Morphological Confetti

Hello friends. I'm just showing my face while I am still in my birthday month of August. Go Leos! Like many, I do an assessment of my life on my birthday; I take stock and think about the necessary changes for myself. For me, it's about getting better and doing better. This year was no different, while I have been sitting at home during this pandemic. I am still finishing up my doctoral studies. I have been doing my coursework since 2018 with a focus on critical pedagogy, and I will soon start my thesis work. So, I am moving forward, but I have been thinking more about creative writing. Currently, most of my writing is academic, but I long to sit and write creatively. I crave it so much that I throw some of that creativity into my academic writing. So, my goal this year is to make more of an effort to publish poetry and maybe some short stories. We'll see. I have made progress in other areas of my life this year, so maybe it is a sign of things to come. Again, we will see. ...

     MAYA Born to Die. Died to Live. Lived, Died,  Lived. By WmTell 05/28/14

Incident Once riding in old Baltimore, Heart-filled, head-filled with glee, I saw a Baltimorean Keep looking straight at me. Now I was eight and very small, And he was no whit bigger, And so I smiled, but he poked out His tongue, and called me, "Nigger." I saw the whole of Baltimore From May until December; Of all the things that happened there That's all that I remember. Countee Cullen was a leading figure along with others who helped to define the Harlem Renaissance. Countee Cullen suffered high blood pressure and uremic poisoning and died suddenly on January 9, 1946. He was 42.  Read more... Sources:   wikipedia, blackfacts.com, and American National Biography Online

A Black Man Talks of Reaping by Arna Bontemps 1902–1973   I have sown beside all waters in my day. I planted deep, within my heart the fear that wind or fowl would take the grain away. I planted safe against this stark, lean year. I scattered seed enough to plant the land in rows from Canada to Mexico but for my reaping only what the hand can hold at once is all that I can show. Yet what I sowed and what the orchard yields my brother's sons are gathering stalk and root; small wonder then my children glean in fields they have not sown, and feed on bitter fruit. Dedicated to my cousin G. Bess; He shares a birthday with Mr. Bontemps on today, October 13th, and he has sown many good things in the time I have known him.  I'm certain there was more before we became close; nevertheless, I pray that he reaps a generous harvest.  I'm sure that he will only take that generous harvest and sow even more.  This is...

James Weldon Johnson,  educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, writer, anthropologist, poet and activist, was born June 17, 1871 in Jacksonville, Florida.  Mr. Johnson is perhaps better known for his contribution as a songwriter [along with his brother, Rosamond Johnson] for what was adopted as the Negro National Anthem Hymn, Lift Evr'y Voice and Sing  (1900); however,  he was also a major contributor to the Harlem Renaissance as a novelist and poet.  The most popular of his literary contributions includes Autobiography and Ex-Colored Man (1912)  and the poetic collection of sermons, God's Trombones (1927) .  He also wrote a wonderful autobiography, Along This Way , which chronicles his life and journey as a remarkable human being and a major contributor to what we know today as African American heritage.  He is not often talked about in history class, but he is one of the main reasons that African Americans have a history that ca...

Happy Birthday to late, Gwendolyn Brooks , an excellent poet and extraordinary woman.   I will always be inspired by her poetry.   I recently shared one of my favorites, We Real Cool , with a group of college freshman.   It was interesting to hear their interpretations.  Again, Happy Birthday Ms. Brooks.   At this moment,  I am Jazzin’ June, but in a positive way.   Thank you for your creative concern and poetic protest. .. Above Artwork by : Dirk Hagner [Gwendolyn Brooks, woodcut, 40 x 22.5 inches, hand printed on washi] Book by Gwendolyn Brooks: