North Carolina

This past Monday, the City Council in North Carolina voted to rescind parts of an anti-discrimination ordinance, and now transgender people, in particular, will have to endure discrimination with little legal recourse. I am baffled.  The world is supposed to make progress, not go backwards. It is unconscionable that these terrible lawmakers are going out of their way to stigmatize and injure such a vulnerable population. I said it once, and I will say it again: NOT MY COUNTRY. NOT MY PRESIDENT!  I am prepared to march for so many causes, until the blisters on my feet are bleeding. If you stand for nothing, you fall for everything. Politics has reared its ugly face, and the fangs are just beginning to abundantly dig in their ugly claws.

Two State Solution

Israel is now facing a horrible boycott by the U.N., one which Obama could have vetoed-but did not. Why? Obama does not want to shelter Israel from this criticism by the international community because Israel is wrong. Believe me, it pains me to say this, but Netanyahu demonstrates over and over he DOES NOT WANT A TWO STATE SOLUTION; he wants to appeal to his far right contingency. John Kerry recently returned from Israel in his last-ditch effort to broker a deal for peace in the Middle East. What he said is the two state solution is in jeopardy, and if Israel continues to act the way they are acting, so much damage will be done to Israel and the region. In fact, here will be a real possibility for WAR. Ask any level-headed Israeli who does not support Bibi; his behavior is jeopardizing Israel's chances for survival.

 Under president Obama, the U.S. continues to subscribe to the position in the 1933 Oslo accords that the future of Jerusalem, like that of the West Bank, should be decided by negotiation, not be diktat on either side. Settlements are exactly that-diktat.

 Bibi is so excited for President Trump, since David Friedman, the U.S. special envoy to Israel who he has appointed, plans on giving Israel a carte blanche. This is not how negotiation begins; this is how war begins. And Thomas Friedman in today's NYT editorial, indicates that under Trump, by siding with Bibi on this, is being manipulated into helping Iran and Isis, perpetuating an eternal conflict with Palestinians and the Muslim world. Israel will either no longer be a Jewish state or will be anti-Democratic. Either way, it is lose/lose and dangerous. It is so against the spirit of my book, whose plea is for peace and negotiation and a two state solution. It is actually criminal and so very deeply sad. I grieve not just for America, but I grieve for Israel, too, and for the people who want Israel to succeed, but in a just and humane way! RONIT AND JAMIL--I pray for peace. But how?

Bionic by Suzanne Weyn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yet another spectacular book from Suzanne Weyn, my friend and celebrated author of terrific young adult literature. Yet again, she has outdone herself in BIONIC, the story about a star athlete and teen, bound for success, who gets into an auto accident, and some of her bodily parts are replaced by prosthetics. What happens to young Mira when this technology has her feeling (and others) that it is now a robot performing-not her, as she starts to perform the way she never has before? Is this a positive? Will she ever regain her old life, the sense of self she had before? And what about the people around her? Using the dazzling and wonderful diction that only Suzanne has, enter the pages of this poignant and terrific pager turner-and discover the answers to this brave new world!

View all my reviews

House of Lords and Commons: Poems by Ishion Hutchinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just finished reading wonderful poetry book, HOUSE OF LORDS AND COMMONS by Ishion Hutchinson, born in Jamaica, and an assistant professor at Cornell University. Talk about language that slices through the skin; his diction is stark, challenging, dark, haunting, lyrical, and lovely. I love his rage against politics, his poignant understanding of tenderness and fatherhood. There is wonderful irony and edgy violence, but his authenticity makes this an amazingly beautiful book. A must read!

View all my reviews

The Holidays

The holidays are always a mixed blessing. It is a time of celebration, to count your blessings, but this year, in particular, there is a general sense of mourning, since the new president-elect does not offer hope; he diminishes it. In the last week, I saw two shows, both of which brought me into a state of sorrow. The first was the final interview on the Oprah show where she interviewed Michelle Obama. She is the epitome of brilliance, beauty and grace, and she is being replaced by a first lady whose campaign is cyber-bullying, a woman married to a president whose middle name is BULLY. It is sick and scary. Today I saw the movie "Barry" on Netflix, and all I could think about was how much I will miss having a smart, thoughtful intelligent president. President Obama did not have D.T's silver spoon feeding him; he rose in the ranks because he was smart, thoughtful, well-read, graceful and serious about the world and his place it it.

I will never, ever watch another State of the Union or news conference (even if D.T. ever gives one). Holiday cheer? I celebrate my own good fortune and my personal good deeds. I mourn a real president's exit from the world arena, a world which will one day realize what being presidential is all about.

RONIT AND JAMIL Event

I will be reading from RONIT AND JAMIL on Wednesday, February 1 from 6-7:30 at Jefferson Library. YA authors include Yvonne Ventresca, Mary Thompson, Shani Petroff, Matthue Roth, Crissa-Jean Chappell, Carey Ann Aaydu and Tiffany Jackson. And, of course, me--RONIT AND JAMIL, one of its first public appearances!

