open

Yesterday I visited a school in East Harlem; I arrived late, unfortunately, and the weather couldn’t have been worse–rain/sleet that turned the three inches of snow on the ground into pools of slush.  I was so flustered by my own lateness that I launched right into the workshop as soon as I got my coat off; when time ran out and I hadn’t even gotten the students to write one poem, I felt deflated.  And all day today I’ve been thinking of the things I *didn’t* do–I didn’t ask their names, I didn’t give them enough time to ask the questions they’d written down, I didn’t wrap up with advice for writing their own stories.  Then I got an email from Chris, the fantastic woman who invited me to the school; she works for Behind the Book, which is an incredible organization that buys books for low-income students and then brings authors and illustrators in for class visits.  It’s such a gift–imagine giving hundreds of books to our cash-strapped schools, most of which can’t afford to fund a library.  Yesterday a guest attended my workshop; I thought I had failed in so many ways until I read some of her observations:

These 6th graders were incredibly prepared and Ms. Elliott was nothing short of amazing.  It was a tremendous reminder of why what Behind the Book does is so important.  Ms. Elliott, as a part of her presentation, told the kids about her own drug addicted and incarcerated brother and asked the kids how many of them were familiar with going to prison to visit relatives.  Hands flew up.  She also spoke about how the creation of art can liberate you from the immense burden and embarrassment of those kinds of relationships.  The kids were mesmerized.  They saw themselves in every word she spoke.

Sometimes we can’t see what we’re doing without someone else standing by with a mirror.  I was really put out by the comments I read online about the CSK awards, but I’m not ending my day on that note.  There are too many people in the world who are trying to make a difference, and who want to GIVE more than they want to GET.  It’s important to end (and start!) every day with gratitude, and today I’m grateful for the chance to work with children again, and for all the teachers, and literacy coaches, and librarians, and booksellers, and bloggers who are OPEN to new possibilities.  Edi Campbell, who blogs at Crazy Quilts, went out on a limb and reviewed my YA novel, A Wish after Midnight.  I know many people have reservations about self-published books, so I really appreciate that she was open enough to give it a chance.  I went to the Macon branch of the Brooklyn Public Library today, and the librarian there had ideas for getting Wish into the library system.  They have such a beautiful space there–a newly renovated Carnegie library, once the favorite haunt of John Steptoe.  On my way home, I stopped in at Brownstone Books, and talked about the CSK issue with owner, Crystal Bobb-Semple.  She suggested hosting a forum on issues of race in publishing.  By the time I got home, my head was spinning…there are so many possibilities!  And I’m usually a homebody; I’m not really good at networking or building professional relationships.  So it actually surprises me sometimes when I find my life enriched by these contacts–people I don’t know all that well, but who show such generosity in the sharing of resources and ideas.  I want to end by encouraging you to check out the Black History Month contest at Color Online.  Sisters are doing it for themselves!  “If you have no one to praise you, praise yourself.”  If you love black women writers, submit a short review of a favorite book or testify and tell the world why your favorite author ought to be honored.  Octavia Butler’s one of my biggest inspirations, and her books are prominently featured on their site, so check it out…