buzz

PBS is the crutch that’s helping me limp along to the end of this month. Today I’m rewatching The Black Church with Skip Gates and I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Soul! I had nine presentations last week; I only had three this week but there were lots of meetings and deadlines to fill up my days. I’ve met two so there’s just one left. I’m hoping I can crank out four more poems this weekend. I took two lakefront walks with friends and that lifted my spirits because the sun’s been out almost every day and temperatures feel quite balmy. The birds seem to know that spring is coming and I feel optimistic overall. Things slow down in March and I’ve left myself more time to write in April and May. I spent more time than usual on social media this week because my books have gotten a bit of buzz lately. An episode of Drag Queen Story Hour, hosted by the fabulous Black Benatar, featured A PLACE INSIDE OF ME, read expertly by my librarian friend Satia Orange. You can watch that amazing episode here. We learned that that book and SAY HER NAME were selected for the Cooperative Children’s Book Center’s 2021 Choices List. SAY HER NAME is also a finalist for the 2021 Audies—an award for audiobooks—and it was named a “Best Bet” by the Ontario Library Association. You can tell it’s Black History Month because I’m getting a lot of attention north of the border: I was featured in this newsletter of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre and CBC Books interviewed me as well.

I had another ultrasound on Wednesday and the reassuring results were posted online this morning. It feels like I’m clearing out a closet that’s been too cluttered for too long. Once I make space, I’ll have room for…more clutter? No. My friend Purvi told me she’s been dreaming about spaciousness. I could use a little of that. But it doesn’t fall from the sky; you have to be deliberate about making room in your life for unknown quantities. I feel ready to switch off auto-pilot and try something new. Last week I delivered a keynote and found myself digging through old photographs, trying to trace the origins of my love of poetry. The next night I had to give a reading—my first time reading my own poetry for 45 minutes! I worried I wouldn’t have enough poems but wound up having too many, and instead of being embarrassed by some of the oldest ones, I felt a little bit proud. Today I would be too ashamed to submit those poems for publication but back then, I guess I was bolder, more open. I have another keynote coming up in April: “‘Sometimes the Axe Is the Cure’: Poetry as Balm and Blade in the Black Lives Matter Era.” I have a second reading that month as well—a chance to curate a new set of poems. And April is National Poetry Month so I’ll be writing a poem a day, generating new material. A friend asked me to record a short video for her upcoming virtual tea party—all the guests are being asked to wear a fancy hat and red lipstick. I have neither, of course, so ordered a cute little hat and just need to buy some lipstick. I’m already thinking about what I want to say and which of my mother’s fancy teacups I’ll use. It’s nice to have something to look forward to! I’d like to start planning a trip for my birthday but will it be safe to travel in October? Will I be vaccinated by then? Who knows. Maybe instead of going back to London I’ll try Copenhagen this time. My friend invited me to do a three-week meditation challenge about attracting abundance. There was too much emphasis on money but I liked the prompts that made me think about clutter—the emotional baggage we all carry that prevents our hands from grabbing hold of something new. It was nice to realize that some of the things that used to hurt a lot don’t bother me as much anymore. Our bodies can heal and so can our hearts. Time to grow…