#mitchell s. jackson

[deadpresidents]

He Was My Role Model. My Mentor. My Supplier.

Decades after I left hustling to become a writer, why did I seek out the man who drew me into that world?

[bigtickhk]

A Memoir of Black Life in the ‘Other America’

In “Survival Math,” Mitchell S. Jackson tells his family story of living in Oregon and reckons with the interplay of racism and patriarchy in his own life.

Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell S. Jackson https://amzn.to/2H5qxtS

[bigtickhk]

Mitchell S. Jackson’s “Survival Math” Is a Brutal but Rewarding Document of Growing up in Northeast Portland

It’s often painful to read, but Jackson weaves these stories together with fluid grace.

Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell S. Jackson https://amzn.to/2H5qxtS

[bigtickhk]

Mitchell S. Jackson attempts to calculate ‘Survival Math’ of black men in new memoir

A few years ago, Mitchell S. Jackson wrote an essay titled “Survival Math,” chronicling the myriad ways in which he had escaped serious danger…

Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell S. Jackson https://amzn.to/2H5qxtS

[goodmorningguru-blog]

Monday Mantra: Agency

As most writers  do, I love words. Love ’em. Finding new ones, dissecting old ones, repurposing generic ones. Every now and again I get stuck on a word that seems to speak to those pieces inside of me that I hadn’t yet been able to identify. Those feelings that flow through my body without a name, until at last I hear the word and it all makes sense. The word of the moment for me right now?

Agency.

That brings us to today’s mantra.

Agency, I understand it to speak to those moments when you act with vision, without prompt from another person, and with connection to your inner voice. To act with agency means you are acting on behalf of a bigger feeling—one that’s more than just obligation. Your action was chosen by you and you only. To act with agency you must have passion, a sense of urgency, a feeling that what you’re acting on means something to your inner well-being.

At least, that’s how agency speaks to me.

Given my loose definition above, who wouldn’t want more of that in their lives? To choose with independence—free of societal norms or other people’s expectations. That requires focus, an attention to the present, a relationship with Self, a level of frustration that won’t again let you choose the easy way out.

Agency at its core is just another word for your inner compass.

Yesterday I was listening to my favorite weekly podcast when I heard this quote from author Mitchell S. Jackson:

“I refuse to be one of those fools anonymous everywhere but inside their head.”

Isn’t that what your inner guidance system is asking you to do? To take your inside self out into the public and show it off. Not because you’ll get fame or glory or love or acceptance. But because you owe it to yourself to do so. Because if you don’t, it will stay there and pester you until you do.

Here’s to strengthening your inner voice this week. To honing in on your agency. To listening. To acting. To being independent of commonality. To you.

Mantra:

I act with agency. 

Independent.

With passion. In spite of doubt.

In honor of Self.  

Have a happy and healthy week!

Love,

Holly

Monday Mantra: Agency was originally published on Good Morning Guru

[queenslibrary]

[manhattanvillereadingseries-blog]

This month, the Manhattanville Reading Series’ season finale features 2016 Whiting Award winner Mitchell S. Jackson (The Residue Years), as well as rising stars Nancy Hightower, Carrie Cooperrider, and Emily Cementina.

Please see our Facebook event page for more details.

[coverspy]

The Residue Years, Mitchell S. Jackson (M, 20s, Black Lives Matter tote, tall afro, Franklin Ave. platform, 2017)