July 2021

Amanda Johnston

Dear friends,

 

I hope this finds you well and nurturing yourself in beautiful ways. I'm writing to you from a cabin in Kyle, Texas located on 3,400 acres. About a month ago, I put a call out on my social media pages asking for help. That was a hard thing for me to do. I'm being gentle with myself and learning to be more vulnerable when it comes to asking for support. I can advocate for others all day but have trouble advocating for myself. However, that day I said yes to me. I shared a short post that read "Putting this out there for anyone who has resources to make it happen: I need space and time to write." The response was overwhelming kindness and generosity.

 

Several friends offered access to their guestrooms and rental properties. Others recommended residencies and introduced me to good people who might have access to retreat spaces across the country. Because of you, my friends and supporters, I have exactly what I need in this moment, what I hoped for: time and space. Special thanks to Jennine Krueger and Charlotte Gullick for nominating me for the Tasajillo Residency and for Katherine Johnson, Eric Hayes, and the board for saying YES! I'm thankful for the acknowledgment and encouragement. Out here I've been able to dream and read and write and rest for a week without distractions or competing responsibilities. This gift of time and space is reassurance that poetry hasn't left me (it never will) and that the work I am doing has me on the path I'm meant to be on. This is your sign to ask for what you need and to keep moving forward.

 

This work continues and I'm grateful to know I have more opportunities to do this work with new and old friends in the future. Looking forward to more writing in new spaces and growing this body of work. 

 

Onward with love,

Amanda

 

 

Click the image above to watch Amanda and DuEwa talk poetry and life for Nerdacity.

Click the video link above to watch the Stone House Readers' Series featuring

Amanda Johnston, Alexis Paige, and Nikki Pattin.

July 2021 READ WITH ME WINNER

 

Each month, as a thank you to my subscribers, I'm doing a #ReadWithMe drawing and one lucky subscriber will win a copy of a book by a poet I love. This month's book is Anyone Will Tell You by Wendy-Chin Tanner and the winner is J. Bratcher! Read "The Mother In This Poem Is Me Or You Or Your Mother" from the book below. Click the link to purchase your copy.

 
Buy Now

The Mother In This Poem Is Me or You or Your Mother

by Wendy Chin-Tanner

 

mother is
a falling
star a bead

 

of sweat of
blood of bread
our daily

 

bread on which
we fed the
thread of life

 

the trouble
and strife of
he you wed

 

with heart and
head you pledged
in daddy’s

 

bed there is
no rest for
wickedness

 

lest evil eye
pry babe from
breast again

 

I rest my
case on wave
and wind hey

 

knight hey knave
come save me
blame me for

 

sin of rage
its wage so
high I am

 

both monster
and slave shame
me slay me

 

this is the
Labyrinth
where you play

 

Theseus
and I play
Minotaur

 

it’s okay
it’s just a
metaphor

 

 

 

Enter Amanda's #ReadWithMe giveaway. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter.

 

Excellent writing advice from Bernardine Evaristo!

Amanda Johnston’s first book sings with the passion of our great warrior poets. I hear the down-to-earth clarity of June Jordan, the passion of Sonia Sanchez, the self-assuredness and rage of Audre Lorde.  While Johnston’s poems bring to light grave and unending traumas in the wake of slavery, for me, they are hopeful.  They reassure me of a fierce connective tissue between us (embodied in many of her poems as mother love) that would lift a truck from the body of a child to save her.  Johnston’s poems apply just the right degree of salve and just the right degree of fire to our current American wounds.  A beautifully crafted, fierce and compelling voice. - Toi Derricotte

 
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Want to bring Amanda to your event?  Let's connect! Available for online readings, adult and youth workshops, seminars, and speaking engagements.

 

Press Kit

 
Click to Connect

Cave Canem Foundation is near and dear to my heart. As a fellow and current board member, I know firsthand how Cave Canem supports Black poets with the necessary time, space, and encouragement needed to dream, create, and grow. Thank you for your continued support for this "home for black poetry." 

 
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