Words

I absolutely love words... some more than others. In my English lit class from my second semester of college, we had to dissect a song to illustrate a certain literary theme. I had always memorized songs (like any child or teenager) but didn't know what anything really meant because I hadn't really ever thought about it. After that assignment, I've done it ever since. There are so many songs that really get you thinking and can also move you - not just love songs. This past week, Nikki Giovanni was signing her new children's book, "Hip Hop speaks to children" here in Richmond. I didn't know about it until it was too late to get tickets to her presentation, but luckily someone from the local children's book shop (who were a sponsor to the event) offered to have it signed for me. This book comes with a CD that is about 45 minutes of spoken word in the form of poems, stories, songs, and raps. I bought it for myself and my son but I think he's too young to really appreciate the art of listening to the words, not just the beat. I love a good beat and melody to a song also - don't get me wrong; the marriage between a good flow and powerful verse is unparalleled. The song, "Mr. Wendel" by Arrested Development is a really good one - it might take the first few times listening to really grasp the point... but it's worth the time.

Non-musically, I would say that anything Shakespearean is so far ahead of it's time it's amazing. My first time reading Shakespeare, it was so confusing, I couldn't even grasp the first page let alone the whole play. I think the first one I read was "Othello" - anyway, my professor recommended getting the book on tape and follow along - I tried and it really helped me listen and take in the story lines. The romantic twists and turns and the feuds and craziness and the conspiracies and jealousy - the remakes of his plays (modern movies) are all of the original wording, just modern settings. He was truly gifted.

I was able to listen to an author speak this week by the name of Julia Alvarez. I only caught the end of her speech because of a prior commitment, but she was so inspirational. A lot of her writings are semi-autobiographical regarding coming of age as an 'outsider' the USA but yearning to fit it while clinging to her own heritage. Her writing is pretty powerful and I am really excited to read further. The part that was moving to me, as a writer, was the crowd and winding line waiting for her to resurface in the lobby to sign books. There were hundreds of readers and fans waiting with their books open to the title page for 2 seconds in front of her. I guess it's hard to grasp as a reader how pivotal that is because the book signings depicted on television have ropes blocking the way for lines of fans and flashbulbs coming from eager photographers - in reality, you have to reach a best selling status (at the least) to be sought out in such a way. It's an honor to have people affected by your words that much - I look forward to touching someone through my words more and more with every release.

My advice would be to pick some songs (different eras and genres) and really listen to the words - several times even.