It is I, eldest sibling, king of the family, with the Netflix premium plan, Hulu w no commercials and live TV plan, Spotify w no ads family plan. And do you know not one person texted me today to thank me for Beyonce
If you love a writer, do not ask her if you can "pick her brain."
That's called a consultation. You may ask if she provides consultation services and what her fee is. Decide if that consultation is in your budget.
Move forward to the Paypal link or leave her alone.
Female is the adjective. Woman is the noun. Female is used colloquially so much as a noun that ppl have forgotten it is a descriptor. There are female lions, female hares, etc. You wouldn't call a female lemur a woman. A woman is an adult female human. Just say woman.
And before the day is done a very special shout out to infertile aunties who cried for years and spent big money trying to become a mommy but finally made peace with the whole thing and are now grateful that their mornings are made up of silence and coffee.
Shout out to us. 🌹
More advice: Rest your eyeballs. I work on my laptop until the battery dies. That's my timer to go outside, move my body, run some business errands. By the time I get back, the computer is charged and I'm ready to work again. Do not work with your computer constantly plugged in.
I tried the little trend and made zuchinni noodles tonight. Y'all and y'all spiralizers can kiss my ass. It is not pasta, nor does it taste pasta-ish. It tasted like zuchinni with the basil, garlic and parmesan that I added.
I'm calling this new grief phase the after-after. After the body is in the ground, after people stop calling, after one year, after your mourning period when people feel like you should be over it, that's the hardest part. I'm in the after-after, and I hate it here.
I want to follow more black women in tech, black women in angel investing, black women in cannabis, black women farmers, black women doomsday preppers, black women coffee experts (sommeliers?), black women music historians, and black women who are experts on climate change. 👀🙏🏿
Professionally speaking, I would never tell someone who is trying to give me an opportunity that I am too scared/unprepared/not talented enough to take the opportunity.
If you discredit your own work, I'm going to trust you and keep it moving.
I'm not watching the Central Park Five movie because I just can't. I had to stop watching movies w racialized violence because they make me depressed for weeks and weeks and weeks and I need my head above the water.
In Rite-Aid a young man, abt fourteen, is contemplating Valentine's Day cards. He chose a baby powder scented rose & a heart shaped box of milk chocolates, but the cards have him stumped. I almost offered to help until I realized he's not stumped: he's reading for the perfect one
Reminder: there are 40+ books being published by women of color this year. Let's not limit our reading lists to the one or two we know.
Here's a great list for suggestions. I'm def picking up titles by
@gracetalusan
@rokwon_
Tsitsi D.,
@TisforThompson
If you love a writer, be in conversation with her. Reach out to her speakers bureau, have her Skype with class, support her at your local library or indie, ask ambitious questions at her events.
Don't ask what time she likes to write or what she puts in her coffee. Who cares?
Here's my advice: 1. your family and friends will disappoint you mostly because they don't understand the vastness of the thing you're trying to do or because you've made yourself unavailable to them. They'll get over it. You may stop speaking to some folks. Keep working.
I started
@jackjoneslitart
four years ago w my own capital. I am so pleased to announce today, on our fourth birthday, that
@rgay
and
@debbiemillman
are JJLA's first investors. I am grateful for this investment and mentorship. Ride with the mob.
There are a handful of emerging writers who I have my eye on and I have their back. Most of them don't even know I have their back or that I'm watching and making moves behind the scenes. You never know who your fairy godmother is. Work hard. The real ones are waiting for you. 🙏🏿
Also, stop comparing yourself to other writers. I'm glad my friends write as fast and as well as they do. I don't. Period. Also, you don't know what people's career goals and life responsibilities are so mind your fucking business. Keep your eyes on your paper!
I believe in the new year. I believe in renewal. I believe in rebirth. I believe in new energy. I believe in possibility. I am so grateful for every new day. Sometimes I'm just like, yo, the moon is beautiful as shit.
I don't say "no" to anything unless it doesn't serve me.
I never say "no" because I think I'm not ready. I acknowledge that I'm not ready, research, study, figure out a plan of action, call my girls for support and then I say "yes."
