After much panicking and faffing about I got some cash, hopped back in the cab and speeded down the roads back to the bus station. The taxi driver was a star, I had to tip him! As I left his car I learned two things: 1) this taxi driver was a lot cheaper for two journeys than the original car that dropped me off! and 2) the bus service is flexible, I didn't have to get on the 9am bus, as long as I had my ticket I could pretty much get on any bus (as they ran every half hour)...had I known that I wouldn't have wasted all my credit and getting myself into a frenzy!
So, I finanlly managed to get on one of these:
*web photo
*web photoIt only took two hours, to get to my destination:
Was a good feeling to see this upon leaving the bus station
Took a yellow cab to get to Harlem, as it was a bit of a distance (even if it was 2 minutes, I still would have taken a yellow cab lol):
There were so many things going on at the book fair: talks, performances, book sales, panel discussions, author readings - I had to make choices. The first author talk/panel I attended was 'Killing Me Softly - How Publishing is Repressing the African-American Literary Market'. Moderating the discussion was author Gloria Mallette; sitting on the panel were authors:
I'd never heard of these writers before, but the discussion was good. They were talking about the treatment of African-American writers, in comparison with white writers. Though they were focusing on African-Americans, the same could be applied to black British writers as we also face severe discrimination within the publishing world. One of the major issues to come up, were the 'lumping together' of all AA writers, regardless of their genre. When it comes to stocking in bookshops, libraries, even selecting jackets for books. I've never been keen on the 'Black Writing' section in bookshops and libraries and like the authors were saying 'Black Writing' isn't even a genre.
When we write, our protagonists are black yes and some of the issues we cover might be cultural, but generally we do write about universal issues: love, death, relationships, friendship, loss, fun, shopping, celebration etc. Violence and sex as well, though these are not the only topics we write about or want to write about, nor should these be the only topics that are hailed/promoted as 'black writing' - just like rap and r n b are not the only genres of music that we excel in. Bottom line, just like other writers fiction written by black authors exists in more than two genres (i.e. urban lit and erotica). There was also the question of whose to blame when it comes to the limitations put on (some) black authors: the authors, the readers or the industry?
They also spoke about the decision to self-publish or to go with a small/large publishing house. Essentially it is up to the individual, but they wanted to drive the point home that if you decide to self-publish you effectively go into business for yourself and (often, if not inevitably) allow yourself less time to write.
After that I listened to a panel discussion entitled: 'Doin' It: Promoting & Selling Your Book Online' which was moderated by Maitefa Angaza, Managing Editor of African Voices. On the panel we had: Lisa C. Moore, Marcia Pendelton, Jeff Rivera and April Silver. All panelists had great things to say, but Jeff and April really stood out for me; both were informative and full of ideas and advice.
After the discussions I was hungry, so went in search of some food:
I was sooo tempted to eat the fried food...but opted for something a bit more healthy. I ended up here: 
and got a mango chicken wrap, with salad and ice tea:
I went to my final event, a tribute to poet and teacher Abiodun Oyewole. I didn't stay till the end but it was interesting to see the different poets perform and tell their own stories about how they met and why he means so much to them. Two poets stood out for me.(unfortunately I didn't get photos). The first: a young lady by the name of Rita, she looked wonderful dressed in a simple white strapless dress, a layer of white pearls adorning her neck. She recited a poem called 'Tears', a poem about men respecting women and women forming bonds with one another. She said a lot, but my favourite lines:
'Blood is thicker than water, but water flows more freely and stains less deeply'
and
'Our well-being is more important than a king to inhabit a kingdom that was already complete.'
Art:
Jewellery:
and Brownstones:
I ended up leaving later than planned, so jumped in a cab to catch the 7pm bus. Again I told the driver to 'step on it' and realised after almost crashing a few times, that line may work with a Philly driver but in NY it's best to just let the driver drive at his own (already crazy) pace!
