A special hello to new readers in Portugal, Croatia, and Finland.
Happy holidays everyone! Whatever the celebration or occasion, this time of year is set aside to remember. Families come together, if only briefly depending on the family dynamics. They skype, text, call on the telephone, or visit in person. According to Nancy Naught, at the Huffington Post,
"This year, December, a month that encompasses the Christian and Jewish celebrations of Christmas and Hanukkah, includes spiritually significant days for Muslims, Buddhists, Pagans and Zoroastrians." https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/december-religious-holidays_n_1126507.html
I have had a busy semester teaching, grading papers, and researching. In addition, I've had several "adventures." Here are a few highlights:
Shout out to Dr. Jennifer Imazaki and the FIT project at SDSU. What a workshop leader. I finished the educational workshops, the concluding paper, and the presentation to my department, the Africana Studies Department at San Diego State University ( one of the oldest Africana Studies departments in the nation!) phttp://africana.sdsu.edu/ Special thanks to Dr. Charles Toombs for the support and to my cohort educator and mentor Dr. Bonnie Reddick.
Phi Kappa Phi had their Fall info and first contact session. Michelle Lopez and student officers presented an informative and inspiring event. It was an honor to speak to potential inductee student scholars. https://www.facebook.com/SdsuPhiKappaPhi/
In the arts, a shout out to a very gifted young San Diego California based singer: Cedrice. Her considerable talent is so fresh and her vocal stylizations are unique. I am watching and waiting for Cedrice to emerge onto the national music scene in 2018 .https://cedricemusic.com/
She sings originals with the band Abstrack and also solo cover songs. Here's a couple of my favorite musical stylizations by Cedrice.
Also in the arts, participating on a panel discussion for the San Diego Repertory Theater http://www.sdrep.org/ with Artistic Director Sam Woodhouse as moderator, and fellow panelists SDSU professor of Digital Humanities David Cline, and comedian Abel Silvas to discuss the historical background and issues of appropriation in their mega holiday hit musical "Black Pearl Sings!" written by playwright Frank Higgins, directed by Thomas W. Jones with S. Renee Clark as music director, was such fun!
The plot's premise is based on Alan Lomax's excursions into the United State's south during the 30s and 40s to find authentic Black folk music. However, instead of a Bluesman like Leadbelly, and a male song researcher like Alan Lomax, the play has a female folk song/blues vocalist Alberta "Pearl" Johnson and a female music researcher Susannah Mullally. Both actresses have amazing acting and vocal talent. I got a chance to speak to them briefly after the show and will review the performance on my Sonictapestry blog later this month. Black Pearl Sings! is a must see show.
Veteran actress Allison Spratt Pearce plays Susannah Mullally http://www.allisonsprattpearce.com/
Minka Wiltz, Atlanta Georgia based actress, plays Alberta "Pearl" Johnson. https://alliancetheatre.org/person/minka-wiltz
Also had an opportunity to hang out and talk about art, activism, personal agency/sustainability, and education with a couple of artists that many folks in the area know by their first names: Fernando and Marco. An "all humans" mural project is in the works. Hopefully we will have an update soon. Oh yea . . .thank you Fernando for teaching and explaining the word ARTIVISM!
For those in Mexico who recently experienced the poetry of International Poet Olga Garcia, she continues to perform globally and will have several seasonal performances here in San Diego California in the next few months as well. Olga and I recently got together in the evening to talk poetry, performance, and life at Bloomindale's 59th and Lex Restaurant in San Diego.
Ah yes, as you can see, I have two crutches now. I'm getting use to them. It is worth the summer physical therapy to continue walking. To my readers with "challenges": this holiday season, I pray that you have friends and family who love you. If not, or not so many, remember to love and cherish you, your wonderful global humanity for we are human touched by the divine.
2017 has been a difficult year for many around the world. My prayers and thoughts often turn to those in distress and grief. I hope in artistic performances and sharing to bring some re-connection, release of sorrow, inspiration and joy to others. My wish for all my Carpe Noctum readers is that this December will find us embracing new healing horizons and cherished memories.
Delores Fisher
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