10/26 The 2013 Sisterhood Summit: Digital Daughters (Workshops!)

 

I am one of the workshop facilitators for 

The Black Girl Project presents the 2013 Sisterhood Summit

Digital Daughters: Black Girls Bridging the Divide

on Saturday,

October 26, 2013 from 10am to 6pm

100 participants! 20 workshops!

SUNY Empire State College

NY, NY 

Art + balance: Creativity and the graduate student

I've been in graduate school, since 2004.  Yes.  I'm on my fourth degree.  Some might say that I'm "over-educated."  I don't care.  People have asked me, "When do you find time to write?"  How about when do I find time to LIVE!?  Well I happen to believe that each degree program I've pursued, has been very useful for my work and career.  And of course my MFA degree was in writing, which I am still finding to be worthwhile as I work to strengthen my craft.  I love learning.  I'm proud to be from a family of educators who instilled a love of education in me.  The arts became a passion of mine early on, and so writing + education has been at the center of my life work.

But there is a drawback I've found to being an artist + graduate student.  The time and mental energy it takes to focus on classwork for graduate school, over time, can take away, from creative pursuits.  And that is if you do not structure your time, learn to say "No" to unnecessary activities or commit to what you say you really want for your art.  I've also found that over the years my eyes have become strained through repeated close reading and constant computer usage.  It could also be that with age, comes weaker eyes.  If you're an artist in an arts program that informs your work, it may be easier because you are constantly surrounded by people who are immersed in their art as well.  And perhaps they are giving you critique and helping you grow. 

So, how do you balance creativity with work + school?  Writers I know who are enrolled in MFA programs, find that their writing falls in line with their graduate studies.  But what if your grad program is not really aligned with your art?  One could refer to The Artist's Way by Julie Cameron, a daily, self help practice workbook for artists who need a an inspirational boost.  Cameron encourages artists of all genres to commit to solitude and writing "morning pages" in order to bring ones self back to creative balance.  I used the book years ago, during a summer when my mind wandered more than my pen did onto the page.  I also repeatedly read Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain to inspire my creative vision as a writer. 

Listening to music while working or resting is a great way to inspire the artist within, especially if you have neglected your art for awhile.  I love the relaxing Cafe del Mar chillout and Buddha Bar hour-long playlists.  As a full-time educator and graduate student, I find that it's important to build in those joyous breaks between working and studying.  Academic life can be very non-creative and can feel like, "when will this be over" but it's necessary for certain career progress.  I have to build in time to write.  Early mornings.  Late evenings.  Sometimes only once per week.  I jot down ideas on my iPhone until I get to my computer or notebook.  When I sit down to really write and revise, I do it for three or more hours.  Water, herbal tea and a snack is close by.  And in this space I try not to think about the paper I have due in a few weeks or some other to do list.  Because I know that I will get it done and it will be thorough.

Self care for artists, whether you work full time in addition to graduate studies, or not.  How you take care of your mind and body is important.  Sleep is not overrated.  Our fast paced culture promotes the idea of "grind now, sleep later."  But you won't have a grind now or later if you don't sleep.  Lack of sleep can cause digestive problems, anxiety, depression and an overall bad mood.

Your mind, body and spirit need rest and intervals of quiet to rejuvenate and sustain.  That's the truth.  Studies have shown that lack of sleep can affect your heart, your mental stamina, and can accelerate aging.  Sleep, proper nutrition, hydration, even being around positive vs. negative energy all has an affect on your creative output, your mental outlook and overall productivity.  The next time you think you have some type of block, like writers block - ask if you are getting enough self care in the above areas.

There's light at the end of the tunnel.  Sometimes I feel my pursuit of "book knowledge" in higher education will never end, yet it is necessary for certain goals I may have.  There is always a gnawing inside of me, a reminder and a whisper telling me to "don't forget to write..." no matter how tired I am.  Eye strain.  Bad attitude.  Phone calls.  Assignment deadlines.  Hunger.  Need to be social.  Nothing should keep you from your art.  Otherwise, you'll search for something outside of yourself, to feed your soul. 

How do you fit your creative practice into your busy work + school schedule?

EVENT: NCTE CCCC Convention Writing Reclaimed & Revisited

Friday, March 19, 2010 12noon
Featured Panel: Writing Reclaimed and Remixed: The Melding of Activism and Art

Panelists: DuEwa Frazier, Sophia Quintero, and JLove Calderon
Chair: Elisa Marie Norris

Panel Description:

This session features novelists and poets who are also activists. The panel focuses on what it means to remix the creative and bring activism into popular realms.

