This is a sincere shout-out to Yasmin Coleman, Founder of Apooo (www.apooo.com) and to Cyrus Webb, President and CEO of Conversations Book Club and the host of Conversations LIVE! talk radio show(www.authorsden.com/cawebb and www.thebestbookclub.info) Yasmin and Cyrus interviewed me this week about Yellow Moon-but this post is not about me, it's about them. They are the new generation of griots-using the power of the web and words to create loving communities. They are also creative, smart, and entrepreneurial. Blog talk radio, I never knew about it-okay, I'm slow.not at all technologically hip. But I am a new fan.
Forget me, you should hear their podcast archives of wondrous writers! Oh, my gosh-they have a who's who of famously old and famously new writers. (In my view, anyone who writes a book is FAMOUS as in esteemed and illustrious.)
Yasmin and Cyrus are a bridge between authors and readers. That's cool.
More importantly, they are both warm-hearted people who are spearheading literacy and engaging people's hearts and minds. Check out HipHop and Books (http://www.hiphopandbooks.com) Cyrus blends fine music with his interviews-he started our interview with Jermaine Hawthorne's song, "Midnight Storm." Just hearing the eloquence of the song moved me to tears-reminded me of the power of faith and the power of music to move souls. This is part of our African-based faith tradition and why the jazz men are so important in Yellow Moon. But the music was Cyrus's gift to his many listeners-a special gift to me. The music celebrated Jermaine's gifts. But it was the "sharing," that makes Cyrus so special. A true, new age griot.
On Yasmin's show, I felt as if I was in the living room with my sisters. Phyllis, JD, Dera all called in, and they were wonderful and supportive. Yasmin's spirit reached across the telephone line and touched me. I was laughing-no, giggling. Her griot power makes a community that is both intimate and familiar. All we needed was food to make our evening get-together complete!
How can anyone ever be lonely with APOOO (it stands for A Place of Our Own and grammatically should be APOO but Yasmin likes APOOO better) and the Best Book Club communities. Check them out. Yasmin and Cyrus are the artists in the house! They are also community servants, wise storytellers and people I hope to keep in my life as friends.
Forget me, you should hear their podcast archives of wondrous writers! Oh, my gosh-they have a who's who of famously old and famously new writers. (In my view, anyone who writes a book is FAMOUS as in esteemed and illustrious.)
Yasmin and Cyrus are a bridge between authors and readers. That's cool.
More importantly, they are both warm-hearted people who are spearheading literacy and engaging people's hearts and minds. Check out HipHop and Books (http://www.hiphopandbooks.com) Cyrus blends fine music with his interviews-he started our interview with Jermaine Hawthorne's song, "Midnight Storm." Just hearing the eloquence of the song moved me to tears-reminded me of the power of faith and the power of music to move souls. This is part of our African-based faith tradition and why the jazz men are so important in Yellow Moon. But the music was Cyrus's gift to his many listeners-a special gift to me. The music celebrated Jermaine's gifts. But it was the "sharing," that makes Cyrus so special. A true, new age griot.
On Yasmin's show, I felt as if I was in the living room with my sisters. Phyllis, JD, Dera all called in, and they were wonderful and supportive. Yasmin's spirit reached across the telephone line and touched me. I was laughing-no, giggling. Her griot power makes a community that is both intimate and familiar. All we needed was food to make our evening get-together complete!
How can anyone ever be lonely with APOOO (it stands for A Place of Our Own and grammatically should be APOO but Yasmin likes APOOO better) and the Best Book Club communities. Check them out. Yasmin and Cyrus are the artists in the house! They are also community servants, wise storytellers and people I hope to keep in my life as friends.
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3 comments:
Thank you SO MUCH...I'm honored.
I'm not technologically hip either, but it felt great to connect though the airwaves. Yasmin, thanks for featuring such a warm-spirited writer as Jewell. God bless you and Cyrus for the work you are doing!
Thank you Jewell fo rour kind words, and to Yasmin, I concur with Jewell: the work you are doing is incredible.
Keep doing what you are doing: It's Working!
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