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| Author Ananda Leeke and HKB FiNN touring London |
Excerpt from Author Interview conducted by London composer and musician
HKB FiNN (www.myspace.com/hkbfinn01 or www.hkbfinn.com)
Last year, Myspace, the social networking web site that connects music lovers to composers/spoken word artists/musicians
like myself, became the tool that connected me to my dear sistalove Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke. She learned about my music
while surfing Myspace and listening to Tunde Jegede's music.
With one click, our lives changed. She began
to order my CDs which never made it to her in a timely fashion. So I had to resend them several times. Each week, we corresponded
to confirm receipt of the packages. Our e-mail discussions deepened with Ananda sharing how much my music impacted her. Then
she started writing poetry about my music. I was blown away by this sista's talent. Our dialogue and connection grew when
Ananda asked me about Black British history and to help her identify hotels for her London summer holiday. The more that we
conversed via e-mail, the more that I realized that we were becoming kindred spirits.
This summer, I was blessed
to meet my kindred spirit sista in person when she and her cousin Sharon traveled to London. I had an opportunity to show
them around London. While we hung out at the British Film Institute and walked along the Southbank Centre, we talked about
Ananda's new book Love's Troubadours - Karma Book One which was recently published by iUniverse. It is now available
on Amazon.com.uk.
I was fascinated by the way Ananda used her novel to create an African Diaspora collage
of culture, music, art, spiritual practices, and healing that include a cast of complex characters. She even managed to include
a London-born Black man with Indian roots as the main character's brother and shout outs to British musicians such as
my partner Tunde Jegede, Julie Dexter, Omar, Sting, and yours truly. Recently, I had a chance to interview Ananda about her
novel and writing process. Check out our interview below.
HKBF: What inspired you to write Love Troubadours
- Karma: Book One?
AL: After reading bell hooks' Salvation: Black People and Love, I
felt a deep calling to write stories and create art that emphasize how African Americans use love as a tool for building and
sustaining positive self-love, self-esteem, and healthy, loving relationships with their mates, children, families, friends,
and communities.
HKBF: Could you give us a description of the novel?
AL:
Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One tells the story of Karma Francois, a thirty-something, California-born BoHo
BAP (Bohemian Black American Princess) with Louisiana roots and urban debutante flair. Her life has suddenly taken a drastic
turn. Her relationships and the museum curator career that she struggled to form in New York City have crumbled, leaving no
viable options to rebuild. Relocating to Washington, DC, Karma struggles with denial, depression, and debt. A lack of full-time
employment opportunities forces her to craft a gypsy existence as a Jill of Many Trades: yoga teacher, art consultant, and
freelance curator at Howard University Gallery of Art. Unable and unwilling to appreciate these jobs as gifts, she wallows
in a pool of lost identity-and doesn't see a way to keep from drowning. When she looks in the mirror, Karma sees a woman
whose choices have dishonored her true character. Now, for the first time in her life, Karma must learn to see herself for
who she really is. Love's Troubadours reveals how our everyday decisions affect our future and explores the healing
power of love.
HKBF: Why did you create the main character Karma as a museum curator and
art consultant?
AL: I created these careers for Karma because I wanted to show an African American
woman pursuing employment opportunities in an overwhelming white male world. Sistaloves who walk the museum curator and art
consultant career paths don't always receive a lot of positive media attention for their expertise, talents, and efforts
in bringing the voice of artists into the light of the world. I figured that I could give them a huge shout out in my book
and open the eyes of folks, specifically women of color, about career opportunities in the art world. Looking back, I realize
that the seed for this idea was planted while watching one of my favorite television shows, A Different World. I was always
fascinated by the corporate art buyer career that the character Whitley pursued. As a result, I started following the different
paths women of African descent such as Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, took in the
art world. Golden's curatorial career at the Studio and Whitney Museums, and the artists that she selected to participate
in exhibitions, expanded my awareness and appreciation of contemporary African American art and artists of African descent.
Thank goodness for her efforts in promoting art that pushes the envelope of race and gender. Because of Golden, I developed
a passion for the work of African American artist Kara Walker and Black British artist Chris Ofili, two artists that I feature
in my novel. Her commitment to build an institution that celebrates and exhibits groundbreaking artists of African descent
affirms my commitment to show this powerful body of work in fiction.
HKBF: Why did you select
healing and spirituality as core themes in the lives of your characters?
AL: I selected these themes
because they dominate my life. I wrote about characters that resemble myself and those who share my sacred space. I think
there is a need to see more images of people embracing their own healing and spirituality. I also wanted to encourage people
to tap into their own spirits and open up to healing tools to make their lives better.
HKBF:
Why does your novel emphasize a diversity of loving relationships in the African American community?
AL: People of African descent love in many ways. Our families are unique. I wanted to show how beautiful our love and lives
are. I wanted to affirm and celebrate straight, lesbian, and gay loving relationships. My prayer is that we all accept ourselves
and each other as we live and love in different ways with the understanding that we are all connected through divine love.
HKBF: What motivated you to use your book as a platform to discuss health challenges that impact
Black communities such as HIV/AIDS and sarcoidosis?
