Working on Moonrise one last time. Loving my novel more than ever and thankful for the journey to get here. Though an artist of a different time, medium, and stratosphere, Michaelangelo approached each block of marble as an opportunity to release the art from the inside. He considered himself not a maestro, but an artisanContinue reading “Practice Makes…”
Author Archives: Jamila
Music Made the Moonrise…
The mask requirement could not hide the excitement in anyone’s eyes when MC Lyte took the stage to kick off I Am Woman: A Celebration of Women in Hip Hop at the Kennedy Center a couple of weeks ago. The lineup was spectacular–OGs like MC Lyte, Yo Yo, Monie Love and Da Brat sharing the stage withContinue reading “Music Made the Moonrise…”
A Gravity of Jazz
“I find myself a little jealous of his horn. Of the way his lips buzz the mouthpiece, the way his fingers tickle the buttons. Of its proximity to him when it was the closeness I couldn’t take. Not every day, anyway, or so I told him when I left. Read the full story here. publishedContinue reading “A Gravity of Jazz”
The Phonograph
“So now, the crackling rain comes not from the tap-tap-tap of the windowpane, but from the phonograph, as the sound of the vinyl attaches itself to the moondust, riding on the light, through the window. Then, the piano keys twinkle themselves into Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong singing The Nearness of You. To us. TheContinue reading “The Phonograph”
Not Staying for Dessert
“But my heart feels heavier from the effort than when I began. Because I am both too visible—too angry, loud, opinionated—and invisible—because the people who make the decisions choose not to see me or hear my words. But this heavy, beating heart thumping in my chest and coursing hot blood through my veins reminds meContinue reading “Not Staying for Dessert”
Politics of Distraction
“Nowhere even in the darkest recesses of my childhood mind could I have ever envisioned the Great War of 2020 or its aftermath. All started on election day, when my husband and I woke early to vote and found the National Guard occupying our neighborhood.” Read the full story here. Photo by Louis Velazquez onContinue reading “Politics of Distraction”