Hey guys - super quick post to let you know I have work up at this cool bookstore in Kingston, Bookophilia from now through June.
You know I'm into community/art/edu programs and so I've committed proceeds of all sales to go to two organisations I support in Jamaica.
One you've heard about here before, Studio 174 is run by Rozi Chung (hey that rhymed!! haha). It's located on Water Street, downtown Kingston, and the art and educational programs there are provided for free to inner city children in need. Many of the art workshops are focused on community beautification mural projects that also serve to improve the face of downtown Kingston. S174 is in partnership with INSCAPE Foundation - an organization providing free clinical psych and art therapies to inner city citizens in stress.
Rozi Chung(left) with S174 students, and Dr. Tammy Haynes of INSCAPE (far right blue shirt)
S174 studio workshops and exhibition space
I was recently introduced to yet another really great organization on my recent trip to Jamaica. Run by Roslyn Ellison, Trenchtown Reading Centeris
now nearly 20 years old. It's located in the heart of Bob Marley's old
home town and has on offer free classes, reading and music sessions,
and the most AMAZING library for the children of Trenchtown to enjoy.
TTRC kids
Roslyn Ellison with TTRC kids
Proceeds
from sales of my pieces at Bookophilia will go to both Studio 174 and
Trenchtown Reading Center. Please drop by if you are on the island, or
pass the word around. Thanks so much.
(I don't go here usually - so strap on in for a different and not-so-pleasant ride.)
Listen - I have had just about enough of that shitty question myself and the attack it forms on my identity as a multicultural black woman born in Sierra Leone and raised in the Caribbean in a very African household by an anglo-Brit-raised-Afro-Czech-German mother and my Euro-educated-African-proud-Salone dad, only to come out into the world having to explain my unfamiliar accent/sound, or worse yet, being told that it bears no resemblance to my skin - a finding that has always perplexed me as the sound itself has rarely if ever been accurately identified anyway. And all this has caused its own special issues -I will never live ANYWHERE where I'm not asked "where are you from?" Just happened again last week, in the country I grew up in! Hence my lifelong and artistic focus on cultural identity and the soul journey. But this race one is just nutty. I've grown so accustomed to the look of consternation and urgent re-evaluation when I'm seen in the flesh after being first heard on the phone - the barely-there-yet-perceptible-withdrawal from an appearance that apparently fell to the side of someone's narrow estimation of me. And this has been, sorry to say it, a distinctly American experience.
Oh how I suffered when I first came to America - trying to figure out how to straddle a set of permissible identities all having to do with race first, class and culture second, and yet having even fewer choices to fit in the latter by being black, and dark skinned black at that - with, gasp(!), a nondescript foreign accent! To have to hone my (Jamaican) patois and Salone creole skills just to make the point that speech in the diaspora is as varied as our hues. And so,...so what if it took me a few years to come around to listening to hip hop, let alone understanding a darn word spoken in it; that didn't equate a rejection of being black - it just meant it didn't relate to my cultural experiences...yet ...as I wasn't American. Simple right?! Yeahhhhhh-not-so-much.
This is an old gripe that's now weathered, beaten, and pretty much gone actually. There's no upset anymore really (I know it doesn't read that way above - hahaha); but there is the occasional irritating itch of it, and also lots of curious analysis and amusement. And mind you, I'm now far more acclimated so I can cover myself and avoid creating confusion in my official home of America - nah'a'mean? But I, we, foreign black nationals go through this. Real, real talk.
So...I love this woman for creating this poem. Dammit someone said it, and said it thoroughly, with the right levels of exasperation and appeals. Mental Emancipation People!! Well done and thank you Maya Wegerif!!
NB: If you can't see video, please visit blog link directly.
Oh how long life is and what a gift it is to have witnesses...life long witnesses, who may not be close to you by any active means, but have seen you either at pivotal shifts on the journey or a few steps in the sub-lifetime of those shifts. These most important beings help to keep WHOLE the picture of your life, the image of yourself, your journey, your growth. They join the dots. They know you in ways your closest friends over shorter and especially recent periods cannot as they are not mired as you are, by the a litany of current distracting details.
