Dear Reader,

It has been an action-packed couple of weeks so I apologize for not keeping you updated with the goings-on in my writing life.

But you know you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter, right?

So the thing I want to write about and tell you right now that’s super cool is The Colony, sponsored by VIP Arts Houston.  

The Colony brings together all writers of color across the city and provides and shares resources to writers to help with their career. There’s a quarterly meeting of The Colony and the first meeting was all love and getting to know everyone.

Here’s a couple of things that I learned:

• Damn there’s a lot of writers of color in Houston
• Everyone is open to sharing about publications and readings
• There are screenwriters and THAT is amazing. I want to see their films.
• No one lives on my side of town. Most of the writers that day live inside The Loop.
• How freaking empowering to see us all in one room.
• All in one room. One large room in the main library of the fourth largest city in the country.
• How are we not more dominant in Houston letters? How are we not more out there and more well known? Why is it only a few of us get to have the careers and they others get to look wistfully from metaphorical sidelines?

I’m thinking that’s why The Colony exists. And it should. And I’m happy it is.

Houston is one of the most literary cities in America. We’re the little-known secret. When you think literary, you think New York (of course), Los Angeles (sure) but Houston…never. And that’s unfortunate.

The homegrown talent needs to shine and it looks like it’s our time to shine…for in this case buzz.

Buzzing along,

-Icess