Public Service Announcement #2
poems + PSA: does creative work matter right now? (yes) + anti-book banning + ready, set, read event
How are the poems going?
42% of you said you’d like to write a poem a week. 26% who warm up to it. How’s it going? Someone sent me one—thank you! You’re invited to do the same, in comments, email. Here’s one of mine.
Who is providing a light, a guide for you?
PSA: Creating Still Matters, I think
For anyone struggling to concentrate and make stuff
It’s nearly impossible to focus when experiences pouring in on our screens are distressing, unprecedented, relentless. We are spending more time taking in, taking action, giving.
So then the question of creative work, the kind we feel compelled to do, defined by. The kind some of us depend on for identity or sustenance. Go to for solace. Does it still matter in the face of this moment, of horrors?
“An artist can show things that other people are terrified of expressing.”—Louise Bourgeois
Yes, I think it does. There’s a reason folks are writing poems, reading and creating stories, sharing photos, making art. It is fuel. It is something we can do. It inspires others—to feel, know, ponder, care, stand, join. With it, we ignite something to glow for ourselves and everyone who might feel its warm light.
A few months ago, I read and loved CREATIVE QUEST by Questlove:
“For me, creating things is about finding a place for feelings that would otherwise interfere with ordinary life….they work so well as an engine for making things.”
&
“More creative work is one way to save the world…the arrows are aimed differently, but they’re coming from the same bow.”
This picture book: The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale
Written by Aya Khalil and illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan, The Great Banned-Books Sale stars Kanzi and her classmates who love the library and are gutted to discover many of the books there are gone.
“Kanzi searches the shelves but can’t find any books with children who look like her. There are no books with Arabic words to share with Teita, either.”
She has a delicious idea: a bake sale and protest. Via treats and community action, Kanzi and the other kids discover their voices matter, their actions can change things, and books bring people together. Written from the author’s experience of having The Arabic Quilt banned.
Our stop motion animation PSA: “Let Books Live”
My partner and I created this stop motion video, “Let Books Live,” to uplift libraries and the stories, diversity, possibility, and community they contain. A favorite bit? The main character, Book, is narrated by librarian friend Lauren Kratz at LA Public Library!
We hope you’ll share it with a librarian or educator! And if you are one, thank you for all you do!
*Sign EveryLibrary’s petition to protect libraries here or sign up for their freedom to read campaigns.
*Diverse Books Coalition is committed to increasing children’s access to diverse books.
* Our Schools USA does vital work to protect public education—with local chapters to check out.
Please share in the comments other resources you know or ways to champion books.
Fear & Love print by Johnnie Jefferson.
Some of the most banned books for young people in the last couple years I’ve read and loved
Book banning coverage to check out
*The most banned books of the 2021-2022 school year list from PEN America.
*This Washington Post article about why some parents are trying to ban picture books:
*Book Riot has consistent, excellent coverage of book banning, censorship, and how to confront it.
Ready, Set, Read + Village Well Books
I was honored to be part of an event with Ready, Set, Read, fantastic picture book creators Andrea J. Loney, Mirelle Ortega, and Benson Shum, and over 150 early educators from LA Unified School District. It was moving to be with teachers doing essential, valuable (not easy) work every day.
All of us on stage talked about how reading sustained us as children, and that it only takes one book or teacher to change a student’s life. For me, it was my first grade teacher at Singapore American School teaching me how to read when I was struggling. He was patient, kind, and also a tap-dancer. :)
Image: To Make title page with art and portraits by Mags DeRoma of two Singapore American School teachers who changed my life: fourth grade teacher who read books aloud and first grade teacher who lovingly taught me to read.
The event was part of Ready, Set, Read getting 40,000 books to pre-schoolers every year, partnering with public educators to provide reading instruction to parents along with those home libraries.
Two neat ways to support if you can and would like to:
Village Well Books has a book drive via Village Van to get 360 copies of our titles into local schools! Such a generous offering—go booksellers!
Ready, Set, Read is up for a grant from the Lakers Youth Foundation! Vote at this link.
Thank you for spending this time with me and for reading! I hope it served you as moments well spent. And please do tell a friend, leave a comment, or stay tuned for the next one.
Love your positivity and possibility!!! So much hope and power in your words!!!