In support of Suicide Prevention Week 2023, the novel Songs from the Black Skylark zPed Music Player, by Aberjhani, will be available as a free Kindle eBook download from September 9-12. Because of its serious themes and sometimes disturbing literary images, the book is recommended for readers aged 17 years and older. “For anyone asking why I opted to do this,” said Aberjhani, “the answer is simple. The mental health crisis represented by rising suicide rates over the past decade is something I believe should concern everybody. I’ve addressed it before in poetry and other forms and I’m doing it now with SONGS because it’s what I’m able to offer at this time.” The author-poet-artist has written some of the most popular contemporary life-affirming passages found on social media, including: “Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends,” and, “You are the hybrids of golden worlds and ages splendidly conceived.” The works from which the above quotations are taken acknowledge the difficulties many experience coping with destructive life situations such as war, poverty, racial violence, and the climate crisis. At the same time, they seek to provide motivation for working through trauma and reclaiming experiences of joy. Like those works, Songs from the Black Skylark zPed Music Player pushes for recognition of all that makes an individual’s life worth holding onto and commemorating. In the AI Words of ChatGPT: “In Songs from the Black Skylark zPed Music Player, Aberjhani presents readers with a literary work of art that transcends genre boundaries. This metaphysical fantasy novel encourages readers to embrace life as an adventure filled with empowering meanings, promotes mindful consideration of media content, and inspires a profound belief in the innate value of every individual's life. “Through its rich narrative and thought-provoking themes, the novel celebrates the beauty of friendship and the transformative power of self-awareness. As readers embark on this surreal journey, they are invited to reflect on the complexities of existence, the influence of media, and the inherent worth of every soul.” This offer of SONGS as a free Kindle eBook download from September 9-12, 2023, is not one likely to be repeated any time soon, so for those who enjoy an unusual kind of reluctant superhero read, this is an opportunity not to be missed. Bright Skylark Literary News Notes
0 Comments
Books containing compelling narrative writing combined with appealing fine art by a single creative individual are rare. That makes the forthcoming nonfiction narrative collection by Aberjhani, titled "Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah" (ISBN 978-9388125956), Cyberwit.net Publishers) as well as the artwork from it featured here at Fine Art America/Pixels.com, highly collectible. In addition, the rarity makes them likely to continue increasing in value. The images in the book are black and white versions of color prints which may be viewed by clicking here: Art from and Inspired by Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah Previous announcements concerning a book including art by Aberjhani stated it would be one of art and poetry titled "Incandescent Wonder," so the news regarding "Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah" took some by surprise. "The inclusion of my art and photography in Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah surprised me as well," said the artist-author, "but I've been working on the narrative part of this title for a decade and have been posting updates about it on Facebook and my primary website for the past two years. The art and photography help complete the book in a lot of ways I never expected. I'm glad for the inspiration that prompted me to include it." The recently-posted art titled "Historic Triumph of Dr. Abigail Jordan" corresponds with the 2019 update of the story in DREAMS titled "The Bridge and the Monument: A Tale of Two Legacies." Aberjhani was in the process of completing edits for the book when he learned Dr. Jordan, who for a decade led efforts to erect the famous African-American Family Monument on River Street in Savannah, had passed in January. She is one of three people to whom the new book is dedicated.
"Learning about Abigail Jordan's passing was quite a shock because so little upon her death was done to publicly acknowledge this great woman whose devotion to eradicating racism and promoting cultural literacy in Savannah has blessed the city so much. The unveiling of the monument in 2002 made headlines around the world. How media in the city neglected to properly acknowledge Jordan's passing is somewhat mystifying but hopefully we will correct that by adding her name more prominently to the monument itself in the form of a plaque or historical marker." Pre-sales for the first limited edition of "Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah," due out May 1, 2019, are currently available for ordering here: Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah Now --Bright Skylark News Notes
East St. Louis, IL--Dr. Lena Jane Weathers (1930-2017), who was a lifelong resident of East St. Louis and an invaluable leader and patron of the community, will be honored along with four more late women trustees of the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club on Tuesday, March 21, 2017. The free event, held in honor of Women's History Month 2017, will take place 6 PM in Room 2083 of Building “B” on the East St. Louis Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (ESL SIUE) Higher Education Campus, 601 J.R. Thompson Drive 62201. Other trustee-honorees are poet-novelist-scholar Margaret Walker Alexander (1915-1998); poet-autobiographer-actress-filmmaker Maya Angelou (1928-2014); Pulitzer Prize-winning former Illinois Poet Laureate and novelist Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000); and ESL native daughter Barbara Ann Teer (1937-2008), founder of the National Black Theatre of Harlem. June 17, 2017 will mark the centennial of the birth of Brooks. She and Walker Alexander, whose centennial was observed in 2015, are often associated with the Harlem Renaissance. EBR Writers Club HistoryFounded in 1986, the Writers Club turned 30 in 2016. Writer Henry Lee Dumas (a.k.a. Henry Dumas, 1934-1968), for whom Eugene B. Redmond has served as literary executor for the past 48 years, is the Club's patron saint. Members of its Soular Systems Ensemble—Roscoe “Ros” Crenshaw, Salim Kenyatta, Charlois Lumpkin (Mali Newman), Darlene Roy (Club prez), and Jaye Willis—will perform “kwansabas” in honor of the trustees. The program will also feature special guests and an art/photo exhibit. Current Club trustees include: Avery Brooks, Haki R. Madhubuti, Walter Mosley, Quincy Troupe, and Jerry W. Ward, Jr. Among other deceased trustees are: Amiri Baraka (1934-2014) and Raymond R. Patterson (1929-2002). In addition to having appeared here as guests of the Club, trustees also served on the editorial board of Drumvoices Revue, a literary-cultural journal formerly co-published by the Club and SIUE's English Department. Creation of the KwansabaOne of the Club's signature inventions is the “kwansaba,” a poem of “sevens”--seven lines, seven words per line, with each word having no more than seven letters. Exceptions to the seven-letter rule are foreign terms, proper nouns and quoted words or passages. Of the trustees, Dr. Weathers and Dr. Ward have written kwansabas. Others have been the subject of special issues of Drumvoices where they were honored with kwansabas. Hundreds of examples of the form appear in Drumvoices and dozens of other publications. In the past couple of years alone, three volumes of poetry--by Tara Betts, Treasure Shields Redmond, and Darlene Roy—have been devoted wholly or in part to the kwansaba. For information about the March 21 program or the Club: call 618 650-3991; write EBR Writers Club at P.O. Box 6165, ESL, IL 62201; or email: eredmon@siue.edu. AuthorPress Release courtesy of EBR Writers Group |
Archives
September 2023
Categories
All
|