We were not created to worry about racism and patriarchy and sexual assault and climate change and state sanctioned violence and mass shootings and dinner and our skin and our mamas and retirement and some raggedy nigga we love and savings and bills like give me a fucking break
If you love a writer, review her book. It makes all of the difference.
(Craft-based reviews are best. Her author photo choice is none of your business.) Leave a cute postcard at local indie and ask them to post it near the book. "Live-tweet" your fave lines as you read along.
Many of you know a qualified woman who may not have heard of
@jackjoneslitart
. Pls share. We currently have no applicants for these fellowships: Latina poet, Arab woman, Native/Indigenous, Afro Latina prose, Undocumented poet, Black Daughter of Am South.
My memory is long. If you disrespected me when you felt like you didn't have to respect me because I was a nobody and not in service to your career or goals, and now you are suddenly in my face because I am that bitch, let me let you know, I've been that bitch. Been.
Black mythology lives in our backyards, churches, mosques, porches, barber shops, salons. It's why we don't let cats near newborns or allow pregnant women at funerals. We're not talking about theory. We're talking about black imaginations. Nothing to do w academia.
The response to Michael B. Jordan saying we don't have Black folklore and mythology is exposing people's academic privilege and general lack of understanding or patience for Black people who haven't had the same exposure and access.
My great grandmother, Estelle Eloise Snipe, went home to her Lord and maker today. She was 93. Former sharecropper, mother of 14, first lady of Community Baptist Church. Rest well, Ms. Carrie.
I cancelled the reservation for myself and my staff with
@doubletreepdx
for
#AWP19
, and I urge everyone else to do the same. Jermaine Massey, a guest at their hotel, was racially harassed and had the police called on him for taking a call in the lobby.
Ramadan is on its way! Mosques and masjids can always use food donations (which they distribute), new and gently used Quran donations, and feminine hygiene products and other smell goods for transient Muslims.
-
@jackjoneslitart
put together a v short and not comprehensive list of cultural critics of color. Again, not comprehensive. Always looking for more recommendations. Always keeping our eyes on what we love. We're working on a larger index for the future. 🎡🎠
#culturetoo
Years and years and years ago Mat Johnson told me that my first book does not have to be perfect but that it has to be interesting. I spend a lot of time thinking about the difference in those two ideas. Mat's words are still the most helpful thing any teacher has ever said to me
Best email today: Hello Kima, My name is ***********, and I'm a 15-year old, Puerto Rican book blogger. I email you because I would really appreciate the opportunity to read and review Dealing in Dreams by
@lilliamr
.
I love sending books to the babies!!!!!!!! I'm gonna cry!
The hardest breakup is the one where no one has done anything wrong and everyone still loves each other but you both realize that you are people who want different things and there is no way to bridge that gulf.
In 2012, I knew no writers. No MFA. No workshops. No writing classes. No Jack Jones. No AWP. No clients.
I worked in healthcare and wrote poems during my night shift.
I was an avid reader who knew she could write somebody under a table. Period.
Today used to be v hard for me. I am the only woman, on both sides of my family, who doesn't have children. All of my siblings (7) are parents. All of my cousins. I used to cry about being infertile but now I'm mostly grateful for my quiet ass house and having my time to myself.
If you love a writer, write a letter to the editor.
Let the editor know that you keep your subscription dollars with that publication because of the outstanding work from women writers published there.
Looking ahead, the
@latimes
says I'm 2018's breakout. "Jones is an important new voice on the national stage." Wait till you see what I have planned next for
@jackjoneslitart
. 📚📖
I took out my first business loan after paying for my father's funeral + related expenses in full. Balancing finances + managing grief + health was overwhelming to say the least. Today that loan is paid off and I am ready to do a cartwheel.
I don't self-idenitfy as a woman of color. The anti-blackness jumps out. The pleasure Natasha took in reporting this non-incident to this woman's employer. This is why her book is gonna sink. Because Natasha wanted to play overseer while a black woman had a quick meal.
I am a Black American Muslim. I'm a Sunni Muslim. I am a third generation Muslim. I hope some of you carry the spirit of
#ramadan
with you in your interactions with Black Muslims and stop trying to quiz us on our faith. It's wack.