Help Me Publish My Seventh Book of Poetry

In the Bible, the number 7 represents completion and perfection. Writing and publishing a seventh book of poetry was not something that I intentionally planned to do when I began this poetry book journey almost 15 years ago. I thought then that I'd be thrilled to finish one book. Clearly, my heavenly Father saw it a different way. He has graciously allowed my gifts to make room for me. Family, community, native creativity, the Black Experience, and the times we're living in have also had a significant say in whatever literary achievement I can lay claim to.

Brown Skin and the Bridge to Blackness: A Poet's Crossing will be my seventh volume of verse and pushes me toward a measure of completion that has now become part of my mission as a spiritual witness, a story-teller and a culture carrier. It has a new energy, a clear maturity, and a continued focus on making the stories of my people, as I've experienced them, accessible and authentic.

This community of supporters...family, friends and poetry lovers has been a consistent and very generous source of affirmation and direction. I do not take this lightly or for granted in any way. I love this village and I feel led to reach out to you again as I push ahead with my plan to complete my seventh book.

I'm engaging in this new funding campaign because sharing my work with all of you has become such a strong and dynamic force in moving the poetry forward and assuring that it is both timely and topical. Admittedly, there are a lot of ways to publish on paper and electronically these days. I've tried my best to take a route that guarantees a high quality publication, solid promotional opportunities, and ready access to product across traditional distribution channels. 

I want to bring you an excellent artistic work, one which satisfies, edifies, and delights...I fully expect this book to open new doors and create a greater witness to what inspired, transformative poetry can do to help resurrect civil discourse, heal a broken nation, shift atmospheres, and lift up the beloved community.

If we can continue together on this journey, I promise that the end result will please, provoke, and entertain. This Brown Skin volume is on its way to being a full-throated expression of my mind, spirit, and soul as a poet. It is also a remarkable commentary on America at the crossroads of its own redemption as a global standard bearer for humanitarian values, social justice, and inclusive community.

As always, book rewards will attach to all donations of $25 or more. I love sending these new books out to my supporters and it expands the circle as you share the work with your own friends, family and connected poetry lovers. There are few substitutes for this direct engagement and declarative exchange. So let's gather together in this next partnership and agree to publicly declare that the work of your Brown-Skinned Poet has unique appeal, redeeming value, and a message that endures.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

TC the BSP