“To be in love / Is to touch with a lighter hand. / In yourself you stretch, you are well.”
– Gwendolyn Brooks, 1917-2000

“A word is dead / when it is said, / some say. / I say it just / begins to live / that day.”
– Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886

“And when it was claimed / the war had ended, it had not ended.”
– Denise Levertov, 1923-1997

“Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings.”
– Muriel Rukeyser, 1913-1980

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Mary Lucille DeBerry‘s first book, “Bertha Butcher’s Coat,” will be launched with a poetry reading at the Blue Moose Cafe, “Morgantown, W.Va.’s premiere coffeehouse,” July 16, 2009. Phyllis Wilson Moore will introduce the poet. (Thanks, Phyllis, for the heads up.) Click here for a poster that has all of the details.

Other events of interest:

W.Va. Writers’ Workshop. July 16, 2009.

Pittsburgh’s Small Press Festival. July 18 and 19, 2009. (Check out the many other events listed on SPF’s calendar).

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I’m glad to hear from poet and teacher Norman Jordan:

“We are in the middle of our 2009 African American Arts Academy. Here are some links from this week’s activities. Our showcase is this Saturday at the NRCCE building on the Evansdale Campus at WVU.”

WBOY Channel 12 story on the academy.

WVU Football Coach Bill Stewart talks to the kids.

Fredricka Dooley-Brown performs for the kids (She is a former student of the academy).

The 2009 African American Arts & Heritage Academy Talent Show Highlights.

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