--
It was a beautiful Ash Wednesday beach day specifically for the purpose of rejuvenation and support of our dear friend Sean who had recently lost his baby brother Joseph. After our day out, we settled by the poolside of Jason's mother's home in Kingston. There we spoke in deep wonder and acceptance of the journey of loss and rebirth that we all have and must endure. At the close of this, Jason's mum was rushing about, late for her game of tennis, and her sparring partner who came to fetch her was already parked outside:
Friend JH: Berette, do you know who that is in the car outside?
Me: No, who is it?
JH: It's Sister Mary Catherine
Me: What?! No way. From Immaculate??? Lemme see!
I ran outside around to the driver's side of the car where a middle aged woman was seated. Same childlike face that I remember from so many years ago. Except in the place of the Franciscan nun's habit was a tennis headband, bob-length hair flowing free:
Me: Sister Mary Catherine!! Is that really you?!
SMC: Ah...yes...(?)
Me: It's Berette...
Me/SMC: Berette Macaulay (?!)
Me: Yes Yes! Oh my gosh I can't believe it - how long has it been?!
SMC: I know, oh my goodness! I can't believe it. How are you? Where have you been?!
Me: I'm fine! I've been living in the States the past few years. I'm an artist - well currently a photographer...
SMC: How wonderful!! You...you look...well...(!)
Me: Yes, I am.
SMC: I see your mother on television sometimes, and whenever I do, I wonder "what ever became of Berette". And I see you are fine...(as she gazes at me)
Me: Yes, yes I am (smiles, gasps, giggles)
SMC: I'm so glad, because you were such a troubled child. (eyebrows earnestly furrowed, coupled with a smile of disbelieving.)
Me: (laughs in agreement) yes, I was, but alas I've grown to be quite conservative in my old age (laughs more)
SMC: I can see, yes, I'm glad to see you are alright, and healthy, and well. I didn't know you knew these guys! (referring to our mutual friends)
Me: Yes, a long time too, in fact I met Jason when I was a young child in Sierra Leone, before my 'troubled' teen years! Yeah - the world is small isn't it?!
His mother comes out to get into the car:
SMC: Berette very good to see you. Take care of yourself.
Me: So very good to see you too Sister Mary Catherine (I say this
wondering if I should call her this - as she left the nunnery years prior). Oh wait! Please, before you go, please can we take a picture together, I must have this for posterity.
SMC: Of course!
Darling Sean, whose shock and loss was just a week old - was standing by looking on. We had all been in the deep conversational search; reckoning with the mystery of life...the whole reason for this day of togetherness in the sun. He immediately grasped the seemingly random continuity of this moment and runs around happily to oblige:
by Sean John
As they drove off - we (Sean, Nicky, Jason, and me) all laughed and reeled from this mysterious journey called 'Life', and the never-ending opportunity to complete the circles that help us make sense of it all.
Lessons learned and reinforced:
This life is long, and this life is funny, even while it hurts. Stay awake. Keep joining the dots. Keep searching and creating connections. Keep loving actively. Go on.
We all piled into our car, and drove off all singing along with this song:
Lovely Day by Bill Withers
(Dedicated to Joseph Buchanan, Feb 3rd, 1984 - Feb 14th, 2012, Fly in Peace beautiful one)
A diva (English pronunciation: /ˈdiːvə/, Italian: [ˈdiːva]) is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music.
Okay. So we know who those are - the far and few between who happen to be celebrated. But we also know the new divas...the Kardashians, the Hiltons, or others who I can't name because frankly I just don't pay close enough attention.
I'm not an avid TV viewer, I go for days, sometimes weeks without touching the clicker. This wasn't always the case. There was a time, back when television and cable programming had more 'original', and gasp (!), creative content, and less mind-numbing carnivals* showcasing the most base of human behavior under the heading 'reality'.
At the heart of this soul crushing content is not the celebration of women but the degradation of them. And though many of us protested this shift that has now become the norm; the reality IS, that this demeaning content 1) entertains the masses, 2) catapults many a vapid being to undeserving supernova stardom from such spectacle, and 3) creates associations for all womanhood that serve more to undo the triumphs for equality and respect so hard won. The new diva represents nothing of any progressive use, and so hurts those of us who have something inspiring, magnificent, or unique to offer. As performer/actor/DJ Amanda Seale (formerly known as Amanda Diva) aptly notes "we're put in this corner where I may have to be less than the woman my mother raised me to be".
