didn't return right away
Too many responsibilities
 I thought about you many times
But my return would be delayed.

Two score and two years have passed 
You've changed and so have I
Your love never waned 
For you knew that I would return someday. 

These pictures inspired me to write this poem. I was walking by this venerable church in 2010 when a wave of nostalgia swept over me. I sat down on bench you see here and reminisced how much this place had an affect on me in my growth as a person. Even today, I can remember when I saw people who wanted to make a difference in other people's lives. I saw people who were creative, vibrant, passionate, and caring. 

It's amazing that now, half century later, I'm still drawn to St. Marks Church. It was an active vibrant church back in 1968 and it still is today. Perhaps there are still more lessons for me to learn.

Words Of Wisdom

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.


~Zora Neale Hurston, Dramatist (1891-1960)

Performance

One of the benefits of being a performer is the lives that a performances can touch. I'm not a professional performer but it's important to convey a message to the audience that  I have in front of me. 

I have performed several times this year and see how much of an impact it has.  A few years back I first read poetry at a local bookstore. I began to write poems to where now I have over one hundred poems to date. I have performed with two theater projects in the past couple of years. I'm mulling on getting my master's degree in creative writing. I dearly would love to perform in schools. I'm not looking for fame or fortune. I want to make a difference.

Hanging Out In Times Square

I was in 1966 that I began hanging out in Times Square. One could find entertainment that a self respecting person may have found repulsive. For a seventeen year old kid it was exciting! Adult bookstores, sex magazines, movies, and peep shows were abundant. I must have hit every bookstore.
There were plenty of tourists back then as there are today. Some of the people who worked and lived there were a collection of misfits and outcasts. It was they that drew me deeper into that culture.

Friday and Saturday nights the streets were packed. It was like running an obstacle course trying not to bump into people. When I had some coins I would take in a couple of peep shows. I could get a couple of hot dogs and a drink for around a dollar. That whole scene was fitting to my own quirkiness and love of odd places. Some people I know have told me that I like weird stuff. I take that as a compliment.

I saw those early days as my informal education which would serve me greatly in later years. I wondered about the people who actually participated in those burlesque shows and peep centers. I would love to hear and write their stories. Stories! There are ALWAYS stories. That's what I love about New York. That what I loved about Times square in those days. 

Times Square is much cleaner now and the tourists still come. I would love to share with my salad days as one of the denizens would loved this place despite its sleazy rough house reputation. The memories will always be in my heart.

Words of Wisdom

I'm kind of like a relic from another era.


~George Hamilton

Stories In Those Relics

I enjoy taking photos of old buildings. Some of those once vibrant places are now empty shells. I researched one building and discovered that it was once a Polish Catholic church. A senior citizens drop in site now sits empty. I see ideas for stories emulating from these relics of the past.

We all remember places that brought joy in our lives. I hung out in Greenwich Village and Times Square in my youth,places which still impact me today five decades later. I have written stories and poems about those days and continue to do so.

I realize that I'm a part of the history of Times Square and Greenwich Village. More stories and poetry are waiting to be written about those days- and today.

Celebrate Labor

Happy Labor Day!!!

Reread

Two books I detested in high school were The Great Gatsby and The Scarlet Letter. A friend suggested that I reread these two books. Maybe because I was just a teen I didn't see the greatness of these two writings. I will take my friend's suggestion.

Browsing The Poets

Today I was at Barnes & Noble browsing through the book racks. I spent much time in the poetry section. I want to read some of the classics; Homer's Oddesey and the Iliad, James Joyce's Ulysses and Dante's Inferno. Rumi is one of my favorite poets. There are so many fine poets.

I'm looking at some modern poets. Mary Oliver is excellent. So is Rita Dove. I'm looking at female poets in particular. I read an article in in literary magazine about female African poets. This I will investigate more.