I would demand a tree! I thought to myself as Faith Adiele read from her memoir essay at SOMArts’ latest baby: Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck.
I too had an absentee ballot for a dad. Although in my case I was lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) to still be on the continent of Africa with my mother’s people. Talk of bitter kola nuts, tubers of “real” yam, and sisters from spirit worlds had me missing my homeland, Ghana. I was right there with her as I imagined the sound of the ululations, and the knocking sound some of the words made as the women uttered them when Faith and her new-found sister strolled the streets.
I miss Ghana. Everyday! Moments like these– hearing other African writers read about the continent– take me back and make me miss it more. Later on in the evening, I played with sesame seeds, and tossed a few mini-sized Hersheys-kisses look-alikes into my mouth, all the while suspiciously eying the cinnamon bark being passed around. We were writing through sensory detail; I was thinking of millet, Golden Tree chocolates, and roots from the medicine woman’s jar. I guess Faith’s prompt worked. Even though I made a shameless plug for my latest anthology (AWWR), I didn’t have the guts to share my free write when it came time for the competition. aah well, another time I guess.
It was a great experience all around.
I want to thank the co-captains, Irina and Lex for birthing this brain child. And of course all the fun people who attended and brought good food. If you missed it, catch them next first Tuesday, February 1, 2011.
Be sure and also check out Faith Adiele’s main site.
Musings of An African Woman 
Loved the comments on the writing activity and the memories it triggered. I try to go to anything-Faith, but missed this, so thanks for sharing! Also — the anthology looks super.