Silver Sparrow

FILTHY LUCRE: “A decade of practice honed my talent. But...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:50:37 -0400

FILTHY LUCRE: “A decade of practice honed my talent. But cash let me express it. To pretend otherwise is to spit in the face of every broke genius who can’t afford materials or time. It’s to say I got here because I’m better than them.

I am good. But it’s never just about that.”

— Molly Crabapple
read the rest of her amazing essay, Filthy Lucre.

I’m just north of “Dark Night Of The Soul.”

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:36:50 -0400

I’m just north of “Dark Night Of The Soul.”

pubhealth: Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes For 75...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:32:25 -0400

pubhealth:

Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes

For 75 years, Finland’s expectant mothers have been given a box by the state. It’s like a starter kit of clothes, sheets and toys that can even be used as a bed. And some say it helped Finland achieve one of the world’s lowest infant mortality rates.

It’s a tradition that dates back to the 1930s and it’s designed to give all children in Finland, no matter what background they’re from, an equal start in life.

The maternity package - a gift from the government - is available to all expectant mothers.

It contains bodysuits, a sleeping bag, outdoor gear, bathing products for the baby, as well as nappies, bedding and a small mattress.

With the mattress in the bottom, the box becomes a baby’s first bed. Many children, from all social backgrounds, have their first naps within the safety of the box’s four cardboard walls.

Mothers have a choice between taking the box, or a cash grant, currently set at 140 euros, but 95% opt for the box as it’s worth much more.

The tradition dates back to 1938. To begin with, the scheme was only available to families on low incomes, but that changed in 1949.

(From BBC)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22751415

Photo

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:30:38 -0400

cartermagazine: Today In History ‘Dr. Mae Carol Jemison became...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:28:28 -0400

cartermagazine:

Today In History

‘Dr. Mae Carol Jemison became the first black woman astronaut on this date June 5, 1987.’

(photo: Dr.Mae Carol)

-CARTER Magazine

soulbrotherv2: On this date [June 4] in 1972, Angela Davis was...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:00:26 -0400

soulbrotherv2:

On this date [June 4] in 1972, Angela Davis was acquitted of all charges stemming from a failed escape and kidnap attempt in the Marin County, CA’s Hall of Justice two years earlier.

In the escape, kidnap attempt, and shooting, the trial judge and three others were killed. Though not at the crime scene, Davis was implicated when police claimed that the guns used had been registered in her name. Davis fled via underground and was consequently listed on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted Criminals list, setting off one of the most intensive manhunts in recent American history. [Continue reading at the African American Registry.]

For further research, see also:

The Morning Breaks: The Trial of Angela Davis by Bettina Aptheker.

Angela Davis: An Autobiography by Angela Y. Davis

misterand: Patti LaBelle and Nina Simone

Mon, 27 May 2013 14:00:42 -0400

misterand:

Patti LaBelle and Nina Simone

Love these new, blended words. OMG. A lot.

Mon, 27 May 2013 09:15:57 -0400

the-emotionary.com also the-emotionary.tumblr.com

the-emotionary.com also the-emotionary.tumblr.com

the-emotionary.com also the-emotionary.tumblr.com

the-emotionary.com also the-emotionary.tumblr.com

the-emotionary.com also the-emotionary.tumblr.com

Love these new, blended words. OMG. A lot.

fyeahpocredcarpetfashion: Focus on the two ladies: Michelle...

Mon, 27 May 2013 08:13:36 -0400

fyeahpocredcarpetfashion:

Focus on the two ladies: Michelle Thrush, from the Cree Nation in Canada in the black dress; and Misty Upham from the Blackfeet Nation in the USA in a light dress. Misty says they are the first Native Americans to walk the Cannes red carpet. Also, the man right behind Misty is Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro. They are doing so for their movie Jimmy P. Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian

nprfreshair: From the Department of Well-Deserved, Lydia Davis...

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:49:50 -0400

nprfreshair:

From the Department of Well-Deserved, Lydia Davis won the Man Booker Prize for fiction yesterday.

Los Angeles Times:

Lydia Davis’ writings fling their lithe arms wide to embrace many a kind. Just how to categorize them?” Sir Christopher Ricks, the chair of the judging panel, said while giving the award. “Should we simply concur with the official title and dub them stories? Or perhaps miniatures? Anecdotes? Essays? Jokes? Parables? Fables? Texts? Aphorisms, or even apophthegms? Prayers, or perhaps wisdom literature? Or might we settle for observations?”