This concern is at the heart of her new one-woman show now up in New York, Death of a Diva, directed by Roger C. Jeffrey. Roger is a dear friend, past dance teacher of mine, and an accomplished dancer and choreographer. He has deep social concerns for women, youth, racial inequities, and matters of the soul - he's a gapminder, who works always with superior talent. So no surprise to me that he's a part of a most meaningful project written and performed by this accomplished female talent. Seale's conscientiously written work tackles the attack on the image of women in all media and appears to be every bit as heightened, intelligent, and damn funny in her performance.
Seale takes the stage this month offering ideas, and stories of the woman and the diva, through voices of multiple characters in this performance, each of whom will provoke thought and reopen active dialogue on what appears now to be a frighteningly passive issue. This is too good, and too important to miss. I mean really, have we killed the diva?!
How do I know what I think until I see what I write. ~Unknown
Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up. James Baldwin
For an idea that does not at first seem insane; there is no hope.
Einstein
no one ever really criticizes those who live out their dreams. but some will curse the courage it displays that they have yet to adopt. share not only your dreams but your daring to realize them. go forth and inspire. build together.
~Scoop i•ma•gine | e•volve
People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of innocence long after innocence is dead turns himself into a monster.
~James Baldwin~
The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating -- in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.'
~ Anne Morriss
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
~Albert Einstein
When you stay awake, you see the sun. Anywhere you are, you have to make it your paradise.
~Joseph Buchanan
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.
~Albert Einstein
Tomorrow will bring different questions and answers. OWN NOW.
~Scoop
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
~ George Bernard Shaw
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.~
Live with your toes digging into the earth, with your eyes open wide, and your heart warm. This way you won't miss a thing little one. :)
~Scoop
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel J. Boorstin
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
~Steve Jobs
Art is a microscope which the artist fixes on the secrets of his soul, and shows to people these secrets which are common to all.
~Leo Tolstoy
I'd rather be busy than bored; I'd rather burn out than rust out.
Whatever you ardently desire, Sincerely believe in, Vividly imagine, and Enthusiastically act upon, Must inevitably come to pass.
- Sybil Leek, Diary of a Witch
Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.
~Oscar Wilde
For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it. For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it. For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it.
Ivan Panin
Remember to play after every storm.
~Mattie Stepanek~
The most original thing you've ever come across is actually yourself.
~Saul Williams~
Why fight it? Be seduced by your purpose.
~Scoop~
The light at the end of the tunnel is not an illusion. The tunnel is.
~unknown~
Fear is just another word for ignorance ... Freedom is something that dies unless it's used
~Hunter S. Thompson~
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
~Marcel Proust~
Unexpected beauty in life shatters our monument to suffering.
~Scoop 2001~
Once you label me, you negate me.
~Kierkegard~
The worst realities of our age are manufactured realities. It is therefore our task, as creative participants in the universe, to re dream our world. The fact of possessing imagination means that everything can be re dreamed. Each reality can have it.
~Ben Okri~
Cautionary actions to prevent future pain or loss may also function as obstacles to any happiness you could have presently.
~Berette Macaulay~
Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.
~unknown~
We shall not cease from exploration, but at the end of all of our exploring will be to return to the place from which we originated and to know it for the first time.
~T.S. Elliot~
Isn't it funny how the word 'politics' is made up of the words 'poli' meaning 'many' in Latin, and 'tics' as in 'bloodsucking creatures’?
~Anonymous~
"You have a grand gift of silence, Watson," said he, "it makes you quite invaluable as a companion."
~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle~
Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.
~Ben Okri~
[I am] not so interested in the length of the road so much as the width.
~A. Regsmith~
Losers fold; winners take hits.
Forget the odds; draw, raise, bluff, call, stand.
~unknown~
Great ideas are no different from useless thoughts until they are put to use.
~Kynan Cooke, 1994~
In life you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.
~anonymous~
It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before, to test your limits, to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin~
Choosing to live in narrow spaces leads to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. …the willfully unimaginative see more monsters, they are often more afraid.
