Link: http://mosaicmagazine.org/
In celebration of Mosaic magazine’s 10th anniversary, a crowd gathered at Brooklyn’s MoCADA museum to hear Tayari Jones read from her work-in-progress, The Silver Sister. (Amazing title!)Ron Kavanaugh was there, as was Troy Johnson of www.AALBC.com and Mahogany Browne, Slam Curator at Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Other writers and readers were also in attendance, including Val Joyner, author of the forthcoming novel, Hollyhood.
Nicole Sealey of Poets and Writers led an excellent, substantive discussion with Jones. The author talked about the radical work of Gwendolyn Brooks’ novel, Maud Martha, and the impact that novel had on her own life as a writer, because, as she said, it’s a novel where nothing happens. To Jones, the important act of simply recording the female protagonist’s life, of acknowledging her presence, was one of Brooks’ many revolutionary acts.
Jones also read from her first novel, Leaving Atlanta, a coming-of-age narrative told from the points-of-view of three young people living in Atlanta during the 1979-1981 Child Murders (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_child_murders). She emphasized the need to tell contemporary tales, to bear witness to our own lives, and not, as Jones said, wait for our grandchildren to tell our stories for us.
Sealey asked great questions about the writing process, publishing, and receiving rejections and receiving awards. Jones talked about working through writer’s block by keeping the pen moving, much like the act of scribbling with a pen when the ink seems to be running out to get things flowing again. She also said that it is important not to wait for a publisher to validate one’s work and identify one as a writer and the need to modulate both disappointment over rejection and joy over institutional validation when awards do come in (http://www.tayarijones.com/).
The MoCADA space is a wonderful setting for this kind of event, and most people took time to view the Kevin Powell curated show, “I am a Man: Revisited,” now running at the museum (http://www.mocada.org/HTMLversion/).
Comment(s)
Nicole was quite thorough. She asked things I thought about all the way home. Jones’ had an incredible reading of her new work. Great to see you there. Where can I find your book in Brooklyn?
Comment(s)
Hey, Mahogany –
Last night was something, wasn’t it? Both Tayari and Nicole were impressive. I would definitely keep Nicole in mind for future events. She’s a great moderator.
Thanks for asking about Crystelle Mourning. You might try calling Brownstone Books if you live in Bed Stuy, as they should have a copy or two in stock. Of course, you can always order there or at a chain if, say, the B&N on Court Street doesn’t have it on their shelves. And the book is available online through Amazon. You can click on the banner below to get directly to the page.
Either way, lemme know what you think once you’ve read it, and thanks again for your support!