Review of RONIT AND JAMIL by School Library Journal

Ronit & Jamil

Poet Laskin’s short, lyrical novel in verse is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in present-day Jerusalem. Ronit is an Israeli girl whose father, Chaim, is a pharmacist, and Jamil is a Palestinian boy whose father, Mohammed, is a physician. Chaim supplies prescription medications to Mohammed’s patients. The two teens first meet at the clinic where both their fathers work, and, as in Shakespeare’s original, the young lovers fall for each other after meeting only briefly. Through secret texts and clandestine meetings, they desperately try to be with each other while facing opposition from their parents and the very real physical barrier between Israel and the West Bank. The story departs from the original, though, with the implication that Ronit and Jamil will escape the conflict and find a way to be together—an underlying message of hope for the larger Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Laskin frequently quotes Shakespeare’s play as well as Arab poets, including Rumi and Mahmoud Darwish, and makes skillful use of Middle Eastern poetic forms, such as the ghazal. It may occasionally be difficult for readers to tell which character is speaking, but the accessible verse and universal questions about crossing cultural lines make for a quick and powerful read. VERDICT An obvious choice to pair with Romeo and Juliet in a literature class, this can also open discussion about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and about bridging cultural boundaries.–Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ

SWEAT

Just came back from seeing Lynn Nottage's SWEAT at the public theater, and I am still trembling. This is the story of race in America, but it is also the story of class and how someone like Donald Trump could get elected. The closing of factories, the world of hopefulness is all but eliminated. And I get that D.T. offered hope, though-in truth-he will offer so much less for this population, and all their safety nets will be removed. It is such a sorry state of affairs.

Lies

According to an editorial in last Sunday's NYT (12/11), Donald Trump lies, people know he lies, the Republicans know he lies, but it does not really matter. I am sorry, this is not "The Apprentice" nor is it reality television, and I have always expected my politicians to mostly tell the truth, particularly my president. Now that it has been proven, there was Russian tampering with this election, I am thinking: if it is a known fact that we are sending a criminal to the White House, why can't the electorate do anything? I dream of the days of Walter Cronkite, when I knew what I was getting was news, not a reality spin, not an orchestrated nightmare of an election. I quote the NYT, "Without a Walter Cronkite to guide them, how can Americans find the path to a culture of commonly accepted facts, the building blocks of democracy? A president and other politicians who care about the truth could certainly help them along. In the absence of leaders like that, media organizations that report fact without regard for partnership, and citizens who think for themselves, will light the way."

Rohingya

My next YA novel, WHY NO BHINE, is focused on the plight of the Rohingya population. Apparently, according to the Wednesday NYT, Kofi Annan, the former head of the United Nations, said that he was "deeply concerned" by reports of human rights abuses in the country's restive Rakhine State, where dozens of Rohingya  Muslims have been killed since October in a crackdown by the military." Activists have reported stories of rapes, arson, targeted killings and other atrocities.

In truth, this breaks my heart. One year after the completion of my novel, and the turn of events is just as bad, just as dark. What has happened to human rights in this brave new world? Apparently not very much! Thank heavens there are some leaders willing to put up the good fight!

The Emperor is Naked

Why are people afraid to say the emperor is naked? I have said it; so there! He is as naked as they come. He tweets; he appoints horrible people to office; he talks about women in a disgusting way; he incites hate. Plus, he is very, very ugly--inside and out. He's naked as they come. I was afraid to watch Paul Ryan's interview on 60 Minutes, since I hate any attempt to normalize the man, and I was afraid of watching 60 Minutes, for fear they would do this. But much to my surprise, Ryan was pressed to SPEAK the TRUTH; he just couldn't. The house speaker bites his tongue about the president elect, so when asked about the tweet that millions of people voted illegally for Hillary Clinton--a downright lie, he responded, "I have no knowledge of such things."

Guess what, Speaker of the House. You are a naked emperor, too. Do not pretend to be such a boy-scout!

The Divided States of America

Now I say, I am a New Yorker, not an American in the Divided States of America (TIME Magazine). But even in my beloved city, a man shoved a NYC transit worker down the stairs, screaming that she was a terrorist. "Go back to your country," he shouted, because she was wearing a hijab.

I want to stay to that disgusting man, you are the one who is not American, though America is not the one I once knew under President Obama. MY America has decent people with good values who are aware we are a nation of immigrants. I will protect people like officer Aml Elsokary, no matter what it takes. I will fight and fight hard.There is no room for hate in MY New York City, not in my America, the one which ONCE was great, and being made so much less by a man so NOT qualified to be president.

Coming Together

Jolted to action by the recent wave of hate crimes, American Jews and Muslims are coming together to resist whatever "evil" forces are coming down the pike with the advance of the president elect, Donald Trump. The goal? If Muslims have to register, we will all register. My grandpa, Sol Laskin, taught me that being a good Jew means resisting the forces of hate and opening your heart to "the other." I have always believed this, so much so that there has never been another; we are all one and the same. Vaseem Firdaus, a Muslim, says, "Sitting in an event like this makes you feel it's really not so hopeless. This is food for the soul." May this spirit, as the spirit of my book RONIT AND JAMIL, live on, in the face of the ugly Trumpism, which rears its ugly head daily!

Message From President of City College

Last night, we discovered anti-Semitic graffiti on the CCNY campus. The New York City Police department is investigating this graffiti as a hate crime, and I fully support that approach.

But I also wanted to say how heart sick this kind of thing makes me, and should make us all. There’s not a person on this campus who would not now, or in the recent past, have been vulnerable to something like an attack of this kind. Today it happens that someone wrote something hateful and nasty about Jewish people. Tomorrow it may be African Americans or people who follow the Muslim faith. But on this campus, in this city, nothing should be more obvious than the fact that we are largely and magnificently composed of people who share a history of this kind of vulnerability, and that a huge part of what makes us special, and can make us extraordinary, is the wisdom that comes from understanding and celebrating that history. I know that the vast majority of CCNY students, faculty and staff are as fully committed to this ideal.

