Ghana Bound

Stories have paid the mortgage for nearly two decades.  Sharing stories and songs rooted in the African oral tradition has been my j-o-b since 1996. Now, I have an opportunity to perform in West Africa. 

The National Association of Black Storytellers Inc. (NABS) has invited me to perform at Panafest.  Additionally, I get to participate in the Inter-Continental Scholarly Exchange on the Preservation of the African Oral Tradition through Black Storytelling. Both the festival and scholarly exchange will take place in Ghana, West Africa December 1-19, 2015.

The stories and songs I perform are derived from both my personal experience as a woman of African descent, from the traditions handed down from my parents, as well as from my scholarly research. This project affords me an opportunity to go to the source of my cultural roots for the very first time and not only collect stories, but to participate in an academic discussion about African storytelling with a diverse assembly of people. 

You can become a part of this journey with me. Your contribution to my crowd funding campaign will make this trip possible. 

What do you get for your money? 

You will receive a reward for your contribution. You can have me perform in your home for a fraction of my usual fee. When I return from Ghana, I will be hosting a Sankofa Celebration where I will perform LIVE and you may be able to attend FREE. At the Sankofa Celebration the stories and songs I perform will include those collected in Ghana and/or inspired by my experience there. You may even attend the VIP reception at the celebration. No contribution is too small. 

Become a part of the story!

Get more details on my crowd funding campaign by clicking the picture below.

Evergreen Art

Evergreen. A media term that describes material that can be used on numerous occasions over a long period. Evergreen program content can air at multiple times on a variety of platforms because it is not time sensitive.

I learned the term while attending a workshop at Scribe, in preparation for a five-week radio program Keepers Of The Culture will be producing and hosting. (Stay tuned for more details.)  As soon as I heard the term, it resonated with me. It actually made me smile.

Later, reflecting more on the word, I realized what appealed to me about the word.  It occurred to me that evergreen is a characteristic of great art. An effective story is evergreen when it contains universal truths with wide ranging applications. A great song is enjoyed by generations often when the message is timeless.

As an artist, it is more appealing to me to create art that is evergreen rather than art that is popular. Evergreen art inevitably is content that touches hearts. Artists like the Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, the R & B band, is a shinning example of artists who never achieved wide popularity, never won a Grammy; but still perform before sold out audiences after four decades together.  Their success and longevity are credited to the theme of unity and reverence for something greater than yourself.

The lesson: an artist can achieve longevity with quality content that connects people.

Balancing Creativity with Practicality

One of the most interesting things about this journey, called life, is the process of creativity. It never ceases to astonish me. There are moments when an idea will come to my mind, whether it is a story, song or poem; and it will come to me (or rather through me) in its entirety. All I have to do is get-up-out of the way and it will pour forth, as easily as a rain drop down a windshield. In those moments, I know that I am not creating the work; but rather allowing the work to come through me. I am but a vessel.

Case-and-point, on Thanksgiving Day, I was driving to my mom’s home and Joss Stone was crooning in the speakers. One song contained the words “color me.” Instantly, a completely, different song flowed over my lips. A brand new song that was ready to be birthed. I knew I needed to stop my vehicle; pull out a recorder; and get the song down before it got away from me. I also knew that if I did not stop at that moment, the song would be lost.

That’s when the internal battle between the Creative me and the Practical me began. The Creative one wanted to stop and the Practical one wanted to arrive on time to Thanksgiving dinner. The conflict between these two parts of me is a constant and frequent occurrence.

My challenge is finding the balance between the two. Both parts have their merits. The Creative one produces the work that feeds my soul and when I share that work; it feeds the souls of others. The Practical one keeps the order in my life that allows me the luxury of making my work as an artist, my vocation.

It is my firm belief that the reason I have been able to work for the past 17 years as a professional storyteller is because of these two parts of me. My Creative self is the visionary, who is always looking toward the future and asking, “What if?” My Practical self is the pragmatist, who is always in the present moment and asking, “What’s needed now?” My never-ending challenge is to nurture both parts me by giving amble time to each.