Was a good feeling to see this upon leaving the bus stationTook a yellow cab to get to Harlem, as it was a bit of a distance (even if it was 2 minutes, I still would have taken a yellow cab lol):
There were so many things going on at the book fair: talks, performances, book sales, panel discussions, author readings - I had to make choices. The first author talk/panel I attended was 'Killing Me Softly - How Publishing is Repressing the African-American Literary Market'. Moderating the discussion was author Gloria Mallette; sitting on the panel were authors:
I'd never heard of these writers before, but the discussion was good. They were talking about the treatment of African-American writers, in comparison with white writers. Though they were focusing on African-Americans, the same could be applied to black British writers as we also face severe discrimination within the publishing world. One of the major issues to come up, were the 'lumping together' of all AA writers, regardless of their genre. When it comes to stocking in bookshops, libraries, even selecting jackets for books. I've never been keen on the 'Black Writing' section in bookshops and libraries and like the authors were saying 'Black Writing' isn't even a genre.
When we write, our protagonists are black yes and some of the issues we cover might be cultural, but generally we do write about universal issues: love, death, relationships, friendship, loss, fun, shopping, celebration etc. Violence and sex as well, though these are not the only topics we write about or want to write about, nor should these be the only topics that are hailed/promoted as 'black writing' - just like rap and r n b are not the only genres of music that we excel in. Bottom line, just like other writers fiction written by black authors exists in more than two genres (i.e. urban lit and erotica). There was also the question of whose to blame when it comes to the limitations put on (some) black authors: the authors, the readers or the industry?
They also spoke about the decision to self-publish or to go with a small/large publishing house. Essentially it is up to the individual, but they wanted to drive the point home that if you decide to self-publish you effectively go into business for yourself and (often, if not inevitably) allow yourself less time to write.
After that I listened to a panel discussion entitled: 'Doin' It: Promoting & Selling Your Book Online' which was moderated by Maitefa Angaza, Managing Editor of African Voices. On the panel we had: Lisa C. Moore, Marcia Pendelton, Jeff Rivera and April Silver. All panelists had great things to say, but Jeff and April really stood out for me; both were informative and full of ideas and advice.
After the discussions I was hungry, so went in search of some food:
I was sooo tempted to eat the fried food...but opted for something a bit more healthy. I ended up here: 
and got a mango chicken wrap, with salad and ice tea:
I went to my final event, a tribute to poet and teacher Abiodun Oyewole. I didn't stay till the end but it was interesting to see the different poets perform and tell their own stories about how they met and why he means so much to them. Two poets stood out for me.(unfortunately I didn't get photos). The first: a young lady by the name of Rita, she looked wonderful dressed in a simple white strapless dress, a layer of white pearls adorning her neck. She recited a poem called 'Tears', a poem about men respecting women and women forming bonds with one another. She said a lot, but my favourite lines:'Blood is thicker than water, but water flows more freely and stains less deeply'
and
'Our well-being is more important than a king to inhabit a kingdom that was already complete.'
The second: a man by the name of Jamal St. John. He didn't give a title, but his poem was inspired by a young man in a barber shop who said he was voting for Hilary Clinton, because Barack wasn't 'black enough'. His performance was humorous and passionate; I really liked his poem, he had me at:
'Blackness can't be equal parts Harvard and Harlem'
and lines like:
'Maybe he'd be black enough if he gave shout outs instead of speeches.'
'Maybe he'd be black enough if his wife's name was more hood like Condeleeza'
'Maybe if he made Nike change it's slogan to "just hoping"'
but he blew me away with his last line:
'Maybe then he can fantasise about being as black as Bill Clinton' (or something like that)
and lines like:
'Maybe he'd be black enough if he gave shout outs instead of speeches.'
'Maybe he'd be black enough if his wife's name was more hood like Condeleeza'
'Maybe if he made Nike change it's slogan to "just hoping"'
but he blew me away with his last line:
'Maybe then he can fantasise about being as black as Bill Clinton' (or something like that)
The event was good, wasn't as much networking opportunities as I would have liked (too many queues to talk to a select few!) and I didn't get to see as much of Harlem as I wanted, but it was nice to be there surrounded by books:
Art:
Jewellery:
and Brownstones:
I ended up leaving later than planned, so jumped in a cab to catch the 7pm bus. Again I told the driver to 'step on it' and realised after almost crashing a few times, that line may work with a Philly driver but in NY it's best to just let the driver drive at his own (already crazy) pace!
*On a completely separate topic, I have a thing for yogurt coated pretzels:
hope I can get these in the UK!
hope I can get these in the UK!
Glad you made it to Harlem - that's my "manor" LOL
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you had a good day. I am glad that you arrived and returned safely despite the crazy taxi drivers. I am also happy that you chose the healthy option.
ReplyDelete