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!