Above, an animation from Electric Literature of Davis’ story “The Cows”

Now Reading: The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud. from the first...

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:53:02 -0400

Now Reading: The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud.

from the first page:

How angry am I? You don’t want to know. Nobody wants to know about that.

I’m a good girl, I’m a nice girl, I’m a straight-A, strait-laced, good daughter, good career girl, and I never stole anybody’s boyfriend and I never ran out on a girlfriend, and I put up with my parents’ shit and my brother’s shit, and I’m not a girl anyhow, I’m over forty fucking years old, and I’m good at my job and I’m great with kids and I held my mother’s hand when she died, after four years of holding her hand while she was dying, and I speak to my father every day on the telephone — every day, mind you, and what kind of weather do you have on your side of the river, because here it’s pretty gray and a bit muggy too? It was supposed to say “Great Artist” on my tombstone, but if I died right now it would say “such a good teacher/daughter/ friend” instead; and what I really want to shout, and want in big letters on that grave, too, is FUCK YOU ALL.

Don’t all women feel the same? The only difference is how much we know we feel it, how in touch we are with our fury. We’re all furies, except the ones who are too damned foolish, and my worry now is that we’re brainwashing them from the cradle, and in the end even the ones who are smart will be too damned foolish. What do I mean? I mean the second graders at Appleton Elementary, sometimes the first graders even, and by the time they get to my classroom, to the third grade, they’re well and truly gone — they’re full of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry and French manicures and cute outfits and they care how their hair looks! In the third grade. They care more about their hair or their shoes than about galaxies or caterpillars or hieroglyphics. How did all that revolutionary talk of the seventies land us in a place where being female means playing dumb and looking good? Even worse on your tombstone than “dutiful daughter” is “looked good”; everyone used to know that. But we’re lost in a world of appearances now.

That’s why I’m so angry, really — not because of all the chores and all the making nice and all the duty of being a woman — or rather, of being me — because maybe these are the burdens of being human. Really I’m angry because I’ve tried so hard to get out of the hall of mirrors, this sham and pretend of the world, or of my world, on the East Coast of the United States of America in the first decade of the twenty-first century. And behind every mirror is another fucking mirror, and down every corridor is another corridor, and the Fun House isn’t fun anymore and it isn’t even funny, but there doesn’t seem to be a door marked EXIT.

Opportunity Alert: Are you a rolling stone? Love to travel and...

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:50:36 -0400

Opportunity Alert: Are you a rolling stone? Love to travel and talk about it?

“We’re looking for someone who doesn’t mind getting their boots dirty, can string a sentence or two together and can get creative about how they share their journey with the world. You should already know your way around social networks and be able to produce short videos on your own.

The winner will become our Wayfarer and will get paid to travel around the UK throughout July and August (so please only enter if you’ll be available all summer). You’ll visit some of the Old Ways paths, but, even better, you’ll strike out on your own and make some new discoveries, on or off the beaten path. You will then report back on your adventures through blog posts, photos, videos and tweets. ”

More here

So delightfully dorky, and revealing, that I had to post. More...

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:12 -0400

So delightfully dorky, and revealing, that I had to post. More literary anagrams, here.

Pep Talk For A Young Writer

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:00:14 -0400

Dear A—

Every rejection letter starts something like this: ”Dear Ms. Jones, I am sorry to tell you that we are unable to offer you a fellowship/residency/admissions/whatever.” Then there is a statement like this, “We received a GAZILLION submissions from qualified applicants but we were only able to award one-point-five fellowships/residencies/admissions/whatever.” I sometimes read that as— Dear Ms. Jones, we don’t like you and or your work.

But after serving on a number of committees that award fellowships/residencies/admissions/whatever, I can tell you from the inside that this is actually true. I have never sat on a grant panel where there haven’t been very good applications that had to be turned down. This is mostly because of money. Arts funding is at an all time low, and the economy is bad. So what does this mean? It means that artists who used to make enough money from doing art— because they are accomplished and well known— are now applying for more grants and contests to get by, to get published. It’s really shocking, how I see pretty big names on press releases for grants, etc that used to be unofficially earmarked for emerging writers.