~JK Rowling~
Chance has never yet satisfied the hope of a suffering people.
~Marcus Garvey~
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. ~Elbert Hubbard~
a simple guide: no NOW...no JOY...no LIFE.
~Robert Holden~
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.
~Bertrand Russell~
Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.
~John Lennon~
Being proactive instead of reactive always lessens the pressures of adversity.
~Kevin C. Robinson~
There are times, however, and this is one of them, when even being right feels wrong. What do you say, for instance, about a generation that has been taught that rain is poison and sex is death? If making love might be fatal and if a cool spring breeze on any summer afternoon can turn a crystal blue lake into a puddle of black poison right in front of your eyes, there is not much left except TV and relentless masturbation. It's a strange world. Some people get rich and others eat shit and die.
~Hunter S. Thompson, 1988~
The minute you try to prove yourself is the moment you've lost the point. 'Doing it' moves you forward, 'proving it' takes you back.
~Berette Macaulay~
I want death to find me planting my cabbages.
~Michel de Montaigne~
I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by.
~Douglas Adams~
In my sex fantasy, nobody ever loves me for my mind.
~Norah Ephron~
Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness.
~Shakti Gawain~
Can you get over Something you truly enjoy And if indeed, why?
~Mystic Urchin~
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
~William Shakespeare, "Hamlet"~
There are indeed a thousand ways of acquiring an opinion that have nothing to do with rational thinking.
~R.J. Hollingdale~
There is need to sway Naked Rhythm summons blues Wind and Whispers dance.
~Mystic Urchin~
Chill out somewhere for a minute. Things get clearer when you get quiet.
~Scoop~
Love is rarer than genius itself. And friendship is rarer than love.
~Charles Peguy~
We are so accustomed to disguising ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.
~Francois de La Rochefoucauld~
A man is not an orange. You can't eat the fruit and throw the peel away.
~Arthur Miller~
There is no truth; everything is permitted.
~William S. Burroughs~
Nothing is true or false but thinking makes it so. You believe you have appeased the thunder and lightening and the ground that grows your grain; you believe it, you have. ~Shakespeare~
Knowing how to see is much more important than what kind of camera or lights you have.
~ David Harry Stuart~
Every work comes into being in the same way as the cosmos – by means of catastrophes…
~Wassily Kandinsky~
Every man takes The limits of his Own field of vision For the limits of the world.
~Arthure Schopenhauer~ 1788-1860, Studies in Pessimism
Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate.
~Dorothea Lange~
Writing, I think, is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. The writer experiences everything twice. Once in reality and once in that mirror which waits always before or behind.
Catherine Drinker Bowen
Nature Will Hold You Live within Integrity Sweet Dew Forever
~Ku by Scoop~
No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another good counsel, and no man so wise that he may not easily err if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master. ~Hunter S. Thompson~
I refuse to lose my mind to the sadness locked in the illusion of my finitude.
~Chuma and Fiswe~
fear of mediocrity creates it by narrowing your vision of yourself. get as far away from fear as you can by daring your ass to face it everyday.
~Berette Macaulay~
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming -WOO HOO what a ride! ~JAH – E~
Kill the arrogance. It will never serve you in the long run - as ultimately it acts as an inhibitor.
~Berette Macaulay~
Desire is a magnificent nomadic energy.
~Scoop, inspired by Nietzche~
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
~Lou Holtz~
There’s no great genius without some touch of madness.
~Seneca~
Live for the truth or lie What are the consequences? RECIPROCITY
~Ku by Scoop~
The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.
~Hunter S. Thompson~
Water marks the way, We wander thru wet slipways, Happy to be damp.
~ Ku by Steve Wilson, nee Mystic Urchin ~
“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”
MIND THE GAP
The delights of self-discovery are always available.
-Gail Sheehy
"Watch Your Thoughts, They Become Your Words,Watch Your Words, They Become Your Actions, Watch Your Actions, They Become Your Habits, Watch Your Habits, They Become Your Character, Watch Your Character For It Becomes Your Destiny"
One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind.
-Dorothea Lange-
“Fear is temporary. Regret lasts a lifetime.”
“Caution is the death of Creativity”
Let your deeds themselves praise you, for here I leave them in all their glory, lacking words to extol them.
