Photo taken by the author at the Oakland Marina, March 10, 2020. The last sunset before the world changed saw me at the Oakland Marina, hanging out, waiting for the start of a show at Yoshi’s. Such gorgeous colors filled … Continue reading
I’m very excited to moderate Black Literature, Black Lives as part of Noe Valley’s Word Week 2021 on Wednesday, March 10 at 7pm (PST). Black writers have explored the many shades of Black lives for centuries, reflecting and reporting the … Continue reading
A doorway away from chaos. White privilege committed a putsch at the US Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Backed into a corner, fearful its unquestioned authority faced total erosion by the reality of a multicultural world, white privilege took … Continue reading
Michael “Misha” Guleff, 1958 – 2019 Michael, or Misha as many of us from UCLA called him, and I were in some cafe in the South Bay long ago when Beethoven’s Third came over the speakers. We paused our chatter … Continue reading
I remember the morning after more clearly. My father had the whole month of December off for vacation, so he was home that day. He drove my sister and me to school. We went to a magnet school and normally … Continue reading
Ask me who instigated the plot and with hand raised timidly I have to confess my guilt. We were at the Mulholland Tennis Club celebrating our friend Suzanne’s bat mitzvah. A bar served drinks; us kids were consigned to non-alcoholic … Continue reading
They recklessly harassed a Biden/Harris bus on a busy highway because we scare them. They threatened to march around polling places with guns because we scare them. They pepper-sprayed children, children, during a march to go vote because we scare … Continue reading
Last July, I appeared on the Sandra Moran Book Club to discuss my novel Sin Against the Race with host Elizabeth Andersen and panelist and poet Mercedes Lewis. I met Elizabeth and Mercedes at the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival … Continue reading
Signing a blank piece of paper in staged photo while at Walter Reed Hospital Donald Trump has lived his entire life wrapped in illusion. And because of his extreme narcissism, he has expended a great deal of energy over the … Continue reading
Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key.John Lewis, NY Times Opinion, July 30, 2020 We face the … Continue reading