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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE by Aberjhani and Sandra L. West listed among Black Issues Book Review's recommended "selections for the well-stocked library." |
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THE AMERICAN POET WHO WENT HOME AGAIN
Just like modern literary life, The American Poet Who Went Home Again expands beyond the safety of pages bound by predictability to explore and often confirm exciting creative possibilities. A shimmering collage of memoir, creative nonfiction, literary journalism, and dizzying flights into poetic observation, this is the amazing story of one writer’s rediscovery of his family, his hometown of Savannah, Georgia, and himself.
From the celebrated “Return to Savannah” and the uncut extended version of “This Mother’s Son,” to “Journey through ‘Universes Beyond the Invisible” and “The History that Peace Made,” the author takes his readers on epic jaunt across landscapes of “the soul at work.” Whether dealing with the challenges of care giving and racism or coping with the subtleties of art and spirituality, this is one author-poet and one book that sings with the beauty of hope and the persistence of life itself.
 (As ESSENCE Magazine kicks off it's annual June celebration of Black Music Month with double covers of Mary J. Blige, including one with Kendu Isaac, one author-poet announces his own.)
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF SHARING PAGES IN ESSENCE MAGAZINE
Along with its annual celebration of Black Music Month, the June 2007 edition of ESSENCE Magazine includes my poem: “My One Favorite City” on page 204. Of course I’m very happy to see this poem in the magazine because it marks my tenth year publishing work in the famous periodical. Therefore, with a strong sense of gratitude and appreciation, I dub 2007 as my 10th Anniversary Year of Publishing in ESSENCE. The celebration is now officially on.
Even more than that, it makes me especially happy just to know that ESSENCE still publishes poetry since a couple of years ago it was announced that they no longer would. That announcement was a huge blow to the literary world because ESSENCE is one of only a few major magazines––with a readership of 7.6 million––that takes poets and poetry seriously enough to actually pay them for their creative properties.
Many people know by now that the first work I published in ESSENCE was a cover story, in 1997, titled “This Mother’s Son,” about the challenges of becoming a caregiver. That huge surprise had more to do with the grace and genius of ESSENCE’s phenomenal editorial director Susan L. Taylor than with me. After that initial cover story, the magazine started publishing my poetry every year and listed the Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance on its list of recommended gift items.
In addition to the poem in ESSENCE, readers have also taken note of “A Dancer’s Strength and Grace,” the poem I wrote as a review for actress-author Victoria Rowell’s bestselling memoir, “The Women Who Raised Me.” Strikes me as Ironic that “A Dancer’s Strength and Grace” was posted on the Amazon.com page for Rowell’s book just before they started setting up the page for my very first Amazon Short title: “The Harlem Renaissance Way Down South.”
NEW NOVEMBER 2006 RELEASE:
Created collectively by Aberjhani, the multi-talented author known as Rahkyt, and New Jersey writer Nordette Adams, the spoken word CD “The Goddess and the Skylark, Dancing Through the Word Labyrinth,” is an aural fusion of poetry and music. The combined talents that comprise the artistry of “The Goddess and the Skylark, Dancing through the Word Labyrinth,” make this CD something more than just one more excellent venture into spoken word. (Original photo of Aberjhani used to create CD cover taken by John Zeuli)
To refer to a book as a literary feast seems fair enough when the title in question—VISIONS OF A SKYLARK DRESSED IN BLACK––sports between its covers a novella, short story, and more than 50 poems. It becomes particularly appropriate when the poems dare to wrestle with such contemporary issues as overwhelming natural disasters and war. Their relevance magnifies even further when addressing enduring human legacies like love, sexuality, and creativity.
In addition, profiles of iconic figures, including Coretta Scott King, Langston Hughes, Jack Kerouac, and Gordon Parks, balance the mythic dimensions of the book with cornerstones of historical realism. To download an extensive free sampler of VISIONS OF A SKYLARK DRESSED IN BLACK, please click on the link above the cover.
"The Great Blue Heron" by Denise Elliot-Vernon.
John Holyfield's splendid SYMPHONY OF ANGELS painting captures visually much of the spirit and power experienced through the composition, and hopefully the reading, of THE ANGELIC VERSES.
THE ANGELIC VERSES
The story “Angels and Shakespeare” was first published in the 1996 edition of the Savannah Literary Journal, later included in the book I MADE MY BOY OUT OF POETRY, and is currently featured on the EXPOSE’D web site. Those familiar with it know the concept of angelic presences has long been featured in some of my writings, whether creative nonfiction, fiction, or poetry. So that part is not new.
