Nadia L. Hohn
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Peace, Locomotion

3/16/2015

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There's a recurring theme in Jacqueline Woodson's books.  It is somewhere that pierces your heart, halfway between a song of longing and a cry out in the wilderness.  (I am reminded of a Jamaican traditional religious song that I sang with the Heritage Singers, "Me alone, me alone inna de wildaness.")  I noticed it after reading Peace, Locomotion.  It was a familiar rhythm that reminded me of her other books-- the shared love of Tupac music and grief at his death, the memory of family lost in Hurricane Katrina, separation of grandparents and the ways Down South.  Locomotion is a child in foster care who has lost both of his parents.  He is placed in a home away from his sister and judging from his regular letters and the way he pours his heart out in them, he misses her, their parents, and the family that once was... yet quietly he learns that he can't go back in time and his pain is palpable.  After reading this middle grade novel, I realized that possibly, just maybe, I read the second book in the Locomotion series.  (Darn!  I like to read things in the proper order.  Oh, well.) Yet, I was able to make the connections and figure out the main events of Locomotion's life all the same.  I would have loved to ask Jacqueline why does this theme of longing/loss/separation/absence show up so frequently in her books and how does it resonate with her young readers.  These are  questions I hope to ask her in person when I get to attend "Between the Lines: Renee Watson and Jacqueline Woodson" at the Schomburg Center in Harlem this Wednesday, March 18, 2015.  (Is that the sort of thing you would ask a writer like Jacqueline?  Are those questions too obvious?  Thinking aloud moment.)  I also look forward to listening to Renee Watson.  Her essay "Black Like Me" for the Fall 2014 edition of Rethinking Schools magazine really resonated with me so I naturally checked out her other work like Harlem's Little Black Bird: The Story of Florence Mills, a picture book.  I love to let writers know what I think about their work and was pleased to learn that Renee is great with responding to tweets (even from little ol' me).  I am looking forward to hearing these authors live, learning from their wisdom, and enriching my own work, as well as reconnecting and meeting with some writer friends in just two days.

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Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson will be appearing at Between the Lines at the Schomburg Center this Wednesday.
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Author Renee Watson will also be part of the panel at the Schomburg on March 18, 2015.
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After Tupac and D Foster

3/4/2015

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I just finished reading After Tupac and D Foster by children and young adult author Jacqueline Woodson and I am quite impressed with this story of homegirls, families, Tupac's legacy, Big Purposes, and all things in between.  It was stunning.  I loved how she paralleled the events in the last of two years of rapper Tupac's life with those of the characters in the story.  Woodson has moved into my list of favourite authors. It all started earlier this year when I read her 2014 National Book Award-winning Brown Girl Dreaming which is was a touching masterpiece and then followed up with others.  Then I read, Beneath A Meth Moon, If You Come Softly, Show Way, and Visiting Day. Jackie is such a talented and dynamic writer. She gets you so invested in the story, immediately, on the first page.  She takes the stories in different directions, gently.  Poetically.  Never slamming you over the head despite the tough social issues she often writes about in her novels and picture books.  Woodson's characters are as close and familiar as your circle of friends in middle school who had your back no matter what.  I want my stories to be as impactful.  I am looking forward to seeing the author speak live at Between the Lines: Renee Watson and Jacqueline Woodson on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 6:30pm in the Shomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

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The Writerly Life

3/1/2015

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Lyrics by: Nadia L. Hohn
(spoof of Sheila E's Glamorous Life)












She wears pyjamas every day and night
Social media all the time
Everybody knows from the late night tweets
This girl's goin' out of her mind.

She's got big thoughts, big dreams
And she's applying for a lot of arts grants
What I think this girl is trying to do,
Is to make writing the "A-Plan"

She wants to lead a writerly life
Started the buzz for her book launch
Even though, it's six months away
No books yet, it ain't much


She was standing at the transit stop,
Reading 'til the bus came along the way,
Dressed in a parka and her Sorel boots,
The Arctic wind blew and she prays:

Lord, if it's not, a pipe dream,
Would you give me some sort of sign?
She said, I need a writing retreat, to finish that book
I need some money and some time.

She wants to lead a writerly life
Started the buzz for her book launch
Even though, it's six months away
No books yet, it ain't much


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    Nadia L. Hohn

    Write or die chick.

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