Whoever you are, and for whatever reason you decided to write those words: know that you are corroding something precious and irreplaceable. Once this kind of language enters our public spaces or private conversation, it destroys trust, it displaces kindness, and it decimates hope. Everyone belongs on this campus, and in this world—and to suggest otherwise in any way is an act of violence against us all.

At City College, we emphatically condemn hate speech of any kind, directed against any population. In this specific instance, we condemn the anti-Semitic language used in the campus graffiti, and ask each of you to protect and cherish the community we build, each day, on this campus.

Frankenstein

America created a Frankenstein in the name of Donald Trump, and now he is our political leader. Once our country said it is okay to employ hate language; engage in misogyny and LIE--repeatedly, and you can still be out president; it is okay to behave badly and unpresidential, without dignity, grace and not following judicial protocol, we, in essence, created a monster, who will now be our president. Yes, I would have given him a chance, since supposedly democracy brought him to office (he did not win the popular vote, but he lies about that too), but his cabinet choices are appalling. I am sickened that a man like Tom Price can be our Secretary of Health, someone who cares little about the welfare of patients, but cares a lot about money in the hands of doctors (my husband, a doctor, says he and other concerned physicians are saying God help public health); Betsy Vos as Secretary of Education (really--let's do away with public education); Jeff Sessions as attorney general (an outright racist) and Steven Bannon as Chief White House Advisor, a spokesperson for the alt-right, it is evident that a tornado has been let loose on the world, ready to inflict its damage on millions (billions) of people, many of whom are the ones who voted for him.

Do not try to normalize him; he has broken countless rules already, and he is not even president. Just tell me what to do with him? Man created Frankenstein, and then the big question became--now what?

I ask you the same thing. Now what? NOT MY COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!

RONIT AND JAMIL Review By Publishers Weekly

Ronit & Jamil
Pamela Laskin. HarperCollins/Tegen, $17.99 (192p) ISBN 978-0-06-245854-4Laskin (Homer the Little Stray Cat) creates a resonant contemporary version of Romeo and Juliet, transporting Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers to modern-day Gaza. Ronit, a Jewish Israeli teen, meets Jamil, a Muslim Palestinian, through their fathers, a pharmacist and doctor. Though both families work together to help the needy in Palestine, they don’t fully trust the other and are particularly wary of their teenage children talking to each other, much less falling in love. Writing in clipped, understated verse, Laskin borrows lines from the original play as she sensitively describes two lovers weaving their way through social, political, and familial hurdles designed to keep them apart (“I hate the parting/ the sorrow of it/ the fear/ tomorrow will never come”). Laskin takes pains to address the similarities between the Palestinian and Israeli households—two back-to-back poems titled “Dinner Chatter” reveal parallel menus (“Ommi’s good food:/ hummus, falafel, baba ghanoush.... Imah’s good food:/ hummus, falafel, baba ghanoush”) and attitudes—starkly juxtaposing them against mutual prejudices. A lyrical message of peace and love radiates from this relevant and hopeful reimagining. Ages 13–up. Agent: Myrsini Stephanides, Carol Mann Agency. (Feb.)
Reviewed on 11/28/2016 | Details & Permalink

RONIT AND JAMIL Review by Booklist

Issue: December 15, 2016

 

Ronit and Jamil.

Laskin, Pamela L. (Author)

Feb 2017. 192 p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen, hardcover, $17.99. (9780062458544).

 

Israeli-born Ronit’s abba works as a pharmacist in East Jerusalem; Palestinian Jamil’s abi works as a doctor. But when both fathers decide to drag their willful teens onto the job with them, they impart the same stern words of advice: “Don’t look.” Yet in this modern day Romeo and Juliet revamp, Ronit is quick to admire Jamil’s hazel gaze, and Jamil, too, swiftly swoons for the “girl / with the song in [her] voice.” So begin text message trysts, marketplace meetups, and a love as fierce as it is forbidden. Like its predecessor, Laskin’s tale, a series of mostly page-length poems, unfolds in five acts. Alternating between the perspectives of each teen (and, eventually, their fathers), it illuminates a tense but textured land riddled with rockets, roadblocks, and olive trees. Occasionally saccharine but always accessible, the modern verse—flecked with Arabic, Hebrew, and iconic excerpts from the play itself—will ease romance-hungry teens into both Shakespeare’s original and the challenging context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A welcome nod to hope in the face of the impossible.

— Briana Shemroske

Grief

GRIEF. My country is awash in a terrible storm. My beloved Gulliver, my children's dog, is not feeling well. I saw the movie, "Manchester by the Sea" and all I could do was cry-the whole film. The tears felt good, though. They felt authentic. They were a release during the duration of the film. But then I woke up today and felt sad all over again.

What do you do when the grief just stays there, aside from sit on it? And, I suppose, acknowledge it is a dark period, and the grief just won't quit. What do you do when you are generally an optimistic person, but have lost that sense of hopefulness.

Do you say tomorrow will be better? And what do you do if you really do not feel that?

