find your people

I did it! My first in-person event since the start of the pandemic was amazing and I wasn’t as rusty as I thought I might be. As an introvert, my social stamina has never been great, but with help I managed to get through a very full day on Friday—8am school visit in Richmond, 9:45am virtual read-aloud with kids in Philly, 11:30 interview with the education reporter at the Richmond Times-Dispatch (read her great article here) followed by a noon interview with a reporter from the Richmond Free Press. At 2pm we walked over to The Book Bar where there was an informal reception attended by several local elected officials. I skipped the scheduled dinner at 5pm and tried to rest a little before heading to the beautifully restored Ashland Theatre to sign 160 books for attendees before our event started at 7pm. I was still signing books when folks started to arrive but then went backstage and met journalist Michael Paul Williams and author Phyllis Theroux. Festival founder Clark Mercer greeted everyone, Phyllis gave us a thoughtful introduction, and then Michael asked me to begin by reading a bit of A PLACE INSIDE OF ME. I chose the stanza about pride and noted that I felt like I’d found my people even though we were in a rather conservative county with a history of book bans (To Kill a Mockingbird back in 1966). Michael is a great conversationalist and we went a little over time but it was so nice to get off the stage and meet people who came out on a stormy night to show their support. My security detail was appreciated but really not necessary because the folks who came to hear me speak were lovely. I didn’t stay too long at the reception; a guest kindly packed me some appetizers to go, and I scarfed them down before falling asleep in front of the TV once I got back to the hotel. That very full day wouldn’t have been possible without festival volunteer Liz picking me up and ensuring that I arrived on time for everything. On our way to the hotel on Thursday, she showed me Monument Avenue, former site of several Confederate statues; Liz also pointed out Kehinde Wiley’s new sculpture at the VA Museum of Fine Arts and I later met the sculptor of the Arthur Ashe statue installed where traitors to the country once stood. I did a little historical research of my own later that afternoon after visiting the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground. The site has no official marker but was being surveyed to determine how many intact burials remain; like so many other Black cemeteries, there have been centuries of disrespect and development on and around the site (a boarded up gas station in this case). It was good to learn more from the surveyors but it’s still depressing to know that almost every city in the country probably has a similar history of disrespecting our dead. I got back to the hotel and started a new poem (“Everywhere Our Dead”) and realized during my conversation with Michael on Friday that I write about burial grounds a lot…first in Ship of Souls, then again in Cin’s Mark, and there’s a forgotten slave cemetery in Ola’s Dream (or will be if I ever finish that novel). I talked about the Bethel Burying Ground in Philly and the historian who meticulously combed through the burial registry so he could name and locate addresses for the 5000 African Americans interred beneath what is now a playground. How should we honor the dead? They won’t be digging at Shockoe Hill, which I understand—let the dead rest in peace. But as an archaeology buff, I wonder what secrets the soil might reveal if we looked beneath the surface. Imagine being harassed, enslaved, and oppressed your entire life only to have your remains disrespected even after death. At the airport on Saturday I found a quiet corner and cleared my inbox before it was time to board. I let my editor know that there were no copies of The Witch’s Apprentice available for fans of the series because Random House let it go out of print three months after publication—despite my regular reminders that we were nearing the 10K mark. If I’m tracking sales, why aren’t they? I’m heading to Gaithersburg next and that will be another missed opportunity if the second printing isn’t ready by then.

The pandemic hasn’t been that hard for introverts like me but my time in VA made me realize that I actually *have* missed interacting with the public! I got home yesterday afternoon and had just enough time to unpack before my “affinity group” met via Zoom for the Black puppetry residency. I hope we get to gather in person eventually. I had a phone conference with my mentor before leaving Richmond and will prep today for my toy theater class, which starts tomorrow. I got a wine box from a nearby store and will clear my desk so I have room to work. Looking forward to a much-needed day of silence…