Seven a.m., I drag myself out of bed – online meditation is due to start. I have three extra minutes if Fred decides to wait for the stragglers, as he usually does. […]
Three Mindful Steps: In the Jungle of Monkey Mind
What She Said, February 28: Pamela Sneed
“all over the world wars
people plagued
by the same ills as their oppressor
the real revolution is
to love myself.”
–Pamela Sneed
What She Said, February 27: Allison Joseph
“I like to see where my own life intersects or diverges from notions of what a teenager is supposed to be, or what a black personn is supposed to be, or a woman.” –Allison Joseph
What She Said, February 26: Toi Derricotte
“To be published as a ‘woman of color’ makes me squiggle on a pin: I want to be read by white people, and not just white people who are interested in ‘black’ writing. I want even my speaking about color to speak in some universal way.” –Toi Derricotte
What She Said, February 25: Tracy K. Smith
“I shut my ears, averted my eyes, turning instead to what I thought at the time was pain’s antidote: silence. I was wrong… Silence feeds pain, allows it to fester and thrive. What starves pain, what forces it to release its grip, is speech, the voice upon which rides the story, this is what happened; this is what I have refused to let claim me.” –Tracy K. Smith
What She Said, February 24: Natasha Trethewey
“I have always loved the feel of books, the way they give a literal weight to words and make of them a sacred object.” –Natasha Tretheway
On Purpose: Work, Religion, and Community
I used to be a priest in the Church of Poetry. I had 60-80 parishioners per semester, mostly young people with varying dedication to Poetry. Some entered the classroom having only worshipped […]
What She Said, February 23: Marilyn Nelson and Tonya C. Hegamin
“I had a lot of hatred, but I realized that kind of hate didn’t do much.
I had to start feuling myself with pride. We owe the ancestors that. So many of the souls who died ion bondage just want us to recognize their struggle.” –Marilyn Nelson and Tonya C. Hegamin
What She Said, February 22: Nikki Giovanni
“A lot of people refuse to do things because they don’t want to go naked, don’t want to go without guarantee. But that’s what’s got to happen. You go naked until you die.” –Nikki Giovanni
What She Said, February 19: Dolly Parton
“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.”—Dolly Parton