Myanmar

In the New York Times, Friday December 2, it is reported that Myanmar's leader is faulted for silence in the campaign against the Muslim population.  I completed my book WHY NO BHINE almost a year ago, about this same exact issue. And now, a year later, the same issue rears its ugly head. "Satellite images show villages burned to the ground. Human rights groups relay allegations of rape and the slaughter of children. Thousands of refugees have fled across the border to Bangladesh, while the workers have been prevented from reaching the afflicted."  WHY NO BHINE, the anguish of the Rohingya's, is still a book about a terrible reality. It is an immigrant's story, and--unfortunately--such an ugly reality, to ostracize a population in such a terrible way.

And all I feel is anguish because this is still a reality, and not just in Myanmar, but also in America!

Colbert Nembhard

Friday November 25th New York Times wrote about a Bronx librarian, Colbert Nembhard, a librarian, whose mission it is to help homeless children develop a love of books. How can that happen when these same children do not even have a home?. At the Crotona Inn Homeless shelter, he has opened a library, so books can be a constant in these young children's lives. In eight years he has signed on countless children and parents for library cards. The children love him and--as far as I am concerned--this is the meaning of the word, hero.

When There is a Will, There is a Way

Are domestic responsibilities at odds with being a great writer? I am not certain, since I write; I love to write; I have been writing my whole life, but I am not regarded as a great writer. My children never stopped me; in fact, they enhanced me, since I realized how precious time was, and this made me get down to business when they napped or when they went to school. There was no room for procrastination. In the NYT Book Review, two writers, both of whom have children--Siddhartha Deb (a single father) and Dana Stevens, discuss that there are some people who do whatever work possible in whatever circumstances they find themselves in. Dana Stevens finds herself able to write with an unknown but truly impressive quantity of rainbow sequins scattered across the floor. When my children were little, I hated the clutter, but it did not derail me from getting my work done. There is a cliche--when there is a will, there is a way. I always had the will, so I always found the way!

Taking Words Seriously

As a writer, I feel like whatever I say and use in my text matters. It is not like I have misused words (and sentiments), but I try not to. I try to keep meanness to a minimum, though I am sometimes guilty of not succeeding.

This is one--among many reasons--Donald Trump's presidency presents too many problems. He has said he would give his business to his children to operate, and he is already using the presidential platform as a means to enhance his millions (God knows how much he owns, since this is one area he has remained mute). He says he is against climate change one minute, and the next minute admits there is a possibility it is real. When his golf course in Florida floods, he might feel differently. He also says overturning Roe Vs. Wade is not a problem-handing it over to the states, since women can easily go to another state to have an abortion. Easily? Does he understand a poor, pregnant woman does not have the means to take a plane to NYC to take care of medical matters, particularly if she lives in the middle of the country?

What you say matters, Mr. Trump. Unless you are so far removed from reality, you need to get that there are some people out there who will listen to your words, and try to make sense of them.

I, for one, am not one of them. Once you ignited fire at your rallies by using divisive and dismissive words; once you made fun of a disabled reporter; once you said derogatory words about women, immigrants, Blacks and Latinos, I realized I could never take your words seriously, ever.

You are living proof that not everyone takes WORDS as seriously as I do. You can call yourself president, but sorry, the Emperor is way more naked than anyone who has come before him.

Great News From Fortify Rights!

Great News! In a news release given by Fortify Rights on November 25th, 2016, two environmental defenders, who were previously charged trespassing on an open-pit gold mine, were acquitted of all charges. Because of insufficient evidence that Tungkum Limited possessed the land at the time of the incident, charges had to be dropped. For more information on this decision, please visit http://www.fortifyrights.org/publication-20161125.html

Standing Up For What is Right

I want to feel positive. I want to wake up feeling better. I want to believe maybe Trump will not be as bad as we imagine. But then Trump selects his cabinet: "A man associated with white supremacy and misogyny as the White House strategist; a man rejected for a judgeship because of alleged racism will be attorney general and an Islamophobe who has taken money from Moscow as a national security advisor." (Kristof, 11, NYT, 10/20). Not encouraging.

I have signed up for the Muslim Registry in the event they decide to deport and question Muslims in this country, many of whom are my students and friends. I went to a Muslim wedding just the other week. And I said, when people questioned me, I understand the Civil Rights movement, how people were willing to go to jail for a cause, and yes, I am not Black, but does it matter? How many Whites marched to Birmingham alongside Martin Luther King; how many Jews ended up in jail, since once upon a time, Jews stood up for human rights, since they understood them intimately; they had suffered the elimination of six million relatives in the Holocaust.

The older I get, the less frightened I become. I am becoming that little girl told by her father (mine) that I could do and be anything; that the world was my oyster, that-according to Franklin D. Roosevelt, "The only thing to fear is fear itself."

I feel fearless in the face of social injustice, since what do I have but my voice? If that sends me to jail, so be it, though I still believe that would never happen. As an only child, I have many brothers and sisters in the world to defend, and defend them I will, and I can only pray some kind God up there will defend and commend me for standing up for what I believe in!

South Carolina by Jacqueline Woodson

This piece in the Sunday magazine section of the New York Times brought me to tears, how Jacqueline Woodson, famed author of the National Book Award winner BROWN GIRL DREAMING, among other significant children's books, talked about waking up and the grief of her son's down-cast form when he heard the result of the election. He is eight. He has only known a Black president. His response, "This wasn't supposed to happen."

