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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."

MUSE NEWS



(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.”


IAC is now in the house! For the latest from the Global Skylark Z-Ped Music Player Radio Station, courtesy of Independent Artists Company, please click over to the WELCOME page. Is it just coincidence that "An Angel for New Orleans" is in the top 5? Kind'a doubt it. Enjoy!


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)

Support independent publishing: buy this disc on Lulu.

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.

"VISIONS" COVER ARTIST DENISE ELLIOT-VERNON

Millions of visitors make their way annually from around the world to the sunlit beaches of Tybee Island on the southeastern coast of Georgia, just outside Savannah. In addition to its beaches, the island is famous for its state of the art pier, local restaurants, unique shops, and surrounding marshlands. Denise Elliot-Vernon, creator of the Black Skylark artwork and a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), is one of the foremost visual art interpreters of the area’s natural beauty and historical significance.

Elliott-Vernon’s mesmerizing artistry frames images of nature at intimate peace with itself. It also utilizes the same to conceptualize and articulate deeply moving metaphysical statements on the fine delicate character and critical importance of our natural environments.

Additionally, through her work with the Tybee Island Arts Association, Elliot-Vernon has proven a worthy advocate for contemporary artists. To learn more about her art and to arrange for purchases, please call the Dragonfly Studio at (912) 786-4431, or visit the studio’s web site by clicking on the link below.

You may also contact the artist at (912)786-5726 or through the link provided below to the Tybee Island Arts Association web site.

© Aberjhani
September 2006


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).

READERS CHOOSE BEST POET/SPOKEN WORD ARTIST

So there I was preparing to interview Clinton Powell of the Spitfire Poets, the winner of last year’s “Best Poet/Spoken Word Artist” in CONNECT SAVANNAH’s Annual Reader’s Poll, when I received word that I had placed first in the category for the 2006 poll.

How cool was that?!

Winners of the poll were announced in the May 17, 2006, edition of CONNECT SAVANNAH (www.connectsavannah.com). My selection as the “Best Poet/Spoken Word Artist” came as a surprise for a number of reasons. The first of those reasons is that my books, especially I MADE MY BOY OUT OF POETRY, can be difficult to find in Savannah.

The second is that I had been concentrating very heavily on journalism and creative nonfiction during the past six months and rarely got to do anything with my poetry outside of posting material on my Black Skylark Z-Ped Music Player site. Hmmm, but then again maybe that’s what did the trick. Or maybe it had something to do with the publication of my work in ESSENCE Magazine every other month last year. Whatever the precise reason, it felt good to know folks in my hometown were tuning in to my poetic vibe.

That I have been chosen this year is a particularly satisfying honor because in the past I have placed once as a runner up and once as a “critic’s pick.” Although this isn’t exactly the coveted People’s Choice Award, it is something of a miniature version of it and that makes it very special. It also makes me very grateful.

Aberjhani

––30—


In its 7th Anniversary Celebration Issue, leading literary periodical BLACK ISSUES BOOK REVIEW presents a nod to "the little encyclopedia that could."

THE WORD FROM THE EXPERTS

It is a great day when a writer can open a major magazine such as the January/February 2006 Seventh Anniversary Edition of BLACK ISSUES BOOK REVIEW and discover that his book has been listed as one of that magazine’s recommended “Essentials, selections for the well-stocked library.”

In a two-page article titled “Just the Facts,” Brooklyn writer and editor, Zakia Carter notes that such works as the Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (co-authored by this writer and Sandra L. West, “are foundations of a good home library.”

Considering all the thousands of books published every year, it’s more than a little mind-boggling to learn that one’s work has been included on a very short list of titles––roughly a dozen––that also contains Kwame Anthony Appiah’s and Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s masterful AFRICANA. As a bookseller half a decade ago, I was thrilled to offer customer the hefty first edition of AFRICANA. Now it’s been re-released as an even more impressive five-volume set. It kind of makes me think of Professor West’s and my book as ‘the little encyclopedia that could.’

In her article, on pages 54 and 55 of the magazine, Zakia Carter observes the following: “A glossary of Harlem Renaissance slang, maps, lists of contemporary museums with collections of works from the period, and photographs flesh out the alphabetically arranged entries of the various artists, intellectuals, books, journals, writers, organizations, collectives, locales and events that make up the Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Checkmark Books, 2003). Such entries as those on the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the Great Migration, Zora Neale Hurston, the National Urban League, Charlie Parker, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, make this the only encyclopedia dedicated solely to black America’s golden age of cultural productivity in the 1920s and ‘30s.”

In addition to its review of recommended nonfiction titles for the home library, the current Black Issues Book Review also features profiles of some the most influential figures in the publishing industry. Moreover, Gwendolyn E. Osborne’s article, “The Color of Love,” takes an informative look at the growing trend of romance books by African-American authors published by mainstream publishers. Reviews of new works by well-known authors Thulani Davis, Tanarive Due, Zakes Mda, Jewell Parker Rhodes, and Zadie Smith are also included in the seventh anniversary issue.


(Artwork: Stephanie Pui Mun Law's "Israfel, the Angel of Music")

VISIONS OF THE POETS REVEALED

The VISIONS OF THE POETS series debuted several weeks ago at the Z-Ped Music Player Express web site on AuthorsDen and in less than a month has attracted more than 800 readers.

The series began with a profile of the well-known neo-formalist poet Andre Emmanuel Bendavi ben-YEHU. It continued January 7, 2006, with an essay on David Hightower’s forthcoming collection, THE HANGING MAN DREAMS. These are two very different accomplished poets with two highly evolved visions of their art.

Bendavi ben-YEHU is as celebrated for powerfully charged commentaries on works by other writers as he is for his own brilliant poetic inquiries into spirituality, literary ethics, politics, religious organization, unconditional love, and philosophy. He is also, I’m honored to point out, the author of “The Onyx of Savannah,” the poem that graces this site’s welcome page.

David Hightower has been long known for his published works in literary journals and for helping to lead his former students in North Georgia to championship victories, not in basketball or football, but in high school literary magazine state competitions. His THE HANGING MAN DREAMS is an extraordinary volume of work that is long overdue and much anticipated.

With poets like these leading the charge from the literary trenches, 2006 is off to a winning start.


Skylark in soaring triumphant flight. (Art by Denise Elliot-Vernon)

A SURPRISE GIFT OF SPONSORSHIP

After launching what I describe as three skylark magazines in one--including THE BRIGHT SKYLARK SONGBOOK--at Blogit.com, it followed that I should probably shut down my BLACK SKYLARK Z-PED MUSIC PLAYER web site on AuthorsDen. I was preparing to do exactly that when administrators at AuthorsDen informed me I had become the fortunate recipient of a gift sponsorship.

Well, what was I to make of receiving such a gift while in the middle of writing my farewell editorial?

On the one hand, it was deeply gratifying and even humbling, to know that someone somewhere thought enough of my writings to insure access to them for the next year. On the other hand, keeping the site would mean generating, or at least distributing, enough material to compete with my three magazines in one at Blogit.com. Would that be possible? I had to acknowledge that responses to the latest prose and poetry postings on the site made it clear that many readers appreciated it. Therefore, I wondered: who are the literary heroes to whom one should turn for clues to solve such a quandary?

I decided to follow the counsel of a trusted advisor, set aside my anxieties, and chose to let the Black Skylark Z-Ped Music Player remain standing for 2006. To the anonymous donor who made it possible, I can only join in with the treasured fans of the site to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH, and have a great New Year!



Gift Books We Love Giving and Receiving

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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