Bios:

DuEwa Frazier

DuEwa Frazier is a writer, poet, author, performer, speaker and educator from St. Louis. She is the author of two volumes of poetry: Shedding Light From My Journeys and Stardust Tracks on a Road. DuEwa is the editor and publisher of the 2007 NAACP Image Award nominated publication, Check the Rhyme: An Anthology of Female Poets & Emcees. She earned the B.A. in English at Hampton University and the M.S.Ed. in Curriculum & Teaching – Literacy at Fordham University. DuEwa is now pursuing the M.F.A. in Creative Writing degree at The New School. She is a Contributing Writer for MahoganyButterfly.com and founder of two blogs: Rhymes, Views & News and Mocha Beauty Goes Green.

DuEwa has been a featured poet, author and speaker at numerous programs and institutions including: University of Pennsylvania Kelly Writers House, Temple University Sisters Defining Sisters Conference, The Harlem Book Fair, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Indianapolis Book Festival, Howard University Bookstore, Read Out Loud! Family Literacy Festival, and many others. In 2002, she founded Lit Noire Publishing, a creative arts and publishing organization. Since then, DuEwa has produced and hosted numerous community based poetry and literature talks in the Tri-State area and other locations including bookstores in Baltimore, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Atlanta. She has given professional consultation for writers and entrepreneurs in the areas of self publishing and public relations. DuEwa is the host of an internet radio show titled, Rhymes, Views & News Talk Radio. She resides in New York.

Paper title: Finding the Warrior Within: Truth Telling and Writing Yourself Into Being


Sofia Quintero

After graduating from Columbia University with a BA in history-sociology and an MPA from its School of International and Public Affairs, Sofia Quintero began her first career as a policy analyst and advocate. She worked for various nonprofit organizations and government agencies including the Vera Institute of Justice, Hispanic AIDS Forum, and the New York City Independent Budget Office. After years of working on diverse policy issues, however, Sofia heeded her muse to pursue an entertainment career.

Determined to write edgy yet intelligent novels for women who love hip hop even when hip hop fails to love them in return, Sofía wrote her debut novel Explicit Content under the pen name “Black Artemis.” Since then Sofia has penned two more Black Artemis novels (Picture Me Rollin’ and Burn) and has been by critics of all stripes for creating stories that are both intelligent and entertaining.

Sofia also writes contemporary women’s fiction under her real name. Her debut novella “The More Things Change” appears in Friday Night Chicas the first chick-lit anthology by and about Latinas. Her novel Divas Don’t Yield was published in March 2006 by One World/Random House.

Sofia co-founded Chica Luna Productions to identify, develop and support other women of color seeking to make socially conscious entertainment. Sofia Quintero is a socially conscious entrepreneur and cultural activist devoted to elevating the quality of entertainment both through her personal initiatives and business ventures. With her business partner Elisha Miranda, she founded Sister Outsider Entertainment, a multimedia production company that is developing several projects for television, film and stage including the upcoming Internet series Sangria Street. SOE also co-created “Conscious Women Rock The Page” with Marcella Runell Hall and Jennifer Jlove Calderon. Conscious Women is a cutting-edge multidisciplinary curriculum that enables socially conscious educators to introduce feminist hip hop fiction into their learning environments and use it to incite social change among their students.

This fall Knopf will publish Sofia’s first young adult novel Efrain’s Secret about a Latino boy in the South Bronx who goes to questionable extremes to realize his dream of going to an Ivy League college.

Paper title: Beyond Keepin’ It Real: Writing The Feminist Hip-Hop Novel



JLove Calderon

As an author, educator, activist, and Certified Empowerment Facilitator, JLove Calderon has worked passionately on social justice, race, and gender issues for over 15 years. In settings that range from hip hop ciphers to the college classroom, JLove is widely respected for her advocacy of “truth, love, and freedom” for everyday people, especially young people, women and girls, and lovers of hip hop culture.

JLove has authored three books: We Got Issues!; That White Girl; and Conscious Women Rock the Page! Using Hip-Hop Fiction to Incite Social Change. Her articles on hip hop culture, white privilege, and social justice have appeared in The New York Times, Self Magazine, The Source Magazine, among other traditional and new media outlets. She has also contributed to two anthologies: Who’s Your Mama? The Unsung Voices of Women and Mothers (edited by Yvonne Bynoe), and The Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Literature (edited by Tarshia L. Stanley).