And what does his Mama say to him? "It was time to tell him the deeper truths of our country. It would be time to tell him what I saw this year: the Confederate flags in my own childhood home of South Carolina and in Alabama, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Virginia, Georgia-even in his home state of New York. It would soon be time to tell him that this country's earliest history is one of unkindness. That the blood of his ancestors was expendable, priced along with stocks of cotton and gold. Will they really build a wall? he asked. Will they really send my friends away?" But then she concludes with the positive-you have always made a way out of no way. We'll get through this."

I pray!

A Message from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

November 20, 2016

A Message from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Dear Students:

After the harsh and ugly rhetoric of the campaign, many of you are concerned about what might happen next.

Let me be clear: This is the State of New York, not a state of fear. We will not tolerate hate or racism.

We have been and always will be a place where people of many backgrounds have come to seek freedom and opportunity. Almost all who live here can trace their roots to someplace else.

We cherish our diversity. We find strength in our differences. Whether you are gay or straight, Muslim or Christian or Jewish or Buddhist, rich or poor, black or white or Latino or Asian, man or woman, cisgender or transgender, we respect all people in the State of New York.

The Statue of Liberty is a proud symbol of American values, and she stands in our harbor. We feel a special responsibility to make her offer of refuge and hope a reality every day.

As long as you are here, you are New Yorkers. You are members of our community, and we will stand up for you.

The State of New York has strict laws against hate crimes and discrimination and we fully and firmly enforce them. It is illegal in this state to target, harass or discriminate against a person because of his or her race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation. We are a tolerant people, and cannot and will not let our freedoms be undermined. ​

New York State has a toll-free hotline where people can report incidents of bias and discrimination. Our responsibility is to protect all who are here, whether native-born or immigrant, whether documented or not. The hotline strengthens our efforts. Contacting us will not affect your immigration status.

New Yorkers who have experienced bias or discrimination should call the toll-free hotline at (888) 392-3644 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.

If you want to report a crime or fear for your safety, call 911 immediately.

New Yorkers feel a particular affection for young immigrants. For centuries, our state has thrived on the energy and ambition of the young people seeking to build their lives here. Your intelligence, your creativity, your idealism enriches us all. You are welcome here.

Sincerely,

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Poem About Trump

Trembling Ghosts

It didn’t matter

that women were silly putty

shaped in your hands,

discarded;

nor did it matter

that this Muslim had a name-Assad,

and a wife and a daughter

who whispered American dreams.

The only America you know

was your brand-

big, blustering, bombastic words:

“Make America great again”

worn on your silly baseball hat,

forgetting America

is the Mexican

standing by the wall,

(built by whom?)

and who to keep out:

my Holocaust ancestors

the Irish and the poverty of potatoes

the Sudanese lost boy who has walked

miles in the blazing hot desert,

the Syrian doctor

whose children were doused to death

with chemicals,

the African Americans, who once were slaves,

and if some have their way

in this topsy-turvy law and order world,

will be slaves once again.

The ghosts and skeletons

burned and buried

tremor in disbelief:

This is not America.

America is not free.

“America never was

America to me.” (*)

Langston Hughes

Book Giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Ronit & Jamil

by Pamela L. Laskin

Giveaway ends February 28, 2017.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Happy Birthday, Samantha

Happy birthday, Samantha. Dad and I feel we have been blessed with terrific children, and this has helped us get through these hard days, post-election. And today is your birthday, so this is what I (we) have to say. I need to tell you, when I look at you I marvel and muse: how did I get a daughter like you? You are the quintessential do-gooder, values Dad and I have given you, but you take it to another plane.  You have already been to Namibia to teach, on a search and rescue mission on the Adaman Sea, and working for Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans. This summer you will be working for ACLU. To say we are proud of your convictions, your moral compass, is an understatement. You are the quintessential idealist, and make us daily want to be better people. Changing the pronoun to WE, since Dad feels the same way. We admire your fire, your passion, the causes you advocate for. But today, your birthday, there are other things which make us proud: your sense of humor; your love of family; your generosity and your warmth. A smart person once told me, when you go to sleep at night you have to feel you have made the world a better place, even in some small way. Samantha, you have made the world a better place in so many small and big ways. On this day we wish you the world-and more. We love you! Mom and Dad

Idealism

I am a proud idealist. In my twenties, I was extraordinarily idealistic, going to marches, fighting for different causes, but then I had children, worked hard and grew complacent. I was just too busy.

Now, I feel on fire again. Working as a teacher with young people helps. They are on fire; they are motivated. They want to see a better world, and they are not often self-serving. I am a proud parent of children who are decent people. And I am finding myself caring about important causes in much the same way I did when I was younger. I am grateful to be married to a man who has worked in healthcare in an inner city hospital his whole life, one who feels Obamacare was as good as it could have been, considering how obstructionist the Republicans have been. He loved President Obama the way I did, and I feel he has grown increasingly more liberal with time.

I have wonderful friends and family, all of whom are liberal the way I am-and poised for the fight. Samantha, I have YOU to thank for the ferocity of your convictions and idealism; you daily make me a better person. When I ask my husband where Samantha came from, he answers, with pride, "from you!"  And this will be the fire that guides me. All of you, thank you; you are woven in my heart!

