You Will FALL For These Wonderful Little Books Of Southern Poems !

 

Fall is here!

 
Who doesn't love to read? 

I know that I do !
Cooler days make it the perfect time to cuddle 

up with a good book....or two !
I have the perfect selections for you !
You will love my two wonderful little 

books of southern poems!
Some people love to sit in a swing or rock in a comfortable rocker.
Where is your favorite place to read?

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN 
a copy of my book, 
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia ...
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT 
AND YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS.

 Please Visit These Other Blogs on The Hop .....

1. Bonnie Blythe's Pure Romance	2. Living the Dream	3. Aileen Fish, Love as Old as Time
4. Emerald Barnes	5. Nona King's Angel Breath Books	6. Musings About the Writing Life
7. Jo Grafford, Author	8. Taylor Michaels - Romantic Suspense Author	9. Heather Gray, Writer of Inspirational Romance
10. Albert & Uttley	11. ssteinwriting. wordpress. com	12. Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia
13. Author Morgan L. Busse	14. Jo Grafford, Romance Author	15. Monica's Blog
16. Take Two: a Hollywood Romance (Lady Biker Series)	17. Christian Romance Author Laura J. Marshall	18. Susan Rush author Just Over the Horizon
19. On The Move	20. Linda Covella Author	21. A Writer's Devotion
22. Author Krysten Lindsay Hager	23. Melissa McClone, Contemporary Romance Author

LUPITA'S OSCAR WIN BRINGS REFLECTIONS (Of A Mississippi Magnolia)

One of my Facebook friends wrote a comment on her page: 
"I am soooo happy for Lupita Nyong'o for achieving the highest honor in her craft, but unfortunately I have not been able to watch the movie for which she is honored,"12 years a Slave". I grew up in MS where racism and discrimination were/are still left over from the oppression of slavery. I am sorry to say the bitter taste and the smell of hatred still lingers in my throat. So although I am happy for Lupita as a actress, I cannot, will not celebrate a legacy of slavery."


I commented: 
"Wow! I always see just the opposite ..the UNBELIEVABLE courage, strength and endurance of a people.  I always take those people with me and feel them with me wherever I go.  I want them to know how much I appreciate the sacrifices and the suffering.  I am not proud of slavery, or the horrific conditions that continued to follow it..but VERY proud of the legacy of those people...my people...that great cloud of witnesses.  For some reason I felt compelled to say more.  Although, I very rarely chime in on conversations, on other people's pages, on Facebook, embracing my history and heritage is something that I am VERY passionate about."  

I wanted to explain further my first comment.  I wrote: 
"I still live in Mississippi and write poetry about things that I love about Mississippi. There are so many negative connotations associated with Mississippi, and the south in general.  There are very few instances when the news media or anyone at all, says ANYTHING positive about Mississippi.  I try to show a flip side to all of the negatives portrayed.  It's not that I negate, ignore or disregard the negatives, it's just that there is SO MUCH more to the story.  I am a 50 year old black woman and have seen and /or heard it all when it comes to racism.  My parents and grandparents, of course, saw, heard and experienced so much more.  When I wrote the comment about the great cloud of witnesses, it is because it is something that I talk to people about all of the time when it comes to my speaking engagements.  My audiences, followers and purchasers of my books over the years, I would estimate to be 90% Caucasian.  I am not sure how that dynamic came about, 
but it is what it is."

I was telling my mother (and several other people) that whenever I go to speak, usually to all white audiences, I feel my grandmother and great grandmother (on my mother's side) with me all of the time.  It is like they are standing there right beside me and behind me.  I think of others ..but I FEEL them.  I don't exactly know why that is, but I feel that I am doing something they could not do in their life times. 
I feel that is something that they would have liked to do ...and probably would have been 100 times better at it than me.  My grandmother and my great grandmother were teachers, both were very articulate and well read.  I am sure their poetry and their messages would have been so much more superior to mine.  Yes, I think that they probably wrote poems too.  They probably wrote poems about life in Mississippi, but I am the one who gets to read and express those poems before large captive audiences.  I read them to people who, during their times, would not have allowed them in the front door.  I read them to people that would have treated them much differently than I am treated now.  I am the one who gets to do it ...to do this for my grannies ...,and I don't take it lightly.