You are not the only one feeling discouraged right about now. So I just wanted to urge you not to be so sad, or at least not to be so sad that you give up. Your application was good. I read it, helped you proof it. So I know it was good. And trust me, I wrote you a hell of a letter of recommendation You deserved the opportunity and there was probably someone at the table that wanted to give it to you. It’s just that times are hard. There is less to go around right now. But you are still growing and learning and creating. Keep at it. Try again next year. It’s just a matter of time. I promise.

Love,

Tayari

Seriously, I hate how casually people use the word...

Tue, 14 May 2013 09:25:57 -0400

Seriously, I hate how casually people use the word “pimp.” There is a man in my neighborhood who dresses like a pimp and everyone thinks it’s so funny and cool. It is not. Sexual slavery is alive and well in the USA. Watch this documentary and see what like is like for the teenagers targeted by pimps and forced into the sex industry. — TJ

Very Young Girls is an exposé of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls in New York City as they are sold on the streets by pimps and treated as adult criminals by police. The film follows barely adolescent girls in real time, using vérité and intimate interviews with them, documenting their struggles and triumphs as they seek to exit the commercial sex industry. The film also uses startling footage shot by pimps themselves, giving a rare glimpse into how the cycle of exploitation begins for many women.

The film identifies hope for these girls in the organization GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services), a recovery agency founded and run by Rachel Lloyd, herself a survivor of commercial sexual exploitation. GEMS is committed to ending commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking of children by changing individual lives, transforming public perception, and revolutionizing the systems and policies that impact commercially sexually exploited youth. Very Young Girls will change the way law enforcement, the media, and society as a whole look at the commercial sexual exploitation, street prostitution, and human trafficking that is happening right in our own backyard.

more here

Opportunity Alert: Seeking women writers under 30 in the NYC...

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:00:24 -0400

Opportunity Alert: Seeking women writers under 30 in the NYC region. Poets & Writers presents the Amy Award each year to recognize promising women poets, age 30 and under, living in the New York City metropolitan area or on Long Island. Winners receive a modest honorarium and give a reading in New York City. The award was established in 1995 by Paula Trachtman and Edward Butscher of East Hampton, New York, in memory of Ms. Trachtman’s daughter, Amy Rothholz, an actor and poet.

details here

thesmithian: …while black women may have been particularly...

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:47:12 -0400

thesmithian:

…while black women may have been particularly vulnerable to wartime rape, the Lieber Code brought them for the first time under the umbrella of legal protection. In fact, some black women were able to mobilize military law to their advantage. In the summer of 1864, Jenny Green, a young “colored” girl who had escaped slavery and sought refuge with the Union Army in Richmond, Va., was brutally raped by Lt. Andrew J. Smith, 11th Pennsylvania Calvary. Thanks to the Lieber Code, though, she was able to bring charges against him, and even testify in a military court…The idea that a former slave, and an adolescent girl at that, could demand and receive legal redress was revolutionary. Despite his attorney’s argument that Green had consented, Smith was discharged from the Army and sentenced to 10 years of hard labor.

more.

dynamicafrica: When Nigerian-American writer Nnedi Okorafor...

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:42:44 -0400

dynamicafrica:

When Nigerian-American writer Nnedi Okorafor watched the South African sci-fi film District 9, she was one of many to be angered by its “abysmal stereotyping” of Nigerians.

The film, which was nominated for an Oscar, caused an outcry after its release in 2009, with the Nigerian government demanding an apology from filmmakers and banning it from local cinemas.

Okorafor put her anger to a more positive purpose, using it as the inspiration for an ambitious new novel, Lagoon.

She describes Lagoon, as “a story about humanity at the crossroads between the past, present, and future, Lagoon touches on political and philosophical issues in the rich tradition of the very best science fiction.”

We caught up with her to discuss the new project:

Tell us about the book?

It’s about an alien invasion in the city of Lagos and how Lagosians of all walks of life handle it.

Why did you decide to write it?

I started writing it as a screenplay for Nollywood director Tchidi Chikere. He and I were both deeply irritated with the South African science fiction film District 9′s abysmal stereotyping of Nigerians. Once I started writing it, it quickly became something other than a response to District 9; it became its own story with its own soul.