ECONOMICS

I do not profess to know as much as I should. My colleague, who knows a lot, has already told me the Trump presidency will force her to work a few more years, and she is now already past 65. Our pensions will suffer, she has told me, and I believe her. In Friday's NYT, Stephen Ratner, a Wall Street economist, has said TRUMP Economics: FIRST: DO HARM. Interest rates on treasuries have already risen.The Affordable Health Act-gone-but what will it be replaced with-Medicare. Where is the money coming from? He will not tax the rich, since many of those are his core voters. Do not forget, he has not paid taxes for how many years? And then he quotes: "Mr Trump's single issue was immigration, where he promised deportation. Immigrants, including undocumented workers, play an important role in our economy, doing jobs that many native born won't, and PAYING TAXES. His deportation plan will cost four hundred to six hundred billion."

Aside from the clear and apparent DAMAGE he is doing to our economy, I want to ask his voters: were you a child or grandchild of an immigrant? What if post War-War II-or after the Russian programs-your family was told there was no room for you on American shores? That was, after all, the LASKIN legacy. My grandpa Sol, bless his soul, was a Zionist and a Socialist.

But my grandfather was lucky, that the world was a kinder, more compassionate place then. Now? If not for my very wonderful immediate family, I would leave this country. My money would be better served somewhere else.

Thoughts for the Horrified: Paul Krugman: NYT, November 11th, 2016

I am horrified. I am mortified. I am crying. And Paul Krugman is saying so much of what I believe that this emperor is SO NAKED. And so I quote: "Remember, that elections determine who gets the power, not who offers the truth. The Trump campaign was unprecedented in its dishonesty; the fact that the lies didn't exact a political price, that they even resonated with a large bloc of votes doesn't make them any less false. No, our inner cities aren't war zones with record crime. No, we are not in the highest taxed nation in the world. No, climate change isn't a hoax promoted by the Chinese. Once you get past the lies, everyone has to face up to the unpleasant reality that a Trump administration will do immense damage to America and the world."

I am terrified, and I do not need Paul Krugman to tell me, for example, the climate damage a Trump administration may spell out may be irreversible. And the supreme court. And the way we are seen in the world.

I am mortified, embarrassed and depressed. I continue to wear a safety-pin to indicate a nationwide appeal-You are pinned, in safety, to like-minded people. This is not about race, class or economics. It is about VALUES. If yours are mine, I am with you all the way!

Never doubt...

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Presidential Nominee, 2016

"Never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue your dreams."

Ella, the world is your oyster. Dream on; your family will support you and support a better world for you!

Proud Mama and the ACLU

Guess where my daughter is working this summer? THE ACLU. Guess who took out a full-page ad in the NYT on November 11th? The ACLU. So proud of her and her commitment to social justice. So proud of my children, period, for what they are about. So proud of this organization. So they have said, in the ad, all of Trump's promises: to amass a deportation force to remove 11 million undocumented immigrants to ban the entry of Muslims and to institute aggressive surveillance programs targeting them; to restrict the right for a woman to have an abortion; to reauthorize water boarding and other forms of torture; to change the nation's libel laws and restrict freedom of expression, are un-American, wrong-headed and-more importantly, unlawful and unconstitutional. ACLU will fight them and so will the many people in this great nation who still believe that human life and law is sacred.

What is Your Moral Compass?

Everyone has to have one. When you go to sleep at night, you have to think, what have I done to make the world a better place? This means that you have to have inner convictions. The statement resonates: If you stand for nothing, you fall for everything.

My daughter asks: How could a woman vote for Trump? That is a conviction. In our discussion what emerges is it is not okay to denigrate women and grope them for recreational leisure. No one should behave this way. And now, this is our president.

The issue runs deeper. What about denigrating others? When my children were little, if they bad-mouthed people or attempted to bully, they were punished. I had higher expectations for them. I expected for them to become moral citizens of the world, which they have become. The debates were a mockery of civil behavior, when Trump started discussing the size of people's hands.

Yes, what if the president of your country is not civil?  What is he has a son who compares immigrants to Skittles? Then what? I have heard elementary school students crying because their president is a mean man. "Will he get punished, Mommy?" a young boy asks his mother, my colleague. And the answer is no-no consequences. How can that be? My grief is about my naive assumption that there are HUGE consequences for bad behavior. Religious leaders-the pope-has reiterated people just don't speak that way; no one does, no one should.

Or perhaps, others do, and Trump has given license to an amoral world, where it is okay to speak language which incites. The consequence? Getting elected to a presidential office-a narcissist's dream of power. And half our country put him in this place. CONVICTIONS? MORAL COMPASS? 

Tell that to your children when you put them to sleep at night, then look yourself in the mirror.

Baltimore

Went to Baltimore to a friend's wedding and spent a few days seeing the city. Wow! The architecture was just spectacular. I saw brownstones the likes of which I had never seen before. We visited the aquarium, which I would say rivals the one in Boston, and I could not believe how mesmerized I was by the fish. We walked miles, passing John Hopkins University-a spectacle in itself, and finally landing at the Baltimore Museum of Art, where we saw an amazing exhibit: The work of Matisse and Diebenkorn, an American artist inspired by Matisse. Such a wonderful weekend in so many ways, including the wedding, which I will write about next.

Ghost by Jason Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just finished the most spectacular middle-grade fiction, GHOST by Jason Reynolds, nominated as a National Book Award finalist. It is a book about running, but running as in the metaphor of "running away from." GHOST, whose real name is Castle Crenshaw, ends up on the track team, since the coach spots an extraordinary talent in the young boy who faces challenges in school and in life. With his Dad in jail, he harbors a frightening secret, which manifests itself in unbridled anger. His coach recognizes Ghost's rage, but also something else-desire-to shed his secrets, to belong, to be freed up from the "baggage" which haunts him. Told in gritty, authentic diction, GHOST promises to cut to the chase with a voice at once sparking and always wholly real!