Along with all of my messages about Mississippi I am "teaching" "educating" SO MANY people along the way ..about my people...the stuff I'm made of, where I come from, the kind of people that I come from..articulate, bright, determined, hard-working people ..with values, dreams, desires and goals, humor, hearts and minds just like anyone and everyone else.  With a subject along those lines, I wrote a poem called,
" We Like To Read Too".   I have two poems that I started over five years ago but have not found the right words to compete them like I feel they need to be completed. 
I haven't found the exact words to say all I want to say. 
Today I feel closer to finding those words. 
The titles are "Duty Bound ..and "In My Veins"

I want that "cloud of witnesses" to know that I am not at all discouraged by, deterred by, or ashamed of ..in any way, shape or form a legacy of slavery (my great-great grandmother was given as a wedding gift by an Alabama slave owner to his daughter) , hurt, struggle, hardship and pain.   After all of that...as Maya says..."Still I Rise".
 More than anything I want them to know that that legacy is cherished, appreciated and SO dear to me.  That legacy will always be cherished and uplifted in my life. 

Lupita said in her Oscar acceptance speech : "When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you’re from your dreams are valid." 

I, Patricia Neely-Dorsey, stand on the backs of the dreams of so many little girls (and grown women) over the generations.  Long ago, these ones, probably toiling in the blazing Mississippi sun, whose blood runs in my veins had dreams.
I stand now, as TOTAL ASSURANCE and PROOF that dreams do come true...and all dreams are valid. 

Lupita Nyong'o  poses with her award for Best Supporting Actress which she
won for her role as Patsey in the film 12 Years a Slave, at the 86th
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - March 2, 2014.

Lupita Amondi Nyong'o is an actress and music video director of dual
Kenyan and Mexican citizenship. She identifies as Mexican-Kenyan.
Born: March 1, 1983 , Mexico City, Mexico.

MARCH is National Reading Month ! It's time to READ!!!

MARCH is National Reading Month! 

~*~ READ ~*~

Many schools kick off the celebration of National reading Month with a birthday party honoring the beloved children’s author, Dr. Seuss, who was born March 2nd.
Green eggs and ham, along with a birthday cake, are often featured fixtures at those parties!

The goal of National Reading Month is to get children excited about reading, as well as improving their reading skills.  It is the perfect time to emphasize the importance and value of reading and to help them understand how important reading is in daily life and how it will help them achieve goals and become successful in life.  

My books, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia and My Magnolia Memories and Musings are perfect books to READ, BUY and GIVE during National Reading Month. With very simple language and relatable themes, they can be read, enjoyed and understood by readers of all ages 8 to 80 (and beyond). 
There is definitely something in my "little books of southern poems" for EVERYONE.

 

 

 Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904. After attending Dartmouth College and Oxford University, he began a career in advertising.  Dr. Seuss's first children's book, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, hit the market in 1937.  In 1957, Seuss's The Cat in the Hat became the prototype for one of Random House's best- selling series, Beginner Books. 
This popular series combined engaging stories with outrageous illustrations and playful sounds to teach basic reading skills.

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - A Life in Poems - Link to Amazon

Magnolia Memories and Musings - In Poems - Link to Amazon

Ringing In The New Year...With Greens and Black-eyed Peas !

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED ABOUT THAT  

TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN MENU FOR NEW YEAR'S ???

According to tradition, this New Year’s Day tradition, southern style, dates back to the Civil War, when Union troops pillaged the land, leaving behind only black-eyed peas and greens as animal fodder.
In the North, Black-eyed Peas were known as “cowpeas” or “field peas”. Cattle ate cowpeas and humans ate only English Peas. Since the North believed that only cattle ate Black-eyed Peas and they had already either taken or eaten all of the cattle, they saw no need to destroy this crop.

At first planted as food for livestock, and later a food staple for slaves in the South, the fields of black-eyed peas were ignored as Sherman's troops destroyed or stole other crops, thereby making the black-eyed pea an important role as a major food source for surviving Confederates.
As one of the few food sources left to sustain the people and the southern soldiers, those black-eyed peas came to represent good fortune.
Today, the tradition of eating black-eyed peas for the New Year has many variations and embellishments. Served with greens, the peas represent coins and the greens represent paper money. In some areas cabbage is used in place of the greens.

Other traditions include:

Cornbread, often served with black-eyed peas and greens, represents gold.

For the best chance of luck every day in the year ahead, one must eat at least 365 black-eyed peas on New Year's Day.

Black-eyed peas eaten with stewed tomatoes represent wealth and health.

Adding a shiny penny or dime to the pot just before serving is another tradition practiced by some. When served, the person whose bowl contains the penny or dime receives the best luck for the New Year, unless of course, the recipient swallows the coin.

