IT IS in YOUR HANDS--FRONTMATTER.Wps.Rtf

IT IS IN YOUR HANDS by CALAYA MICHELLE REID (Under the Direction of Reginald McKnight) ABSTRACT It is in Your Hands presents a collection of creative writing in the genres of poetry, nonfiction, short fiction, and novel writing. Written over a two-year period, the pieces highlight sociological issues in the African American community dealing with feminism, racism, and classism. Other topics concerning the psychological effects of depression, poverty, and slavery also arise. Altogether, the works seek to speak to the canon of African American literature, as well as demonstrate an original voice filled with literariness and awareness of the American literary tradition. INDEX WORDS: African American, Creative writing, Poetry, Nonfiction, Short Fiction, Novel, Literature IT IS IN YOUR HANDS by CALAYA MICHELLE REID Bachelor of Arts, New York University, 1998 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2003 © 2003 Calaya Michelle Reid All Rights Reserved IT IS IN YOUR HANDS by CALAYA MICHELLE REID Major Professor: Reginald McKnight Committee: Judith Ortiz Cofer Barbara McCaskill Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2003 iv DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this project to all of my friends and family that helped make my education possible. Thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1 Nonfiction........................................................................................................14 Genesis Somewhere On Long Island ..........................................................15 Fire and Spice: Conception.........................................................................16 Primetime at Da Crib...................................................................................19 Tina Maria Goes to War..............................................................................20 Picking Up Mama........................................................................................23 2 Poetry...............................................................................................................28 The Song I Know ........................................................................................29 Run-Jump-Skip............................................................................................31 Miss America--Post Pageant .......................................................................33 And Then She Came ...................................................................................35 A New Beginning........................................................................................36 3 Short Fiction....................................................................................................38 The Sky Above ............................................................................................39 Ms. Cordelia’s Chair ...................................................................................42 Nanadear......................................................................................................46 vi 4 Novel in Progress.............................................................................................75 Stuck............................................................................................................76 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 186 1 INTRODUCTION It is in Your Hands Once upon a time there was an old woman. Blind but wise. One day the old woman is visited by some young people who are bent on exposing her as a fraud. They enter her house and ask a taunting question. "Old woman," says one of them, "I hold in my hands a bird. Tell me whether it is living or dead." She does not answer. In her blindness she cannot see her visitors, nor what one of them holds in his hands. She only knows their motive. After a long silence that makes her visitors edgy and confused, she finally speaks. "I don't know," she says. "I don't know whether the bird you are holding is dead or alive, but what I do know is that it is in your hands. It is in your hands." --Unknown African American writer Toni Morrison began her 1993 Nobel Prize acceptance speech with this story. Morrison, one of the most celebrated writers in the world, became the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature that day. While she was in Stockholm, a long way from her home in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison’s speech was steeped in African American history and literary tradition. The opening itself presented a well known story shared in the African American community. As Morrison explains in her speech, it is used in the community to teach responsibility and ownership to listeners. Similar to the closing lines of William Ernest Henley’s celebrated poem "Invictus," where the poet writes, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul," the story is meant to create a sense of self-agency and fortitude. The listener is to understand that the sky is the limit, as long as they are willing to reach for it. An African American and a writer, I can completely understand why Toni Morrison began her speech with this old story. The lesson behind the story is one that 2 every person must learn if they are to become successful in life. This lesson is especially true for African Americans who are often faced with adversity when trying to pursue the smallest of endeavors. I take the lesson behind the story personally because it also illustrates my experience as an African American writer. Similar to the bird in the visitor’s hands, ready to fly or fall dead into the earth, my writing is something of great promise and possibility; however, it is up to me—the writer—to decide what I will do with it. Will I allow it to fly, adding another voice to the canon of African American literature? Or will I allow it to wither and die1, a restless page filled with words folded up and hidden in an attic somewhere2? Either way, it is in my hands. I thought about this story and its connection to my journey as a writer as I put this collection of creative writing together. I considered what it means, what it really means, for me to be an African American writer, what I plan to contribute to the genre, and lastly how I will develop my true creative voice in the tradition of African American literature. In the end I found that while it was a difficult undertaking, it was extremely rewarding and affirming to me as I take these next steps toward pursuing a career in writing. As in most areas of life, the title African American holds a multitude of significance and weight. While it suggests membership in one of the richest and most thought-provoking genres in American literature, this association is filled with tribal responsibility and representation. As poet Maya Angelou points out in her poem Still I 1 Allusion to "Harlem" by Langston Hughes 2 Connection to the founding of the lost manuscript for The Bondwoman’s Narrative by Hannah Craft 3 Rise, "Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave." Here Angelou explains the sense of pride and belonging that many African Americans feel in relation to their past and future in the United States. They adopt an understanding of a courageous past that obligates them to achieve great things in the future. In other words, when I see Venus win another title, Halle take home an Oscar, Colin stand before billions with information that will change the world in which we live, I am not just seeing people achieve greatness; I see hope where others wished there would always be despair, triumph and achievement, where others wished there would always be defeat and tears, a nation of people being lifted "up from slavery"3 by the courageous acts of many who dare to take ownership in their tribe4. If I am to share my gift of writing, I must take this fact into consideration and set out to achieve my own greatness in the genre. Many African American writers shy away from this responsibility, complaining that its weight, its pressure is so overwhelming that it stunts creativity. Quotes like "Why can’t I just be a writer," "I can’t save everybody," and "I’m trying to get out the ghetto, not celebrate it" easily come to mind. In contrast to these sentiments, I am not so quick to turn in my check5—if you will. I freely welcome such responsibility. I understand that no gift or talent comes cost free and while I hold a precious gift in my hands, a bird that I am determined will fly, many people before me fought and died for it. An African 3 Connection to Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington 4 Allusion to Talented Tenth by WEB DuBois 5 Allusion to I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King 4 American writer, I sit on the graves of people whose lives "ain’t been no crystal stair."6 From Phyllis to Zora, African American writers whose graves went nameless for years7, my ancestors sacrificed much so that I could pick up a pen and paper and continue in their legacy. I am also filled with a desire to contribute to, change, and further develop, a history of African American literature that they started. As my grandmother always says, "I walk where you walk; always walk where you would want me to be." Well, I plan to take them many places. Following

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