Monday, July 03, 2006

Welcome to Rainbow Lines

Welcome to Rainbow Lines! This is a space about writing and for writing. I will be sharing words of encouragement and writing exercises that I use to get my brain buzzing with energy and ideas. The most important thing to know about writing is that everyone can do it, many people have found it helps them to grow, and the more you write, the easier it gets. William Faulkner wrote one page every day before he retired to the veranda for mint juleps. Julia Cameron suggests daily morning pages, although that never worked for me because I am a night owl. I came to writing in my mid-thirties and it was like the perfect hotel into which I moved, lock, stock and barrel. My mind is a fun playground and I like to go there to relax and write as often as possible. For those of you who don't know me, I have taught creative writing classes in non-traditional settings for nearly twenty years. I have published a variety of essays, short fiction, and poetry in feminist, LGBT and African-American sources. I live in Los Angeles. I am currently an Emerging Voices Rosenthal Fellowship recipient from PEN USA. I have previously been awarded a residency at Hedgebrook as well as Artist in Residence grants from the Caifornia Arts Council and Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles. I am writing the first novel in a trilogy about the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Nationalist Movement in the twentieth century called Elmwood. My first question for you is: if you could write a book, what would it be about? My answer: I choose to write about the Civil Rights Movement and other significant social paradigm shifts precisely because it was such a vital and positive time. I think so much of recent history is reduced to a lifeless description that fails to convey the people who made it happen.

1 comment:

lily moon said...

Great deed here Ayofemi. This writing site. It is so important for writers, artists and keepers of our historical flame to create avenues and gathering places to promote community. Especially when you consider the reclusive nature of most creatives [self included].

I'll be visiting often.

Tzynya