I was at the tale end of recovering from some deeply personal challenges when I joined the workshop last year and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done, because in addition to my actual therapy session, meeting online with Kevin and nearly 200 other writers/artists every Tuesday was so cathartic for me. Not only is Kevin is very serious about establishing a safe, respectful, sacred space and enforcing the mantra of “I am a writer” for those of us in doubt but he is also adamant that we learn all aspects of the business side of writing in addition to the creative process. He moderates the space in a way that allows us to collaborate and create as equally as we would like. And man, what a time 2020 was! It was so good to be in that space each week to unpack and discuss the impact the events of that year had on us all. For me, it was mostly about listening, being inspired and giving feedback in the chat.

It was around the last few sessions in January I think that Kevin mentioned that a few people wanted to publish a book of our writings about the events of 2020. Cut to February 2021 in an insane record turn around time of about 3 months, and the tireless work of many voluntary editors and we not only have a book of poetry, essays, blog pieces and more, but Nikki Giovanni, V (Formerly Eve Ensler) Tim Wise and more are featured alongside us! These legends were all present during a book launch Zoom party we attended a week ago and it was fucking amazing! There were amazing readings, a dope DJ, dancing, just fantastic loving vibes.

My copy of “2020, The Year That Changed America” arrived last week. It is 429 pages long and available for sale on Amazon. Get your copy here. I’m very proud of it and I look forward to reading every single piece .

The second round of writing workshops started yesterday. If you or anyone you know would like to join, you can do so for free here. It’s fantastic space for writers of all levels. We also have a Facebook group if you’re so inclined.

Last night Kevin prompted us all to set writing goals for 2021 and one of mine is to publish a blog entry here once a week. I mean I record and edit two video a week for my youtube channel! Why not? I’ve made promises like this to myself before though, and failed to produce, not from a lack of ideas but from the inability to breakdown too many ideas. So I think my other goal has to be a commitment to being decisive, picking one thing from the many and sticking with it no matter what. In my case, I’ll be picking one thing in multiple realms of my chosen forms of expression and hoping to pull them together to produce something meaningful and impactful both for myself and others.