Greens and black-eyed peas remain favorites in the southern diet, as reflected in the poem " Soul Food Restaurant" from my book
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia -a Life In Poems.(Reflections Mississippi Magnolia - A Life in Poems -|
 Amazon link to purchase)







Also, some form of pork is to be included. (pork roast, ham hocks, hog jowls ect. )
Many, simply, just add fat back in the greens.
The pork represents health and wealth, and continued prosperity.
If a family had a hog, that hog (usually killed, dressed and stored between Thanksgiving and Christmas) could provide meat for a family for much of the entire upcoming year.
Some say that the pork also represents progress since pigs/hogs, generally, are not able to look backward without completely turning around.

I Love Celebrating Reading ... and the South !

National Young Readers Day is celebrated on the second Tuesday of November. According to the creators of this day, it is "a special day to recognize the joys and benefits of reading." 

Grade schools around the country take advantage of this day, to promote the importance of reading.

Young Readers Day was co-founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. 

While this is referred to as a "National" day, there has not been a presidential proclamation or act of congress for it.

Use the time to encourage youth to read, and open the door to knowledge, information, success, and happiness. I try to take every opportunity that I can ! 

I appreciate so much my parents for fostering the love of reading in me ! 

In the foreword of my book, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia, I write:
My mother gave me a passionate love for reading and writing, and my father gave me an appreciation for poetry and great literature, especially that of African-American origin.

With it's simple language and relatable themes, the poems in my books can be read, enjoyed and understood by readers of all ages from 8 to 80 ... and beyond. 
There is definitely something in them for everyone.

My "Little Books of Southern Poems" Have Benefited Greatly From The Kindness of Strangers

Sweetest Day, observed on the 3rd Saturday in the month of October (this year October 19th), was originally begun to honor sweethearts, close friends, relatives or employees with special gift of sweets or chocolate. Sweetest Day was first organized by candy manufacturers to promote the health benefits of eating candy and chocolate everyday. 

Sweetest Day has become a time to honor/recognize/remember friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed. 


I am sure that we have heard the saying: "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers"
The statement uttered and made famous by character Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams' play, "A Street Car Named Desire", rings very true for me in my literary journey of publishing and promoting my "two little books of southern poems"...or more affectionately known as my "my book babies". 

Strangers have played a tremendous part in helping me to further my message of "Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi ". The contributions of these "strangers" (and now considered friends) have been invaluable.
I would venture to say that up to 90% of my book signings /speaking engagements have come from Facebook friends or referrals from Facebook friends, whom I had never met before the event. 

One social networking friend, who did one of the first articles/reviews of Reflections in her newsletter in late 2008 or early 2009, called it "a celebration of the south". That phrase stuck with me and I use it to this day to describe both of my books. 

I have shared many times how grateful I am to a dear Facebook friend, Debra Estep from Ohio who makes beautiful graphics for my poems.  Her artistic talents have helped to make my poems much more easily shared over social media sites. 
                      
Also, I have many Facebook and social media friends who have been extremely supportive of my work over many years and share, share, share my poems consistently to everyone that they know.  Many are often giving me tips and leads on how I can further the reach of my poems and my message.  I can hardly begin to express how greatly these people have been and are appreciated ! 

Beautiful Watercolor magnolias by Debra Estep that are on many of my poem graphics

BOOKS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON:
http://tinyurl.com/reflections-pnd  
http://tinyurl.com/magnolia-mem-pnd


NOTE: Did You Know ...

Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, MISSISSIPPI.
Williams described his childhood in Mississippi as pleasant and happy.  But life changed for him when his family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. The carefree nature of his boyhood was stripped in his new urban home, and as a result Williams turned inward and started to write.
When he was 28, Williams moved to New Orleans, where he changed his name (he landed on Tennessee because his father hailed from there) and revamped his lifestyle, soaking up the city life that would inspire his work, most notably the later play,  A Streetcar Named Desire.
Williams adapted much of his best work for the cinema, and also wrote short stories, poetry, essays and a volume of memoirs. On March 31, 1945, his play, The Glass Menagerie, opened on Broadway and two years later A Streetcar Named Desire earned Williams his first Pulitzer Prize.
His work reached world-wide audiences in the early 1950s when The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire were made into motion pictures. Later plays also adapted for the screen included Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Rose Tattoo, Orpheus Descending, The Night of the Iguana, Sweet Bird of Youth, and Summer and Smoke.




In honor of my "SWEET" Ohio friend Debra  .........

Sweetest Day - National Holiday Founded in Cleveland Ohio

Sweetest Day, observed on the third Saturday of October, was started in Cleveland in 1922 by candy employee and philanthropist, Herbert Birch Kingston as a way to give something or do something nice to those less fortunate than ourselves. Originally called "The Sweetest Day of the Year," Sweetest Day has evolved into a romantic holiday, similar to Valentine's Day.

