Kita Kamakura Writers’ Workshop

Delighted I got invited to take part in the Kita Kamakura Writers’ Workshop March 21, 2026. I climbed a lot of beautiful green hills (giving my legs an enormous workout) to get to the home of Duncan Whom (aka D Whom, a performance artist, filmmaker and dancer), filled with bottles of perfume because his partner, Neil Chapman, is a scent specialist. We also got taken on another walk around the area, uphill much of the way, to finally see a lake, which had been hidden. Although not articulated, it was part of the workshop to do all this obviously, to feel through our muscles that nothing comes without work. As a reward, we got very nice food, including couscous I hadn’t had in a while, but was marvelous with salad with cheese, and wine.

Last but not least, I got to read my essay, “Why Butterfly Should Stop Committing Literary Harakiri,” published in “Bigotry on Broadway,” Baraka Books, 2021. I hadn’t looked at that piece in a while, and of course never shared it. I have finally come to terms with what I have written, feel and want to tell the world _ everyone _ and our legacy. Racism is wrong, no matter what. But the fight can be meaningful, creative, even redemptive. I was filled with gratitude toward the hosts, the other writers who were there and shared their work, as well as to Ishmael Reed and Carla Blank, who put together the book, in which my work was published. And to the world of artists in general.