Jilted, Circa 2005

Introducing Hannah Edeki, a new poet and writer, born and bred in London. Her work has been published in The New Black Magazine, Shangwe News and Palapala Magazine.

Jilted, Circa 2005

I have seen the yellow corydalis
Tilt its trumpet-shaped head towards
A bed of unsculptured green,
Watched the long-tongued bees veiled with pollen,
Oscillating, celebrating.

I have tasted the decadent sweetness
Of my fiancés kiss, quaint & still,
I have seen the shortcomings of a satiated soul.

I have held the arms of one believed to be strong,
Felt the weakness that punctures a wounded heart,
Jilted: I have thought about drifting
Along salty air like fulmars—

Ascending,
Migrating,
Fading.

Hair Power - Skin Revolution US review breaks

Book reviews are particularly important as they can influence a potential buyer's purchase as well as give a little insight into the book's content and style, so when Margaret Auguste, a contributor to Hair Power Skin Revolution wrote to me saying how all her friends and family are really enjoying the book and that she had shared the book with her book club and have decided to read it for their August meeting, I was thrilled. Margaret also agreed to write a review of the book.

Margaret then went on to say, 'I really think more people here in America would enjoy the book if they knew about it.' She also suggested a few valuable contact websites. Little did she know that I had make the book available in the US on http://www.amazon.com/ but of course that didn't mean people knew about it, so I followed up the contacts she suggested.

One contact requested I post them a review copy of the book, saying that he couldn't promise a review as only one in five books may be chosen . No problem, I thought and eagerly set off to the post office with the book.

Just under a week later, on 3rd August, a review was posted on The Sly Fox Film Reviews site, published by film critic Kam Williams, Voted Most Outstanding Journalist of the Decade by the Disilgold Soul Literary Review in 2008. Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications around the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee and Rotten Tomatoes.

In addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, Kam Fox has an MA in English from Brown, and MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.

The review has now reached website audiences in Pittsburgh, Haiti, Dallas, and more. To read the full review, follow one of the links below:

http://www.kamwilliams.com/2010/08/hair-power-skin-revolution-book-review.html

http://newsblaze.com/story/20100803151347kamw.nb/topstory.html
http://theblackboxoffice.com/2010/08/hair-power-skin-revolution-book-review/
http://www.pittsburghurbanmedia.com/Hair-Power---Skin-Revolution-A-Collection-of-Poems-and-Personal-Essays/
http://www.dallasblack.com/reviews/book/brhairpowerskinrevolution
http://insideblackhollywood.com/2010/08/06/hair-power-skin-revolution-book-review/
http://www.exodusnews.com/Books/Review108.html
http://aalbc.com/reviews/hair_power_skin_revolution.html

You're Beautiful, Woman! 2010

On 7th August, I was fortunate to be at the 3rd You're Beautiful, Woman! www.yourebeautifulwoman.com held at Highgate Newtown Community Centre, London N19. This was a constructive annual event celebrating black female beauty in all its forms: fashion, hair, beauty and more. The day was packed full of seminars with a range of speakers and a vibrant market place, which is where I spent most of the day.

I was there in the name of Shangwe to promote my 3rd anthology Hair Power Skin Revolution and I thoroughly enjoyed the interest received about my writing journey and of the concept and journey of my book. The networking was particularly powerful as I met not only some beautiful women, but exchanged business cards with a lot of inspirational women, who are a great representation and testimony of the way black women are aspiring and achieving in their own right.

For example, I met:

Amina Whittey, of Cohort Learning, http://www.cohortlearning.org/ a teacher and training consultant working to ensure that our children of colour receive the best education, particularly regarding our history;

Regina Jere-Malanda, Editor of New African Woman Magazine http://www.africasia.com/ who is doing a fantastic job with the magazine. The word depth truly comes to mind; great articles, serious and thought-provoking subjects are particularly engaging and satisfying to indulge in as well as some vibrant and groundbreaking fashion;

I exchanged books with Alison Husbands, author of The Afro Hair & Beauty Bible http://www.theafrohairandbeautybible.co.uk/ a lovely book to own with secrets of how to achieve and maintain beautiful healthy Afro hair, including skin care tips and make-up brands that work best with black skin, and excellent photographic images;

Angel Smith's recent achievement in setting up The Natural Lounge, a UK website for those who wear their hair natural http://www.thenaturallounge.blogspot.com/ was a rare treat and I look forward to attending one of her forthcoming events. Her article From Relaxer to Natural is particularly inspiring as she reveals in an honest and open way how she made the decision to take out her braids and leave her hair natural. She sums it up when she says, "...I realised that most of the fears about going natural are in our own heads and not the outside world...' You can read the full article on page 29 of Lime Magazine's Caribbean Fever Edition: http://www.comelime.com/

Rosa Garman, a student at Edinburgh University who is currently writing her dissertation on the politics that surround Black women's hair in Britain, specifically looking at the motivations behind hair relaxing. More about her in a future blog posting;

Olumide Solanke, Managing Editor of ninetynine magazine, launched in March 2009. The magazine features poetry, music, relationships, health & fitness, people in the media and much more. Do visit: http://www.ninetyninemag.co.uk/

Oh and I also made sure to capture the moment with those all important photos - in ascending order, Patsy Antoine, (anthology contributor), me and Jacqueline Reid; Patsy Antoine & Jacqueline Reid.