What is new are the Angelic Verses Series of poems currently posted, and steadily proliferating, on my BLACK SKYLARK Z-PED MUSIC PLAYER site at AuthorsDen. Most puzzling to me is the fact that the series did not begin as a series at all.
It started with the poem “Angel of Gratitude,” which was presented as a public thank you note to fellow writers who had graciously posted birthday wishes for me in July. Composed of a string of haikus, I included with the poem an image by the artist Berdell Moffett-Chaney, and a short preface about its purpose. The “symbol” of the angel, more than anything else, was to emphasize my sincerity.
Apparently there was more to it than I at first surmised. As if to convince me of my own original intent, my muse brought me a gift in the form of a second poem called “Angel of Grace.” It seems that because “Angel of Grace” was not motivated by a social need the way “Angel of Gratitude” was, the poem itself took on an exceptional quality of spiritual substance. Once again, I was grateful for the gift of the poem itself and presumed that was the end of my works in angelology. Once again, I was wrong. The angels of Mercy, War, and Peace all flew—if you will––in rapid succession through my pen. On August 23, I posted “Angel of Healing,” the sixth poem in the series. Others are in various stages of completion.
Aside from the sheer surprise of producing the poems, one of the great pleasures of presenting them to the public has been tracking down, via the Internet, complementary visual images. The proliferation of visual angel works by artists from all cultural, racial, national, and religious backgrounds is nothing short of phenomenal. I can only hope that the poems I have posted are worthy matches for their selected counterparts. These include works by: Len Lye, Henry Battle, Monnica Sepulveda, and Ernest E.Varner. Gracing this page is the extraordinary talent of John Holyfield.
Precisely where all of this is going is difficult to say for the moment. Offline and online publications expressed interest in the work. Nobody’s more curious than the author to see what happens next.
Aberjhani
8/24/06
Classic CONNECT SAVANNAH cover featuring photo of Aberjhani (by Darryl Reynolds).
In its 7th Anniversary Celebration Issue, leading literary periodical BLACK ISSUES BOOK REVIEW presents a nod to "the little encyclopedia that could."
(Artwork: Stephanie Pui Mun Law's "Israfel, the Angel of Music")
Skylark in soaring triumphant flight. (Art by Denise Elliot-Vernon)
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Nonfiction
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE
“Celebrate Harlem’s past and present with Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance.”
--ESSENCE Magazine
THE WISDOM OF W.E.B. DU BOIS
“Readers have praised this superlative book for the author’s intelligent and informative writing.” --Biblio.com
Art and Poetry
ELEMENTAL, THE POWER OF ILLUMINATED LOVE
A brilliantly painted journey through the art of Luther E. Vann with accompanying text by Aberjhani and guest authors.
Fantasy Fiction
CHRISTMAS WHEN MUSIC ALMOST KILLED THE WORLD
A rock and roll metaphysical fantasy set in the Deep South, this is one extraordinary novel.
Literary fiction and poetry
I MADE MY BOY OUT OF POETRY
An inspired celebration of spirituality, the music of language, and the power of dreams.
Literary Historical Anthology
LITERARY SAVANNAH (edited by Patrick Allen)
An exceptional historical literary anthology featuring writings by natives of and visitors to Savannah, from founding father George Washington to modern award-winning author Aberjhani.
Poems by Aberjhani
THE BRIDGE OF SILVER WINGS
A poetic flight into the exploration of how human beings manage, or sometimes fail to manage, the transition from imminent personal destruction to unaccountable personal victory.
Short Fiction and Poetry
VISIONS OF A SKYLARK DRESSED IN BLACK
VISIONS OF A SKYLARK DRESSED IN BLACK is a one of kind literary feast that includes a meta-fictional novella and critically acclaimed profiles and tributes in poetry to such historical greats as Coretta Scott King, Langston Hughes, Gordon Parks, and the great city of New Orleans.
SPOKEN WORD MUSIC CD
The Goddess and the Skylark, Dancing Through the Word Labyrinth
“These are some of the most talented people in urban poetry today, and I think you'd be missing something huge if you don't get yourself a copy, now.”-- Poet William F. DeVault
Travel and History
THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE WAY DOWN SOUTH
Is it possible to take a tour of New York’s famed Harlem Renaissance way down in Savannah, Georgia? It is when you learn just how much of the celebrated Renaissance got its cultural start in the South.
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