Last weekend, I attended Founder's Day, sponsored by The Links in Stamford, Connecticut. It was a special event that celebrated the 1946 founding of the organization. Approximately 70 Links members from around the state were in attendance. I served as a vendor, offering my books to those interested. I had a table with all four of my books, business cards, a poster from my original book launch and a notebook where I collected email addresses to announce future books. I showed up prepared to harness the best that The Links had to offer.
The most popular book proved to be The Lily & The Aster. It sat front and center on the table, along with A Poet Speaks of Empire. My pitch was that The Lily & The Aster was a book for book lovers who did not necessarily love poetry--that the poetry, haiku, was simple and made for easy and pleasurable reading.
A Poet Speaks of Empire, my latest book, was also very popular. I believe that what customers found intriguing was the subject matter--the rise of sub-Saharan Africa. The idea was new to some and not so new to others.
During the event, I was seated next to a vendor, let's call her Elizabeth (not her real name), who was selling her own line of cosmetics. Elizabeth's table was very busy with women looking to buy the latest shade of lip color or a hydrating face mask. I was fortunate to catch a spillover of customers from her table.
During a lull in customers, she picked up my latest book and began to read the poem, "Mandela's Resurrection". She noted that she is a member of South Africa's African National Congress and that, since 1995, she traveled to the country six or more times per year for work or to visit friends. What followed was a very interesting conversation about the new South Africa.
The most popular book proved to be The Lily & The Aster. It sat front and center on the table, along with A Poet Speaks of Empire. My pitch was that The Lily & The Aster was a book for book lovers who did not necessarily love poetry--that the poetry, haiku, was simple and made for easy and pleasurable reading.
A Poet Speaks of Empire, my latest book, was also very popular. I believe that what customers found intriguing was the subject matter--the rise of sub-Saharan Africa. The idea was new to some and not so new to others.
During the event, I was seated next to a vendor, let's call her Elizabeth (not her real name), who was selling her own line of cosmetics. Elizabeth's table was very busy with women looking to buy the latest shade of lip color or a hydrating face mask. I was fortunate to catch a spillover of customers from her table.
During a lull in customers, she picked up my latest book and began to read the poem, "Mandela's Resurrection". She noted that she is a member of South Africa's African National Congress and that, since 1995, she traveled to the country six or more times per year for work or to visit friends. What followed was a very interesting conversation about the new South Africa.
She noted that a new generation of children in South Africa, born since Mandela's release from prison in the early 1990s, did not appreciate the history or efforts put forth to bring about this new era of growth and opportunity. To these children, apartheid is a part of the distant past. The poem that she read was a springboard for great conversation. This is the best I can hope for all of my books, those already written and those to come.