History:

The first Sweetest Day came out of one man's desire to do something "sweet" for Cleveland's orphans and unfortunate residents. With the help of movie stars, Theda Bara and Ann Pennington, Herbert Birch Kingston, delivered thousands of boxes of candy throughout the city. Begun in 1922, the holiday, observed on the third Saturday of each month, became popular during the bleak economic times of the Great Depression.

Sweetest Day Today:

Although it started as a regional holiday, Clevelanders have taken the custom with them as they moved around the country. Today, Ohio still tops the list in sales of Sweetest Day cards, but other states on the top ten list include California, Texas, and Florida. Over the years, the holiday has evolved into a day to celebrate romantic love, similar to Valentine's Day.

 

THIS MISSISSIPPI GIRL IS FEELING (Very) NOSTALGIC !

Several recent events (very close together...within the past 6 months) have reminded me of how temporal things in life are and how one should never get overly attached to material things or even to circumstances.

Anything that we have..even our very lives can be taken away/be gone in the blink of an eye.

We should always be thankful and grateful for each day and it's blessings.

The things that happened are not really big things..but just tugged at a place inside of me that had nostalgic feelings for them.

I presently live in the house that I grew up in.

In the front yard, right in front of a very large "picture" window was ( I hate having to say it in past tense ) a most beautiful pink dogwood tree.

My Dad planted it for my Mom because it was her favorite.

The tree was almost as old as I am ..almost 50 years old .

So many days in my youth, my Dad and I would sit on the couch near that picture window and look at the various birds gathered under the dogwood tree.

He would point out all the different ones and tell me all about them.

Every spring when Mom and I would walk around in the yard , we marvel over it's beauty when it was in bloom.

We did that just a few months ago.

We all loved that tree!

Last week it was blown down by a very strong wind/rain storm;
Winds speeds were reported at over sixty miles an hour!

Now our beautiful tree is gone and I (we) will never enjoy it's blossoms in the spring again.

I'm glad that I took lots of pictures in front of it (It was one of my favorite backdrops) ,so that I can look back on it's beauty and why we loved it so much !

Several months ago ,another strong storm downed a huge pine tree in the front yard. That tree along with about about 10 or 12 others were planted at our home right after we moved in (1965)

It's gone.

Dad would always love to look at the picture of me and my brother standing by the trees when they were just tiny little things.

I was probably 4 and my brother 7.

The trees in the picture are not even as tall as we were.

Now , the others that are left standing are well over 20 feet!

A few months before or after that... Can't really remember ...

We woke up to find that one of the brick columns with lampposts at the entrance of the driveway was completely demolished by some drunk or crazy driver that plowed straight through it .

Sometime in the middle of the night , they ran right through it.

When I walked down to get the morning newspaper ,bricks were everywhere...along with various car parts.

I really don't even know how they drove away or how they got away alive

(You wouldn't believe how fast and crazy people drive on country roads these days!)

That post , along with it's twin had been there since the house was built.

Well, now it's gone.

Unbelievably, the very same day that our precious tree was uprooted and broken , the house across the road from us burned to the ground!

The house has been empty for many years but I have such fond memories of the family that lived there when I was a child.

The house and that family were there before we moved in....probably early 50's .

When I got up early this morning I went outside to see the last of the super moon .

It was beautiful!

Then I glanced over a bit and saw a red /orange glow through the trees.

I thought that I was just seeing things or thought that there was a reflection of something there.

I had hubby to go check it out.

He came back and said that the house had completely burned down...just the last bits burning

I learned later that it must have started about 1 or 2 am or so and the fire engines and police were out there around that time. I heard nothing ! Hubby says I sleep through anything ! Well, he did , too !!!

The coals and random pieces of wood continued to burn/smoke well into the afternoon,

Now, the house is gone!

Nothing (material) last forever.

I must always remember to enjoy the beauty and blessings of each day .

The Nature Lovers poem and many more can be found in my book Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia- A Life In Poems

Both of my "little books of southern poems
are available on Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/reflections-pnd

http://tinyurl.com/magnolia-mem-pnd

My Little Books Of Southern Poems Are Absolutely ...DREAMY!!!

