Wednesday, January 27, 2010

National Black Writers Conference

The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY

Presents

The Tenth National Black Writers' Conference

And Then We Heard the Thunder:

Black Writers Reconstructing Memories and Lighting the Way

Featuring

Toni Morrison Nobel Prize Winning Author as Honorary Chair,

Kamau Brathwaite, Amiri Baraka and many more!


Thursday, March 25, 2008 - Sunday, March 28, 2010


Visit the following links to get more information:

Registration Information: National Black Writers Conference

Hotel & Travel Information: Hotel and Travel

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Friday, January 15, 2010

Denzel on Letterman--Just for Laughs

A Human Crisis. We Must Respond

Hello Everyone,

I will be brief and straight to the point. We are all part of the same human race. Do what you can to HELP THE PEOPLE OF HAITI.

Please click on the link above. It is full of information and things that you can do now, no matter how big or small. Everything matters. Everyone counts.

Thanks!
Donna

Sunday, January 10, 2010

In a few hours I will be returning home from my residency in Vermont. My suitcase is filled with my belongings and my mind is overflowing with ideas. I'm eager to find the books I have not read and discover what makes them stand the test of time. Listening to our advisors read from the masters of literature truly humbles me and at the same time reminds me of my responsibility to the art.

Saturday, January 09, 2010

In Pursuit of My Master Degree

I'd promised a co-worker that I would blog each day about my educational jaunt in pursuit of my Master Degree in Fine Arts. I have been remiss. Not that I did not want to share this mind altering residency but that the experience itself defies definition.

I arrived on Sunday, Jan 4 to the snowy hills of Vermont, not knowing a soul or what to expect. And the instant that I stepped on the campus of Goddard College I instinctively knew that something special was about to happen during my 8 day stay. And it did.

The motto here is "trust the process" and I am glad that I did. The days were filled with workshops, and lessons and sharing of information from advisors and students who have come to this place from all over the world. They brought with them their experience, their expertise, their curiosity and their willingness to share and learn.

The creative energy of playwrights, poets, novelists, and non-fiction writers is a palpable thing. You become infused with the need to soak up everything insight and when you thought that eight days was much too long, would be useless after two days, you realize that the time has flown and it is not enough time at all.

Up here in this pristine place, the quiet at times is absolute, the tranquil beauty calms you, and the removal from the objects and distractions of the world are kept at bay so that you have the space to absorb what you will need to sustain you for the five months until you return.

I long for the familiarity of home, and at the same time I fear returning to the place where my energy is drained by the very nature of all those who need me for the things that they need me for. Yet, for me to succeed in this program and achieve what I need for myself, my life and the people in it will have to change dramatically.

Day by day I must learn to do that and teach those around me to respect and understand that my success at this massive undertaking will be their success as well. I have to learn to say no. I have to learn that its okay for me to come first for a change. And the amazing friends that I have made here will remind me if or when I forget.

So,tomorrow, Monday I get back on Amtrak and head back to New York, to family, to expectations, to a job and deadlines. But I will take with me my time here in Vermont, where everyone believes that the only thing standing in your way is yourself, then I know I can meet the challenge and come out on top.

I'll keep you posted!! Wish me luck