Happy Monday! I missed being at my window last week–it was not a scheduled vacation. To make a long weekend story very short: I fainted Saturday morning, took a ride in an ambulance to the ER, where I allllmmmoooost got to go home, but it looked like my heart was doing something funky, so I had all the tests, and finally returned home late Monday evening. My heart and I are perfectly fine, it’s great to be home, and after follow-up appointments this week, I fully expect to be back playing in the dirt and digging up chinaberry roots next week. It feels good to be catching up. So here we go!

After my last post, on National Banned Books Week, a few readers commented that some of the books I’d mentioned were their all-time favorites, and couldn’t figure out why they’d been targeted. I think that’s the point of the whole discussion–we all enjoy different things so who has the right to determine what others, including minors, can read? My belief in the case of minors, parents can monitor what their own children read, but not the children of others no matter how well-intentioned.

I’m a Lord of the Rings fan and while homeschooling my then 8-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter, I read the trilogy to them. (Kids are never too old to be read to.) My son was taken in by all the adventure, the varied characters, the suspense. My daughter puzzled out the spiritual levels. We had great discussions, which is what books should foster.

Last week’s post was intended to be a positive one, announcing some upcoming events happening in a world that’s struggling. It’s late news, but still important. Last Thursday I participated in a Bards Against Hunger poetry reading with seven other poets. Bards Against Hunger began in 2013 as a one-time reading by a group of Long Island, NY poets, with the purpose of collecting food for their local food bank. Well, ‘one-time’ didn’t happen. The project has since spread nationwide, and every fall poetry groups in every state and some US territories host readings and collect food. According to their website, Bards Against Hunger events have provided resources for over 100,000 local pantries and food banks. (That’s how I see hope spreading, one little bit at a time.)

Local poet and writer Debbie De Louise organized our event after having one of her poems published in the national project’s 10^th anniversary anthology. Our poets made the audience laugh, brought them close to tears, and collected a cart of food. We’re already looking forward to next year.

This past weekend Lancaster hosted the SC Humanities Festival and from Friday afternoon to last night there were all kinds of events to bring people together. Some of them included demonstrations and discussions on archeology, and an artifact ID workshop at our Native American Studies Center; walking tours showcasing our downtown public art and art on our Greenway, and about our historic downtown. A family picnic on the Greenway! Lectures on our local WWII hero and industrialist Col. Leroy Springs, and on Afrofuturism. There were pop-up artisan markets, museum tours, open artist studios, concerts … and of course another poetry reading. And so much more.

One of the most unique events was the showing of the 1929 movie Hallelujah! The female star of the movie was Nina Mae McKinney who grew up in Lancaster. In her teens she moved to New York and started her Broadway and film career and was considered the Black Garbo. McKinney was the first African-American to sign a five-year contract with MGM studios. Hallelujah! was one of the first talking movies, one of the first to have an all-Black cast, and I believe considered the first Black musical. The Arts Council provided popcorn and movie snacks, making it a fun date night for Hubby and me.

Checking in personally, too. It’d been a good week of writing. I finished another poem, How the Heart Works, for the Poet Sisters collection. Considering my little episode, the poem and title are a bit ironic, don’t you think? Almost finished with my contributions to this collaboration.

I was notified two poems were accepted for publication. They’re two of my favorite poems about one of my favorite places, Cedar Point, so for them to find a home was especially lovely.

Finally, our local poets’ group is working on its 4^th Visions and Verse ekphrastic exhibit at the Lancaster County Council of the Arts! I’ve written about ekphrastic poetry before–poets choose a piece of art and write a poem inspired by it. During the exhibit the art and poetry are displayed together creating an eclectic show. This year we have paintings, photography, a cathedral window quilt, and an Asian tapestry, and the poems are brilliant. The show goes up the first week of November and will hang until the end of December. I can’t wait.

I think we’re all caught up! This week may we all continue to find those moments of grace, hope, and goodness, and by sharing them we’ll create the network that will strengthen us. So please share what you find this week. I’ll be back on Monday, I hope you will be too. I hope you have a great week.