magic in the ‘hood

Every time I see that Macy’s commercial I find myself singing along with their version of Olivia Newton John’s “Magic,” which I believe is from the film Xanadu. If YOU believe in magic, check out The Rejectionist‘s fabulous series on women writers of speculative fiction. So far she’s featured Ibi Zoboi, Andrea Hairston, Hiromi Goto, and Kat Howard. You should also swing by Vanessa Irvin Morris’ blog to read her take on the merging of speculative fiction and street literature. A Wish After Midnight is included in her list of sci-fi/fantasy narratives set in the ‘hood…

My cousin just left and I’m very sorry to have sent her back to Canada with my cold, but it was great fun hanging out with her for the past couple of days. We had two sunny days to roam around the city—we walked the High Line on Friday followed by a sumptuous tea at Podunk in the East Village. We ordered “la bonne femme,” which came in two courses and required two tables—a pot of oolong tea with scones & clotted cream, paper thin cucumber sandwiches, cheese biscuits, savory pies, biscotti, sweetbread, cookies, more scones—we brought about half the treats home! I highly recommend Podunk, but go knowing that there’s no bathroom and it’s cash only. The owner’s lovely…I then needed a nap so we headed home and later spent hours comparing teaching experiences (we both teach at community colleges), health issues, family histories/memories, and our respective research projects. I’m a silent, solitary introvert but having my cousin come to town is *good* for me because there’s no way to disappoint her. Like all of my close friends, she accepts me however I am on any given day…

The next morning we started out in the garden, then walked over to the farmer’s market at Grand Army Plaza; Beth bought lavender sachets, sugar cookies for her niece and nephew, and focaccia bread for her husband; I bought my favorite triangular shortbread cookie (hamantaschen) and Bethany explained it’s origins in the Jewish holiday of Purim. We then went up to the Upper East Side and stopped for a hot dog and pretzel outside the Guggenheim; the sparrows there will practically eat out of your hand! We shared a few crumbs and then went to see the Ezra Jack Keats exhibit at The Jewish Museum; photography’s not allowed but I only found that out after snapping this shot of a life-size stoop where you could plunk down and read Keats’ many books. The art was beautiful—such buoyant colors! We left feeling more confident about our own stories and our own ability to add beauty to the world. We talked about the struggle to find time to make art as we strolled through Central Park, then caught the train back to Brooklyn, shopped downtown for a while, and finished up with Thai food in Ft. Greene. Despite having a sore, red nose and the occasional coughing fit, my cousin managed to snap a hundred photographs of me while we were in the botanic garden, which means I finally have a new head shot. Three or four, actually. New website, new head shots—last week I had a conference call with the marketing team. Ship of Souls is one step closer to our February 28 launch date…