Biography
“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”
Last year, I discovered the truth of that adage when I published my first book—Culturally Responsive Reading: Teaching Literature for Social Justice—at age 75.
It was my Covid project.
When Covid first hit, I was on a Road Scholar trip to Costa Rica and Panama, scheduled for March 5-15, 2020. But my vacation was rudely interrupted when we received word that countries were closing their borders, leaving thousands of tourists stranded. Fortunately, on March 13th, we boarded the last flight out of Panama.
Back home, I became depressed and despondent. Reluctantly, I cancelled my trips to India and New York and settled in to wait out the pandemic. But as weeks stretched into months, and 2021 arrived with no relief in sight, I knew I had to do something to save my sanity besides read, walk, and tune into The Daily Show each evening to see what color hoodie Trevor Noah was sporting. So instead of buying a bread machine or taking up knitting, I decided to tackle a book project I had been working on for years.
On April 12, 2021, I sent a query letter to Teachers College Press, asking if they might be interested in my bookReading Through the Lens of Culture: Exploring the LIST Paradigm. I explain that the book focuses on culturally responsive reading—close, critical reading that foregrounds a text’s culture without compromising its integrity as a literary work of art. I note that it centers on the LIST Paradigm, a guided approach to culturally responsive reading I developed over the course of my career as a college English professor, which included 16 years teaching at the Air Force Academy. And I point out that the LIST Paradigm helps readers “unlock” literature with four keys to culture: Language, Identity, Space, and Time.
On April 13th, I receive a response, informing me that my query has been forwarded to the Acquisitions Editor for Language and Literacy books. That same day, I receive an email from the Editor inviting me to submit my book proposal.
I click “Send.”
On April 14th, I receive a message from the editor, acknowledging receipt of my proposal and commending me for “tackling an important topic.”
On August 9th, I receive word that my peer reviews have been completed, and that my proposal has been submitted to the Editorial Advisory Board. And on November 5th, I sign my contract, agreeing to submit my final manuscript to Teachers College Press by July 31, 2022.
In retrospect, I realize that my experience was extraordinary, given the glacial pace at which the book publishing industry generally proceeds, especially with first-time authors. And given the stress associated with my current projects, I know that I can’t expect lightning to strike twice.
My articles, essays, and book reviews have appeared in numerous publications such as The Bloomsbury Review,Academic Exchange Quarterly, and The Black Scholar. My essays have also been anthologized in works such as Nonwhite and Woman (Woodhall, 2022); Connections and Influence in the Russian and American Short Story (Lexington, 2021), and Encyclopedia of the Black Arts Movement (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). I am especially proud of my four literary study guides (Cliffs Notes) on Song of Solomon, A Lesson Before Dying, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, andInvisible Man, which gave me an opportunity to immerse myself in a single work for a year and profoundly impacted my ability to engage in the process of mindful reading.
Among my primary influences, I count the works of my favorite authors, including Toni Morrison, Junot Díaz, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Alice Walker, August Wilson, and Ernest Gaines. I also credit my son Curtis, who has been a continuing source of inspiration and who repeatedly reminds me to FOCUS (Follow One Course Until Successful). And whenever I find myself floundering, I turn to the profound wisdom of James Baldwin: “Write. Find a way to keep alive and write. There is nothing else to say. . . . Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent are all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance.”