I only lived in Lancaster for a year but in that time I managed to connect with a few schools and community organizations. The pandemic limited what I could do in my last months in PA but when ROOTS RUN DEEP was finally ready, I sent a copy to Valerie Pritchett at ABC27. She featured me for the station’s 2020 Black History Month special and she’s kindly done it again for 2021. You can see the interview here.

It’s snowing—again!—but I made it to the post office and my new snow pants arrived just an hour ago. We’ve had a fairly mild winter so far so I can’t really complain about February’s subzero temps and nonstop snow. The winter blues often set in at this time of year but I’ve managed to keep them at bay with plenty of walks. All of these Zoom presentations are exhausting but I find that a walk outside helps me recover. I had an evening presentation at CalArts last week so couldn’t walk afterward; I settled for a few hours of silence. This coming week is winter break for many schools; I’ll be teaching a fantasy fiction micro class for Uptown Stories (if you want to register your child, just check the NYC resident box). I’ve also got a book club meeting and a poetry workshop at this library followed by an event on Saturday for the African American Read-In. On Friday I’ll deliver the keynote for this conference at West Chester University; my talk is titled “I Am Not a Poet: Mentors, Mantras, and the Door We Must Open” and the following night I’ll be giving a reading followed by an open mic. You can register for the conference here. Tomorrow I present for students in Japan so I’m making the most of this quiet, snowy afternoon. Just finished watching The Dig on Netflix—very soothing. It’s always good to think about what we’ve built in our lifetimes and what we’ll leave behind for others to uncover…