blackgirl on mars: notes on a life in copenhagen (or how my alienation brings me closer to people).

Jay Braun and I go back. Way back. He is one of my best buddies and I will always love him for his sense of humor, sensitivity, ability to run around the house nude amidst unsuspecting visitors and not least of all, our favorite quote, "The Torah teaches Love, baby." (but that's another story). Among all the great memories and the stellar comraderie I am blessed to experience with him, he is an amazing artist. Here's one of his joints. Enjoy! farvel, the lab

A life honestly lived is capricious. Life cannot be controlled-- no matter the institutions constructed around us in an effort to do so. No, life is unpredictable and therein is where all the pleasure and the pain can be found. Both feelings--pleasure and pain--and all those in between, are what must be navigated when one is alive. There are no shortcuts, no cheating, no matter how much of a semblance of stability you have constructed. Anyway, right now I'm on the positive receiving end of this dichotomy (although, dichotomy is such a bad word, cause it suggests duality, and in reality, it is much more than that, but I like using dichotomy, cause it shows that I have read Kuhn, and that was my attempt at having a sense of humor...) But back to the subject: Life is great right now and I am experiencing that fleeting feeling called happiness and I am enjoying every second of it while it pulls up a chair and warms my soul... Friday I was supposed to take my 7th graders to The Royal Li...

Although the heart is Empty I will fill the page: Emotional Warrior Slay that heart for me, I’ve been wounded in love I wanna see that Heart bleed. Emotional Warrior Come, come Set my heart free I feel so Weary and trapped I don’t wanna be me Emtional Warrior Take this pain from me Take it & Toss it Into the wide Empty Sea. Emotional Warrior Give me some of your strength Give power & faith Put life Back into breath Emotional warrior Come Please come & rescue me I’m in the middle of Battle A victory I can not see Emotional warrior Gather my pieces of self Put me back together A wholeness That is fed. Emotional warrior Make a fighter out of me Take all my little losses And turn them to victory. Emotional Warrior Help me Help me break free Break away forever Break break Away from me.

The Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) is a cultural roadshow that tours Palestine annually. Last year novelist and PULSE coeditor Robin Yassin-Kassab was a featured participant alongside other well-known writers like Suheir Hammad and Andrew O’Hagan. PalFest combats one of the most negative effects of Israel’s continued occupation of Palestine: the isolation of the Palestinian people. In the following interview, PalFest creative producer Omar Robert Hamilton discusses PalFest’s origins and what they have planned for the future. (The creators of Palfest are currently working on their upcoming 2010 roadshow and are expected to release the names of this year’s participants in April. In the meantime be sure to check out their website and become a fan of them on Facebook for regular updates.) Jasmin Ramsey (JR): How did PalFest begin? Omar Robert Hamilton (ORH): Ahdaf Soueif and Brigid Keenan were talking — as they almost always do — about what they could do to help Palest...