Happy Father's Day

John Pough
August 17, 1946 - May 4, 2003
I always loved you more than you knew. Rest in peace, Daddy.



Luther Vandross, "Dance With My Father Again"

Happy Father's Day, everyone. If you are blessed enough to have your father still here, give him a hug and appreciate the time.

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

A Mother's Love

Okay, I’ll let you all in on a little secret. Every time I hear “I’ll Always Love My Mama,” by The Intruders it brings tears to my eyes. Every single time . When I was a kid it used to make me cry because I would always feel sad for my own mother. She lost her mom when she was fourteen-years-old and her dad when she was nine-years-old. As I got older the words started to take on a more personal meaning. Growing up and watching your single mom struggle to make ends meet and knowing in your heart that you didn’t always make that easy for her gives the words of that song power, especially on Mother’s Day. I’m old enough--and somewhat wise enough--to know now that the love of a good mother is not something that is automatic or that should ever be taken for granted. My mother didn’t have to make the sacrifices she made for us. I know lots of women who have made other choices. And I’m not passing judgment. People do what they have to do. But I am saying that if you’ve had the privilege of having a mother love you, put you first and raise you with care, devotion and guidance, you should celebrate her every chance you get, not just on Mother’s Day. She deserves all that and more. So, happy Mother’s Day to all of you moms out there! I’m sending lots of cyber hugs, candy and flowers your way. Enjoy this day and everyday because mothers make the world go round. Enjoy this classic by The Intruders!



I’ll Always Love My Mama, The Intruders


Much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Strive for freedom...

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.



A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
Martin Luther King, Jr., “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” 1967

Man was born into barbarism when killing his fellow man was a normal condition of existence. He became endowed with a conscience. And he has now reached the day when violence toward another human being must become as abhorrent as eating another's flesh.
Martin Luther King, Jr. “Why We Can't Wait,” 1963

The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to take food from the soil or to consume the abundant animal life around them. The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.
Martin Luther King, Jr. “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” 1967

The Passing of Author Katherine D. Jones

In March of 2005 at the tenth annual Romance Slam Jam I had the honor of meeting author Katherine D. Jones for the first time. I don’t think she knew it at the time and I’m not sure I even realized what the impact of that meeting would be for me. She offered a newly signed author she had never met before kindness and spoke with genuine sincerity about the business and showed me such a warm and open spirit. Her giving nature, the way she opened herself up to offer advice and inspiration during my interactions with her then and since then have shown me a model of how we should all treat one another. Katherine passed away suddenly on May 17, 2007. And while my heart is breaking for her family, friends and readers, I know that we all have had such a gift to have been able to connect with this dynamic woman. I feel honored to have known her, humbled by her truly giving and open nature, and inspired to spread the kindness she showed me as a new author with people I come in contact with. I can honestly say, I have not met a more real and sincere person and she will be missed. I can hardly finish typing this through my tears. My thoughts and prayers are with her husband and sons at this very sad time.

Happy Mother's Day

I'm sending out lots of cyber well wishes to all of the mothers out there. Enjoy your day!

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Sing, Celebrate... Sing, Sing Celebrate...

For a King, celebrate...

Since Monday is the day we celebrate a man of vision and strength who worked with others so that this country might live up to its promise of freedom and justice for all, I thought it would be cool to see this old video celebrating the man and his legacy. Let's all take some time on Monday to think about how we can continue to make "The Dream" a reality.



Much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Happy Founders' Day!!!

To all my sorors of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated




On January 13, 1913 twenty-two dynamic women founded what is today one of the largest historically Black sororities and for that I am grateful. I became a Delta woman on April 24, 1990 at William Paterson College in New Jersey. So to all my sands and sorors of William Paterson's Theta Upsilon chapter, to Elle and Rageyone, and all my blogging sorors, to Ann Christopher, Ann Clay, Wendy Coakley-Thompson and all my fiction writing sorors, to Monique Bruner and Gwendolyn Osborne and all my writing and reviewing sorors, and to all the Deltas... Happy Founders' Day Sorors!

What Do You Want Your Words To Mean?

Thinking of Bebe Moore Campbell and other Black women writers gone too soon...



1950-2006

The beauty of writing and leaving a published body of work is that your words will never truly be gone, even long after you depart this earth. But what do you want your words to say? What do you want them to mean? Some writers say only the art, only the craft, only the beauty of language and the turn and twirl of phrases. And that's good. That's fine. We need more beauty in the world. But some writers, like BeBe Moore Campbell, gave craft an agenda. Made beauty meet truth. Took issues to the art. And made us think about things like race relations in a post-riot LA. Some writers, like Octavia Butler got prophetic with the muse and laced language with the subtle nuances of a stance. You can't read her parables and not be eerily concerned about what path this country might be on. You can't read the fiction of these writers without having some small part of your conscious tapped. Thinking of these writers and others like them makes me seriously consider what I want my words to mean. I'm standing on the shoulders of giants. What legacy do I want to leave?