New ... Chasing Summer - Easy Love ( Memphis Live )

. . . and one day she just does it.

Red goes into work, gathers her things and walks out. No clear back up plan. No financial nest egg to speak of. Nothing more than her general disdain for conformity and insatiable desire to fulfill her lifelong dream. Red leaves her Chicago home to see what the rest of the world has to offer. She packs up her car and heads out on an impromptu “tour”
alone.


Red Summer is an educator, a mother, a foster-mother, a
grandmother, an author, a publisher, a public speaker, a recording
artist, an activist, an entrepreneur, a full-time touring artist, a
lesbian and a Muslim. This all makes her an impossible fit for the
standard-sized box, and ordinarily, none of these things would seem to
work together. But, Red Summer is not an ordinary woman.

Chasing Summer is a virtual shotgun ride on a personal journey that is sure to
be as elaborate as Red Summer herself. Her love for poetry and music
makes it an artistic journey. While her passion for history, travel and
culture drives a spiritual mission to overcome the past and redefine
the future. All the while, Red’s intricate love and colorful family
life convey her journey with generous detail. ~ Two Fingers Press/Anthology Photoplays

Chasing Summer- Memphis Live is the first of many short documentaries featuring this fiercely talented poet known as "Red," by adoring friends and fans. This is a fabulous, "feel good," show that is sure to lift your spirits. Just take a few minutes to check it out and leave a comment.

Click the "green" link below to view the Pilot Episode on Current TV.
Chasing Summer, Memphis - Easy Love

Bicycles-Love Poems On Sale January 13th

I met Nikki Giovanni once. It was in Saks, on Michigan Ave in Chicago. I was standing at the make-up counter just finishing up with a client (I'm a makeup artist ... it pays the bills) when this powerful spirit, adorned in an over-sized bright neon orange suit, came sauntering in. She was so cool ... Nikki-Rosa, one of my favorite poems played over and over in my mind. We shook hands and exchanged brief pleasantries. What a beautiful smile-- I'll never forget it.



Bicycles - Love Poems
by Nikki Giovanni
In Stores: Jan. 13, 2009
check side panel for tour info

New From The Author of The Prisoner's Wife, Asha Bandele Brings Us Another Powerful Story of Hope and Truimph

Award-winning journalist and author of two bestselling novels, The Prisoner's Wife and Daughter is back with another powerful memoir, Something Like Beautiful will be on sale January 29th, 2009.

Pre-order your copy today

When Asha Bandele, a young poet, fell in love with a prisoner serving a twenty-to-life sentence and became pregnant with his daughter, she had reason to hope they would live together as a family. Rashid was a model prisoner, and expected to be paroled soon. But soon after Nisa was born, Asha's dreams were shattered. Rashid was denied parole, and told he'd be deported to his native Guyana once released. Asha became a statistic: a single, black mother in New York City.

On the outside, Asha kept it together. She had a great job at a high-profile magazine and a beautiful daughter whom she adored. But inside, she was falling apart. She began drinking and smoking and eventually stumbled into another relationship, one that opened new wounds. This lyrical, astonishingly honest memoir tells of her descent into depression when her life should have been filled with love and joy. Something Like Beautiful is not only Asha's story, but the story of thousands of women who struggle daily with little help and much against them, and who believe they have no right to acknowledge their pain. Ultimately, drawing inspiration from her daughter, Asha takes account of her life and envisions for herself what she believes is possible for all mothers who thought there was no way out--and then discovered there was. (source: Product Description from HarperCollins.com)

Pre-order your copy today and check back here in the coming weeks for my comments and thoughts on the book. In the meantime, enjoy this lovely selection that I spotted on YouTube.

"Morning Was My Mentor" by Asha Bandele -Def Poetry, July 2002