I relish tasting cuisines from around the globe and trying similar foods prepared in different ways. A gourmet meal might be my dish of choice, but I never pass up a pizza, burger, or hot dog. I reach for the fruit…and then the pretzel rods and strawberry twizzlers.
So why isn’t my reading menu as varied?
Writing a number of book reviews these past months made me realize how many flavors of life I have been missing.
While the human experience and its range of emotions are universal, the individual perspectives which explore and reveal our moments in time are vast and diverse.
Like my multi-ethnic mix that connects me to others in so many ways, reading a broad selection of works can connect me to others in the realm of ideas, and in the secret places of the heart.
The books I have been fortunate to read and review have given me a broader view of this wonderful and magical world we inhabit.
Thank You Dear Writers
So, thank you dear writers for jolting my brain to solve riddles, and for teaching me a new Jell-O recipe, (yum). Thank you for making me feel indignant at every injustice. I vow to be an agent of change. Thank you for sparking more compassion in me, for making me cry and laugh; for helping me to see my neighbor with greater tenderness, and for reminding me to value my friends…even when they try to take over my life.
Mostly, thank you dear writers for trusting me with your precious words. I may have written reviews, but your words have filled my heart and enriched my life.
Now I need time to digest, reflect and internalize it all, so in the words of the 1960s song…
“See you in September when the summer’s through.”
(On the 22nd).
Veronica
Editor’s note: Read some of Veronica’s Book Reviews.
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The world’s treasures, many of them at your fingertips, in the pages of a book.
Such was my experience during a recent museum visit when I discovered an inspiring and uplifting work of art, Girl Balancing Knowledge, by the sculptor Yinka Shonibare. A British-Nigerian artist, he explores themes of cultural identity in a globalized world. The bright colors of the African Ankara fabrics he uses in his pieces are appealing and strikingly eye catching.
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Below is an excerpt from one of our 2024 mentees, Veronica Jorge, from her project, Crushed Like Sugarcane, based on her Chinese ancestor, Zhou Zhijian, who left China to work in the sugarcane fields of Cuba where he was enslaved. In this portion, newly arrived and unwilling to accept the situation, he decides to escape:
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The painter stares at the canvas waiting for an image to appear. Patiently, he waits until a faint imprint of a landscape or a face emerges. He then grabs a brush and dabs it into the paint on his palette, making haste to reach the canvas with his brush to capture the image.
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I can’t think of a better way to welcome Spring and celebrate Earth Day than with a new book, especially one about nature and the earth, and following after Women’s History Month.
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For centuries and throughout the entire world women have made valuable contributions in the arts, sciences, culture, academics, politics, the armed forces, etc. Too many women and too many areas to name without slighting any one person, field or region. Every March during Women’s History Month we commemorate their achievements.
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