On that day travelling to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, I decided to settle the conflict by compromising. I recorded the song, as I was driving (Don’t worry. It was a hands-free recorder.) and arrived on-time to dinner. Unfortunately, when I arrived at my mother’s door, the song was not complete. The hook and one and a half verses and were done, but I knew there was more. The Practical part of me won by reasoning that the song was nearly completed and could easily be finished later.

It took a few weeks before the other half of the second verse was created. Several months later, it still feels like it is not yet completed. What is the moral of the tale? Hmm, good question. I am not entirely sure. I do know if I had to do it over again, I would have stayed in the vehicle longer to finish the song and risk being late for dinner. Surely, mother would understand.

p.s. When the song is completed, I will post the video :-).

Conspiracy Theory

Business. Creative work. Parenting. Personal life. There is so much I want and need to do in each of these areas. At times the weight of it all feels crippling.

Then I remember an undeniable truth: the Universe is always conspiring to do me good. For evidence of this truth, I do not have to look far. My recent healing is proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Yet there are still times I look at my to-do list and I am overwhelmed. I begin to think about how I should have completed some of the tasks long before or how I should have more resources to get done what is on the list. I think to myself,

"I should do more, be more, have more."

Then I remember something I heard Iyanla Vanzant say, "Never should on yourself."

Recently I had an epiphany about my work as a writer versus my work as a storyteller. Writing is so cerebral to me. Writing gets me inside my head. It's mind-work. If my mind is busy, unsettled, writing clears out the clutter.

Storytelling is different. Storytelling gets me inside my heart. Storytelling is Spirit-work. If my spirit needs lifting, storytelling gives me the elevation I need.

Writing and storytelling are essential to my wholeness. One no more important than the other. Yet it is essential that I have a good balance of both in order to prevent feeling overwhelmed by that infamous to-do list.

BOTH writing and storytelling are ever-present reminders that the Universe is conspiring on my behalf, every minute of every day.

Now I better get back to that long to do list!

Tell a Story

Today we have endless and instant ways of communicating with each other. We can IM, text, fax, email and call. You can give a report on every moment of your day via blogs and social networking sites. Your message can be sent in a nano second to persons all around the world. Yet are we really connected? Are we really making connections? Are these technologically advanced methods of communicating effective in building relationships, understanding human frailties or solving problems?

I believe we must not lose face-to-face communication. Most importantly, we must get back to telling stories.

In her book, Sisters of the Yam: Black Women & Self Recovery, author bell hooks writes, “In the years before television, folks talked to one another. Conversation and storytelling were important locations for sharing information about the self, for healing.” She continues, “. . . for the telling of our stories enables us to name our pain, our suffering and to seek healing.”

Often as a child, my mother told me a story about being in kindergarten and overhearing a teacher talking about her, “She is really pretty to be so d-a-r-k.” This story not only told of my mother’s early experience with racism, but it was for me, a reminder that my mother was once a vulnerable child. (An obvious fact often overlooked by me especially in my teenaged years.) Hearing this story also made me believe my mother could possibly understand me and my battles in school. After hearing her tale, I then felt I could trust her with my own stories of vulnerability.

Storytelling reconnects us to our past tragedies and triumphs but also points the way to our future. Clyde W. Ford, author of We Can All Get along: 50 Steps You Can Take to Help End Racism, was once asked about how to combat intraracial violence plaguing so many communities. His answer, “Tell them a good story.” Ford understands that when you tell stories of heroes and heroines who overcame tremendous difficulties the listeners begins to think they too may be capable of facing the obstacles in their life. Ford believes that even when faced with the relentless monsters of hunger, poverty, injustice and racism, people can have hope for the future when they hear stories, especial tales of people like them, linked to them through history and heritage.

As a storyteller I have seen first-hand the tremendous transformative power of this art form. You do not have to look far in your own life to see it as well. Think of how storytelling is used in religious circle to inspire the congregation. Think of how political leaders use stories to persuade.

Let us put down our blackberries, PDAs, laptops, for a short wile and tell a story.