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Kirkus Review

So excited to have RONIT AND JAMIL reviewed by Kirkus! Check it out: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/pamela-l-laskin/ronit-jamil/

Marilyn Nelson

A strange beautiful woman

   met me the other night in the mirror.

   Hey,

   I said

   What are you doing here?

   She asked me

   the same thing.

    Marilyn Nelson

I see this wonderful poem, but a poet whose work I love, so many times on the train. It always makes me happy!

Exciting RONIT AND JAMIL Events

Many wonderful events are starting to happen regarding the publication of RONIT AND JAMIL, due out February 21st, 2017. First of all, the book has been getting some good preliminary reviews. Secondly, I have been holding auditions for a staged reading of the book, to be held at Aaron Davis Hall at City College on February 28th. I am already scheduling two book launches, ones in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan; I will be a featured reader at a Women Writers in Bloom series and also a Turnstyle read at CCNY's Graduate Center. I am scheduled for May 4th to be part of the Presidential Conversation, Politics and Social Issues in Young Adult Literature. And finally, there will be two young adult panels, in which I am the moderator, both at AWP, Washington, DC. I feel my hard work and perseverance has paid off. I am excited for the next chapter to begin. Follow me at twitter@RonitandJamil for updates!

13th

Last night Ira and I saw the most amazing documentary about the criminal justice system directed by Ana DuVernay, 13th, which refers to the 13th amendment. It is centered on race in America, and features interviews with such notables at Henry Louis Gates Jr., Jelani Cobb, Angela Davis and Bryan Stevenson. It is powerful, overwhelming, frightening and brings to the forefront things we know about racial inequality, but makes it so much more real. What is so terrifying is though it is a historical perspective, the racial imbalance does not seem so much better than it was, let's say, in the sixties. In addition to enjoying the film, (and learning from it) this made me so admiring of the work my daughter is doing on behalf of our challenged prison system. This is a must see film and you can see it on Nextflix.

Pushing the Envelope

The other day I came home from babysitting and proceeded to talk to my husband, Ira, about some memories I had from when I was young. Some of these were stories my father told me, since how could I possibly remember when I was two. These stories were so relevant, since I was the toddler who was friendly, outgoing, loved to sing and dance and was told I was very funny. I see these same qualities in Ella; she always makes me laugh. And she loves when I sing, the only one in my family who does, since I can no longer sing well. And when I sing, she dances. I was also told, I was not always a great rule follower, though I was a "good girl", a quality I also see in Ella. Interestingly, I lost some of those qualities when I was growing up, but they have returned as an "older" adult, simply because I am less afraid of being myself, and I am that outgoing, somewhat fearless, somewhat kooky little girl-grown up. I am hoping Ella continues to be who she is, and the world does not diminish her fearlessness and individuality; it is such a wonderful quality. My guess is she might be able to maintain her individuality for a very long time, perhaps forever, since she is a very loved child. I, too, was loved, but my family circumstances were NOT good growing up, so I had to keep my personality under wrap much more. Nevertheless, I still recall trying out for Bye, Bye Birdie in middle school, belting out the song and thinking I would get the lead, which I did not. I also recall being wait-listed for Binghamton in college, and sending them the portfolio of my writing, insisting they should take me off of the wait list, since I had talent as a writer. It worked! I am not saying it always works to push the envelope, but sometimes it does, and what is important is to feel free up enough to be yourself.

I am myself again, now that I am sixty. Ella, always to thine own self be true, since what you have is truly remarkable. And you are so loved by your parents and everyone else who comes in contact with you! Lucky little girl and lucky for the people around you!

Marilyn Nelson--Winner of Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature

Excited to report that Marilyn Nelson, a poet and children's book author, has just won the Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature. this is a HUGE award, akin to the Nobel Prize in literature. It is international in scope, and acknowledges authors who have generated a significant body of work. Not only is Marilyn a wonderful poet (she was our featured guest poet for Outreach in 2016), but she is a wonderful children's book author, which is what this award is for! When I teach A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL in my graduate children's writing class, the students are crying and so am I, even though I have read it dozens of times before. This book is a royal crown of sonnets, and was ground-breaking when it first came out; it challenged the way in which YA stories could be told. What a story teller! What a mensch! What a talented and amazing artist! So proud of Marilyn Nelson!

Two Must-See Plays

Saw two amazing plays this past weekend. I need to start with FALSETTOS, which I had seen over thirty years ago-off-Broadway, and as two separate plays. Lincoln Center theater decided to combine the two pieces and create one longer work, which celebrates love in the time of AIDS. Given its historic context, I had feared that the play would not be as relevant. The play was revolutionary in its time, with its focus on one Jewish family where the father leaves to start a relationship with a man, but his partner becomes part of one big, extended family. The concept of family not necessarily being those biologically related and learning to open up your mind and heart are just as relevant today as they were decades ago, for a different reason. Now our world is so divisive, that it is always crucial to realize love still matters, even when a family is split apart. And the children, somehow, survive when that love is significant in the equation. 