How happy were you to have it acquired by publishers Hodder & Stoughton?

I was ecstatic when Hodder & Stoughton made the offer. Lagoon is an ambitious novel. It’s biting political satire, creative, literary, it features many different points of view (which is very different from the stories I usually I write. I prefer to stay with one character), there’s a lot of Pidgin English, and it’s got aliens in Lagos. Because of all this, I didn’t expect it to be an easy sell, if it sold at all. But Anne Perry (the editor who acquired it) immediately connected with and understood what I was doing in this novel. It was like planets aligning- unlikely, but when it happened, logical and right.

By calling it Lagoon, one would expect a lot of adventures with water (and maybe flooding). Is that a particular fascination for you?

Oooooh yes, there’s a lot that happens in the water (though much of it is off the coast where the “shop” lands. I was initially going to have it land in the Lagos Lagoon, but I needed deeper water). I was originally going to call it Lagos. But then I could just hear certain Nigerians snarking, “Who is this American Nigerian to have the nerve to name her novel after my city?” I wasn’t in the mood for that conversation, so I translated the word “lagos” to the English meaning of it name. “Lagos” means “lagoon” in Portuguese. And yes, there is flooding.

I love and am terrified of the water, particularly the ocean. I go to the ocean to calm down, to reconnect with the creator, to just be happy. I like swimming, too, of course, haha. And I love ocean life. I’m fascinated that so much of it remains unexplored by human beings. Diluted seawater consisted of nearly the same concentration of elements and minerals as blood plasma. They’ve got the same amount of sodium, too. Sea water has even been used successfully in blood transfusions in animals. We all came from the water. As is said more than once in the novel, “Water is life”.

As someone who has also written for kids, I’m wondering if there is any consideration for them in this one, of if it’s a totally adult novel.

This one is purely an adult novel, though I think some of my older teen readers will enjoy it, too (18+).

So I read that it’s going to be a three-book deal. Is that a trilogy, or just a chance to get three different books published at a time of your choosing?

It’s not a trilogy. There may be a part two, who knows. But that’s not my original intent. I don’t tend to do sequels; too many stories in my head. I know what the second novel with Hodder & Stoughton will be. That one is linked to (the earlier novel) Who Fears Death.

(source)

In January I imagined that would be zipping through my novel. I...

Sun, 05 May 2013 09:29:35 -0400

In January I imagined that would be zipping through my novel. I thought the neighbors would be complaining about all the noise from my typewriters. I also hoped I would be able to communicate in Spanish by now. I took the language class, but it it just didn’t take. (sigh). I pictured myself with all new clothes because my excellent nutrition and tireless exercise would have transformed me back to my high school self! You get the idea.

On the plus side. I did pick up and go to Paris in January. And I have kept true to my goal of writing at least three letters a month. (Recipients of these letters, can you write me back?) I’ve taken twitter and facebook off my phone, so I can be more present in my non-virtual life. It’s amazing how different life is when there’s isn’t a cocktail party going on in your phone. I’m actually something of a regular at my gym now. 3 days a week– 6am spin class. I’m seeing results, too. Slow, over-40 results, but something is happening and I’m proud of that. My novel is moving forward…. slooooowly. But it’s getting there. I am not satisfied with my progress, but I must give myself a little credit. That said, I have sort of lost that January sparkle. Maybe it’s because I have gotten some rejections for some of the opportunities I so enthusiastically applied for in winter. And maybe it’s just a natural ebb and flow. But whatever the cause, it’s a rut and I don’t like it.

So this year, I decided to do the resolution thing more often. So my resolve petered out in March. Well, then it’s time to get some new resolve. My idea is to try a summer resolution. What do I want to accomplish between Memorial Day and Labor Day? Here’s an (incomplete) list:

Get in at least 4 writing days every week
Add one extra day of weight training to my work out
Go on two “artist dates” a month
Learn to meditate
In general, work harder at what matters to me

Actually, Jason Collins Isn’t the First Openly Gay Man in...

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:01:53 -0400

Actually, Jason Collins Isn’t the First Openly Gay Man in a Major Pro Sport

Major-league baseball player Glenn Burke was comfortably out to his teammates and friends in 1976—but back then, it was the press that wasn’t ready for a gay male athlete.

more at The Atlantic