AL: My work as an artist-in-residence at Smith
Farm Center for Healing and the Arts at Howard University Hospital and volunteer service at The Women's Collective, a
direct services organization that supports women living with HIV/AIDS in Washington, DC, convinced me that we need to use
creative ways to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. The impact that HIV/AIDS is having on the lives of Black women around the
world is tremendously devastating. I highlighted sarcoidosis because my best friend and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority sister Kamaria
learned that she had it in 2004. Sarcoidosis is a disease of unknown cause in which inflammation occurs in the lymph nodes,
lungs, liver, eyes, skin, or other tissues. This health challenge changed the landscape of her life. She has utilized this
experience as an opportunity to rebuild her life from the inside out. Kamaria has taught me how important it is to surrender
to Spirit and to take care of my health by maintaining balance. My friend Natalie has lived with sarcoidosis in London for
several years. She has been able to manage her health challenge with alternative therapies like acupuncture. Her quality of
life has improved and now includes a loving relationship with her life partner and newborn baby. Natalie reminds me how important
it is to believe in yourself and trust your intuition in all areas of your life.
HKBF: Why did
you emphasize several characters' cultural ties to Cuba, Haiti, England, India, Peru, Mexico, South Africa, and Russia?
AL: I wanted to show the multi-layered identities and cultural ties that people of African descent possess.
I think writers of African descent need to do this more because we don't always see positive images of our uniqueness
in fiction, film, and art. I basically created the world I want to live in. My prayer is that our community and the world
learns about and celebrates our rich heritage, beauty, brilliance, and presence.
HKBF: Music
plays a major role in your novel. What musical artists do you feature in your novel?
AL: I feature
your music with Katch 22 and the music of Tunde Jegede, Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Sting, Deva Premal,
India.Arie, Amel Larrieux, Omar, Eric Roberson, Fertile Ground, Julie Dexter, Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Les Nubians, Stevie
Wonder, Omar Sosa, Susana Baca, and others.
HKBF: What role does poetry and spoken word play
in your novel?
AL: Poetry and spoken word are included in several chapters because they help Karma
get in touch with her emotions and the issues she has been running from. She is able to release a lot of her anger through
her poetry. The spoken word events demonstrate how powerful words are. They give Karma's truth and choices a life of their
own. They also show the power of community when women come together in a sacred space to affirm their creativity, emotions,
experiences, and spirits.
HKBF: How long did it take you to write the novel? What did it involve
preparing for it?
AL: It took me ten years to complete the novel. First and foremost it involved
surrendering and opening to Spirit. I learned that I had to let go of my ego and need to control the process. This lesson
appeared in several stages of writing and publishing the book. To be honest, it still appears. It looks like it will be a
lifelong lesson in my creative journey. Faith in Spirit and myself to complete the writing process was the second part of
the preparation process. Understanding and giving thanks that I could not give birth to this book without the support of Spirit
and others was the third part. Having patience with myself and others who helped me in the process was the fourth part. The
fifth part was being willing to delve into and resolve my own emotions, fears, and experiences so that I could create the
emotional and spiritual architecture of some of the characters. The sixth part was realizing that NO work of art made by human
hand is perfect. That's what makes it so humbling. That's why it forces one to let it go and allow it to be what it
is supposed to be -- a gift from Spirit delivered through a human being to other human beings who are supposed to receive
it. The seventh part of the preparation was learning how to use meditation, yoga, reiki healing touch, acupuncture, collage-making,
painting, and silence in nature to relax and open to divine guidance on listening to the characters and telling their stories
according to Spirit's will. Reading books, magazines, blogs, prayers, wisdom teachings, quotes, and poetry that influenced
how I told the story and described the characters was the eighth part of the preparation. Living on a budget and working with
my financial advisor to develop a plan to pay for the self-publication of the book was the ninth part of the preparation.
The tenth part of the preparation was finalizing the legal and financial structure of my business so I could be ready to handle
life after writing the first book.
HKBF: When did you realize you were
a writer?
AL: I realized that I was a writer when I was 11. I was good at making greeting cards and
writing messages and poetry in them. It all came so easy to me. It was natural.
HKBF: What does
writing mean to you?
AL: Writing is a gift from Spirit that allows me to express emotions, beliefs,
joys, fears, dreams, and experiences.
HKBF: Do you have a process that you use to write your
novels, poetry, etc.?
AL: My process starts with surrendering my will to Spirit, trusting the process,
and listening to my inner wisdom. As my creative journey moves along, I take time to step away from the work by praying, singing,
chanting, practicing yoga and meditation, walking and running in nature, drinking tea, reading magazines and books, listening
and dancing to music, fasting from food, sitting in cafes and eavesdropping, and going to the movies. I do these things to
keep myself relaxed and balanced. The more relaxed and balanced I feel, the better I write. I use whatever I am called to
in the moment.
HKBF: Who are your favorite writers?
AL: My favorite
writers include the Buddha, Lorraine Hansberry, bell hooks, Thich Nhat Hahn, Pema Chodron, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Myrtle
Filmore, Susan L. Taylor, Jane Austin, Rumi, Isabel Allende, Caroline Shola Arewa, Toni Cade Bambara, Jewel Parker Rhodes,
Audre Lorde, Catherine Ponder, Don Miguel Ruiz, Tim'm West, Ntozake Shange, Ernest Holmes, Iyanla Vanzant, Kevin Powell,
E. Ethelbert Miller, Toni Blackman, Mark Anthony Neal, Tricia Rose, Queen Afua, Veronica Chambers, Monique Greenwood, Zora
Neale Hurston, and Langston Hughes.
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