I always tell the same story over and over about how my poetry writing and first poem came into existence.  On February 14, 2007, I wrote my very first poem.
I woke up out of my sleep, with this poem swirling around in my head.
I got up out of the bed and quickly scribbled it down.
After that the poems just started to flow and flow . Many of my poems have come just as I am drifting off to sleep, waking up or in the middle of the night.
Early on, after the publishing of my first collection of poems, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia, I would often get an odd response ( I thought ) to me telling the story, in interviews. The "academic literary types" would tell me that I might not want to say that this was the way that my poems came about. They indicated that it might take away from the validity of my "craft". They said that it might somehow diminish the respect that people would have for my work. I thought it very odd because I was thinking ...What OTHER way could I or should I say that they came about ... other than the way they ACTUALLY DID come about ??!!! Were they suggesting that I make something up ??!!! To me that idea was totally absurd. I totally ignored that "marketing " advise and kept on telling my story...over and over and over again.
I am very proud to tell the story of how my poems come/came. Of course, there was/is no hiding it, anyway! 
In the foreword of Reflections I wrote: I always hesitate to call myself a poet. I feel more like a vessel or conduit through which the poems flow. I never intentionally sat down to write any of them. They all came to be fully complete and neatly packaged, title and all. I just put them down on paper. (I consider them gifts from God )
Actually, as far as "creative dreaming" goes, I think that I am in very good company !
Consider this :

On May 7, 1965, in a motel room in Clearwater, Florida, a bleary-eyed Keith Richards awoke, grabbed a tape recorder and laid down one of the greatest pop hooks of all time: The opening riff of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." He then promptly ...fell back to sleep.

"When I woke up in the morning, the tape had run out," Richards recalled many years later. "I put it back on, and there's this, maybe, 30 seconds of 'Satisfaction,' in a very drowsy sort of rendition. And then it suddenly—the guitar goes 'CLANG," and then there's like 45 minutes of snoring." It wasn't much to go on, but he played it for Mick Jagger later that same day. "He only had the first bit, and then he had the riff," Jagger recalls. "It sounded like a country sort of thing on acoustic guitar—it didn't sound like rock. But he didn't really like it, he thought it was a joke... He really didn't think it was single material, and we all said 'You're off your head.' Which he was, of course."

Yesterday was written by Paul McCartney. He says that he literally woke up out of a dream with the song in his head, and went right to the piano. The working title was "Scrambled Eggs", in G, until he came up with "Yesterday".
In 1965, Paul McCartney, famous singer/songwriter then with The Beatles, was staying at his parent’s home in London. McCartney stated:
"I woke up with a lovely tune in my head. I thought, 'That's great, I wonder what that is?' There was an upright piano next to me, to the right of the bed by the window. I got out of bed, sat at the piano, found G, found F sharp minor 7th -- and that leads you through then to B to E minor, and finally back to E. It all leads forward logically. I liked the melody a lot, but because I'd dreamed it, I couldn't believe I'd written it. I thought, 'No, I've never written anything like this before.' But I had the tune, which was the most magic thing!"
The tune McCartney was speaking about was the arrangement to the gigantic hit “Yesterday” (from The Beatles album “Help!” (1965).
In 1997, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 1999, the song was voted by BBC Radio 2 listeners as the best song of the 20th century.
In 2000, “Yesterday” was voted the number one pop song of all time by MTV and Rolling Stone Magazine.
Furthermore, The Guinness Book of Records holds that “Yesterday” is the most covered song ever with over 3000 versions recorded, and Broadcast Music Incorporated asserts the song was performed over seven million times in the 20th century alone... all from a dream.


                                      MY VERY FIRST POEM
                            Written February 14, 2007

"When the mind rests, the subconscious whispers"

Interview information and more on amazing dreams here:

Famous Dreams - Paul McCartney

http://www.dreaminterpretation-dictionary.com/famous-dreams-paul-mccartney.html

.

POETRY MONTH! Have you met this MISSISSIPPI POET?

APRIL is NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets throughout the United States band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.
The goals of National Poetry Month (from the Academy of American Poets)
Highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets
Introduce more Americans to the pleasures of reading poetry
Bring poets and poetry to the public in immediate and innovative ways
Make poetry a more important part of the school curriculum
Increase the attention paid to poetry by national and local media
Encourage increased publication, distribution, and sales of poetry books
Increase public and private philanthropic support for poets and poetry.

Some ideas on how you might celebrate National Poetry Month

* Try writing an original poem
-Memorize a poem
-Attend a poetry reading
-Organize a poetry reading
* Read poetry to your children or grandchildren
* Recite some poetry to family and friends
* Read a biography of a famous poet..see what made them tick
*Send a poem to a friend or loved one
*Support/Promote the work of a local poet
*Buy a wonderful book of poetry (preferably one of mine ) (smile)



LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF...
 and my little books of southern poems

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON:

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems

  My Magnolia Memories and Musings- In Poems