The other play, KINGDOM COME, is at the Roundabout Theater Company, and is about love, but also loneliness. Two lonely women, cut off from the world for different reasons, form an online attachment, and grow extraordinary close, but with fictional identities. This is a story about alienation, affection, despair, but also happiness-how everyone exists in her own world with so much painful longing. It is poignant, funny, tragic and so well-acted. I laughed and cried and it always felt authentic, real in a way only good dramatic theater can be!

Growing Up Poor in America

I am always aware that my children, a son and a daughter, have hit the lottery; so have the children of my friends. Not only were they born into privilege, but they have the gift of parents who have nurtured that with classes, schools, and emotional encouragement.

But what about those who do not? in the article "Growing Up Poor in America" in the 10/30/2016 NYT, it is evident that the system is stacked against certain children, who grow up not just without privilege, but without the basics: food, running water, a calm home. Imagine. Like the young boy Emanuel Laster, aged 13, who is in an after-school program for at-risk youth in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, who gets A's and B's in school, but goes hungry at home and the power is periodically cut off. There are so many Emanuels, and the truth of the matter is, these children, sometimes, have so many deficiencies at home, that those good grades are hard to maintain. Their very foundation is missing, and without the foundation, it is hard to build the building. Nicholas Kristof, in his article, addresses the terrible challenge of chipping away at the cycle of poverty. Talent is universal, but opportunity is not. And what can we do, what have we-as a nation-do to make the world a better place? Can we? We have to try, some way, for those who have lost the lottery of life.

Pulitzer Prize Centennial Poetry Celebration

On Thursday the 27th I attended the Pulitzer Prize Centennial Poetry Celebration, sponsored by the PSA. Each of the poets read a poem by a favorite deceased poet, and then one or two of his or her own. I just closed my eyes and took in the beauty of the language. What a remarkable experience to hear, for example, Gregory Pardlo read Galway Kinnell's "First Song", or Vijay Seshardi read Richard Wilbur's "The Pardon." I cried when Carl Dennis read Philip Levine's "Spanish Lesson," since Levine has always been one of my favorite poets. What a treat to hear Yusef Komunyaka, Sharon Olds, Charles Wright, Natasha Trethaway read  their work, and simply revel in all the loveliness of poetry. And what an escape, too, to celebrate the joy of poetry, especially in today's world when so much negativity is circulating. What is poetry? Positive energy, and it felt so good to be immersed in this!

Michelle Obama

When they go low, we go high. Michelle Obama, how did you get so elegant, so smart, so graceful; how did you get it so right? The evidence is there in all the speeches you give, but there is also evidence in the two daughters you have raised. I am trying to embody this principle. I no longer want to attack people I do not agree with; I do not even care to distastefully attack the presidential candidate I do not agree with. Instead, I want to continue to extol the virtues of all that is good and right with the world, since there is a lot. I want to GO high and STAY high, as a testament to all those cherished blessings I have been given in my life. For example, I am now reading fairy tales written by my students. I can say, since there is evidence, they just did not get this genre, but I can also say how marvelous that there is much magic in their stories. I often try to focus on the good, not the bad, but I can do better with this, and I will, even if it is by magic that this happens. Thank you, Michelle, for giving me this gift of grace!

My friend Addie

Addie came to visit from Austin this weekend. The wonderful thing about our friendship is we can be far away, see each other once or twice a year, and it is always where we left off, getting right down to basics and what is real in our hearts and souls. We are so authentic with each other, as different as we are. And we have our beloved routines-lunch at Dos Caminos, movies at Angelica, New Corners dinner, great theater. I feel blessed to have such a terrific friend in my life!

Vera Williams

So sad to learn the children's book author Vera Williams has died. I can remember reading her wonderful stories to my children, and how each one-in his or her time-would question me about the fire in the house (A CHAIR FOR MY MOTHER) or asking about how a young girl could create stories from her family or next door neighbors. Her books were focused on family, community, decency, humanity-all that really matters in the world. The thing about being such a great writer is your stories will always live on!

Excitement for RONIT AND JAMIL

Things are really starting to kick in for RONIT AND JAMIL, and boy am I excited. I have been listening to some of the performers selected to do the audio version of my book. I am starting to plan the book launch for the book, due out in February. Every day the completed book becomes more of a reality. And daily I pray for peace.

Know the Mother by Desiree Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just finished the very wonderful, KNOW THE MOTHER by Desiree Cooper. I just heard Desiree read at a Brooklyn literary salon, and her warmth, generosity, humanity, decency and integrity just emanates from this beautifully written book. There are very few books I can say are so beautifully written, but this collection of very short stories has diction which will blow you way over the moon. She understands the demands of being a wife, a mother, a daughter to sick and elderly parents, concerns which are my own, now and forever. For example, "Leftovers" begins, "The sun warms the windowpanes as I linger on the edge of a dream. Downstairs, I can hear Cassie squealing like a piglet and Brandon is not using his inside voice. I should go an see where David is. He is probably inside on the phone with his office." The reality? The mom's significant role, even when she is NOT in the house, not tending to the children. It felt like every other piece in his beautiful book, the concerns were so authentic. Cooper's credentials, too, are impressive: a Pulitzer-prize nominated journalist and Detroit journalist, who was once an attorney. She lives in Detroit, and it goes without saying she is very preoccupied with issues of racism in the place she lives in, so place becomes very important in this book.

I feel blessed that I could read it and share in this author's strong and lyrical voice. A must read!

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