Good evening, everyone. I hope you’re all feeling well, and had a restful weekend. It’s the beginning of the week, and many of us are getting ready for the workweek.
A quick explanation of the picture above, before I get into the reason for this post. Last week, my writing endeavors led me to Lehman College for my first television appearance. Above, I am in the BronxNet studio of Crossover TV, a show hosted by Kendra Oke. I was there with Lorraine Currelley, Executive Director of the Bronx Book Fair, and fellow authors Damien Tillman and Denice Martin-Thompson. It was a great experience, and we discussed the Bronx Book Fair 2018, as well as our individual books, pursuits, and motivations.
The reason I titled this post Fall Forward is to mention how I intend to jump into this season with a number of promotional events. Yes, it’s the last four months of the year, but I still plan on making the most of it.
This weekend coming, I will be kicking off my Fall 2018 book tour with appearances at the 3rd Annual Jackie Robinson Poetry Day on Saturday, September 15th, 2018 from 3pm to 7pm. Secondly, I will also be at this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival with the rest of the Harlem Writer’s Guild on Sunday, September 16th,2018 from 11am-6pm.
Third, I will be attending the 5th Annual East of the River Book Festival on Saturday, October 20th, 2018 in Washington, D.C. from 10am to 4pm.
Finally, I’ll be at the ABENY 2018(Association of Black Educators of New York) Conference on Saturday, November 10th, 2018.
There aren’t any dates beyond this, so keep them in mind.
I’ve also titled this post falling forward, since it expresses my viewpoint on how I choose to engage in topics. I am known for engaging in political discussions, that end up turning into debates. Most of the time, these interactions lead nowhere, despite the fact that I drop pertinent, correct information on the matter whenever I am able. I see that this, no matter how good I am at it, is a situation of diminishing returns. I’m exhausted, and folks are offended. Certain conversations are a non starter. Especially when folks have short memories for political issues, but long memories for personal slights. I can’t unknow what I know, but I’m also realizing that trying to point the way forward for everyone can be a tremendous waste of time.
So, I have decided to pull back a little, and let other folks be wrong. It is what it is. I’m falling back on arguing online, to move forward in tangible ways. I’ll still spit the truth on here, but for the audience that I have that knows how I get down.
So yup… this is what has been bubbling up in my consciousness. This post went longer than I thought, but oh well.
Catch me if you can this weekend in Harlem, Brooklyn, or any of my other upcoming appearances this Fall. Until next blog post…. Peace!!!
-Marc