As an activist and personal life coach, JLove has helped create practical models for living that are designed to empower people of all backgrounds. Her knowledge is informed by her years of working as a counselor in teen shelters. She has also taught at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice for over a decade. When she is not writing, JLove serves as the Project Director of 1+1+1=ONE, an arts and social transformation not-for-profit where she focuses on two programs: the We Got Issues! Leadership Institute for Young Women, and the Eradicating Racism program. For her consistent dedication, JLove has received numerous awards, including the Union Square Award for her activism, and Self Magazine’s Self Starter of the Year Award.

JLove graduated Cum Laude from San Diego State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Africana Studies and received her Master’s Degree in Education from Long Island University. Currently, she lives in New York with her husband Hector Calderon and their two sons.

Paper title: No Matter What!: Turning Your Passion and Pipedreams into Becoming an Award Winning Author & Beyond





Copyright © 1998-2010 National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved in all media.

9/7 River View Players Performance Event!

Sunday, September 7, 2008 from 4-6 pm, The River View Players will present an afternoon of performing arts, the beginning of a weekly community arts presentation in West Harlem. Featured artists include actors,dancers, poets, playwrights and filmmakers presenting their current works.



The event will feature award nominated poet, author and actress, DuEwa Frazier (Founder, Lit Noire Publishing), Grace Jones of The AUDELCO Awards, and a screening of a short film by Ka'ramuu Kush. Improv and monologue performances by The River View Players Associate Artists.



The event will be hosted by noted playwright, Laurence Holder (distinguished playwright). The program is produced by Laurence Holder, Emmitt Thrower (President of Wabi Sabi Productions Inc.), Aaron Joy (International director and Musician) and Summer Hill 7 (Published poet and Director of “Platanos and Collard Greens”) under the River View Players banner.



This event is free and open to the general public. There will be a free food tasting of some of their delicious wares compliments of Cafe Largo. Come out and enjoy an early evening of live arts performances!



Address of Cafe Largo is 3387 Broadway (bet. W. 137th and W. 138th Streets) New York, NY.



Following this opening you can find the River View Players every Sunday at Cafe Largo from 4-6 sharing a rotating array of multi-cultural works. Participation and financial sponsorship welcome.

Philly's Empress of Poetry Has a New Column!

Ms. Ursula Rucker, a.k.a. Supa Sista, a.k.a. Ma'at Mama, Philly native, known internationally for her righteous rhymes and music recording work with such artists as The Roots, Sonia Sanchez and King Britt, has a new column. Rucker's hometown news outlet Philadelphia Weekly will publish a regular art column written by Rucker. In addition to being a frequent performer and international traveler, Rucker is also a mother of four and deeply committed to her Philadelphia community. Check out Ursula Rucker's first installment to the new "Ruckus Series" column.

Read Out Loud! Family Literacy Festival-Nov. 3rd

I'm featuring along with other authors  for Morningside Alliance and Jumpstart's Read Out Loud literacy program for kids. I'm going to read from my first book of poetry, Shedding Light From My Journeys, as well as the poetry picture books I Live in Music by Ntozake Shange (with paintings by Romare Bearden) and A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein, for the kids.

The festival will take place in Harlem this Saturday November 3rd, from 11am - 3pm. So if you know anyone with young children this is an ideal literary program for them to participate in. There will be storytelling, poetry activities, art making and book giveaways for the kids!

See full info and participating orgs. below.

All the best,
DuEwa
===================================
READ OUT LOUD! A Family Literacy Festival
PS 165 The Robert E. Simon School
234 W. 109th Street (bet. Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.)
Harlem, NY

ATTENDING LITERARY and/or EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:
Artists Reaching Out (ARO) – Community Impact/Columbia University
Cathedral of St. John the Divine – Education Department
Children’s Art Carnival
Center for Technology, Innovation and Community Engagement (CTICE)
Fu Foundation School of Engineering/Columbia University
DuEwa M. Frazier - Lit Noire Publishing
Jumpstart
New York Public Library
The School at Columbia
Teachers College – Teacher Opportunity Corps (TOC)
Bank Street College
Read to Me, Non-profit organization

ATTENDING AUTHORS/POETS/ILLUSTRATORS:
The Cheetah Girls, Deborah Gregory
Shedding Light From My Journeys, DuEwa M. Frazier
Mama’s Boyz (comics), Jerry Craft
Dana Rondel
Eric Velasquez, Grandma’s Records and others
La Shell Wooten, The Sharing Secret
Yangsook Choi, The Name Jar
Alex Simmons, The Raven League Series (Books #1 and #2), Black Jack
Bryan Collier, Rosa, Uptown, Martin's Big Words, Visiting Langston, Lift Every Voice and Sing