Welcome to Love's Troubadours, a
Lorraine Hansberry-inspired novel series about people learning and living as they love.Ananda
Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke (www.anandaleeke.com) is the author of the series. Click here to find out how it was made: www.lovestroubadours.com/id7.html.
The first book in the Love's Troubadours'
series is entitled Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One (iUniverse,
Inc. - August 2007). It tells the story of Karma Francois, a thirtysomething Oakland-born BoHo B.A.P.
(Bohemian Black American Princess) with Louisiana roots and urban debutante flair. The novel begins with Karma's
life in an uproar. 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 - Karma: Book One is available on Amazon.com for $20.95. To purchase a copy, click on the link below.
Happy New Year! Jumpstart January by tuning into BAP Living Radio
Tune into the January 4th episode of BAP Living Radio at 7:00 pm EST for a discussion
on "Soulful Living: Wisdom on How to Live Your Best Life in 2009." Dr. Anita Davis DeFoe, an author and entrepreneur, will be interviewed about her book A Woman's Guide
to Soulful Living. For more information, visit www.dranitadavisdefoe.com/home.html. Click here to listen to the show: www.talkshoe.com/tc/18598.
Mark your calendars for two special episodes of BAP Living Radio on:
1) January 8th from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm EST - The theme is "Yes We Did Elect President Obama: What's
Next Black Women?" The guest is Delores Rozier,
an executive coach and campaign volunteer for President-Elect Obama in South
Carolina. Click here to listen to the show: www.talkshoe.com/tc/18598.
2) January 28th from 7:00 pm to 8:00
pm EST - The theme is "The Sweet Spot of Sisterhood." The guests are Toni Dutton Butler, CEO of A Silver Thread, Inc., a consulting firm
that specializes in organizational development and executive coaching with an emphasis on the spiritual development of women
of color, and Reverend Ruth Littlejohn, a consultant, coach, speaker, and diversity practitioner. Her consulting practice,
Working Life & Teams, Inc., helps organizations navigate change, enlist employees in their organizational goals, facilitate
leadership
development, and improve decision-making and communication skills. For more information, visit www.ruthlittlejohn.com. Click here to listen to the show: www.talkshoe.com/tc/18598.
Love's Troubadours' Favorite Museum Curator Thelma Golden is featured in The Nation
Groovy News! I just learned that the December 29th issue
of The Nation features an article about one of my all-time favorite curators, Thelma Golden. It is entitled "Back Talk:
Thelma Golden." Christine Smallwood wrote the article and gave Golden an opportunity to share her views as the director
of the Studio Museum in Harlem (http://www.studiomuseum.org/). She also comments on gentrification, MFA burnouts and how artworks speak to us. Click here to read a short blurb about
the article: www.thenation.com/doc/20081229/smallwood. Be sure to check out the photograph of Adrian Bellesguard's artwork illustrating Golden.
Golden is one of
my personal favorites because her 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 debut novel, Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One (www.lovestroubadours.com). 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 my fiction. I used Golden's early career to shape the art curator/consultant
career of my main character Karma Francois in Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One. Click here to learn about Karma: www.lovestroubadours.com/id6.html.
Has Artist/Author Ananda Leeke's work made a difference
in your life this year? If yes, then click on the PayPal button above
and make a donation to Kiamsha.com, LLC, Leeke's healing arts company. PayPal offers Visa, MasterCard, and American Express
secured payment options.It also offers a PayPal card that you can use for other purchases. Many thanks
in advance for your gift. It is greatly appreciated!
Kiamsha.com, LLC promotes creativity through coaching
and expressive arts, teaches contemplative practices (i.e. yoga, Reiki healing touch, meditation, breathing exercises, journaling,
affirmations, and prayer), and builds community that awakens your soul and transforms your life.
AKOMA is a Ghanaian Andinkra symbol that represents the heart and
means keep an open heart filled with compassion.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud It
is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil,
but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
WHAT IS LOVE'S
TROUBADOURS?
Love's Troubadoursis a healing fiction series that features stories told by people who are learning and living as they
love. The healing fiction series is deeply rooted in the storytelling traditions of the West African griot and troubadours
of the French Middle Ages. To learn more about these traditions, read the sections below.
Senegalese Griot, 1890
WHAT IS A GRIOT?
A griot is a West African poet, storyteller, historian, advisor, arbitrator, and wandering musician
who serves as a repository of oral history tradition. Griots are walking history books who memorize traditional songs
and teachings, folktales, cultural history, and family relationships. This information is passed down through generations. Griots
also marry them with current events and chance incidents to create praise songs and stories with wisdom teachings, comic relief
and satire, political commentary, and gossip. Today, griots live in Senegal, Mali, Gambia, and Guinea. They are present among
the Wolof, Serer, Mande, Malinke, Bambara, Fula, Tukuloor, Wolof, and Mauritanian people. There are several African names
for griots including jeli (a word that means "blood in the Manika language that is derived from ; northern Mande areas),
jali (southern Mande areas), guewel (Wolof), gawlo (Pulaar, a Fula language), and igiiw (Hassaniyya, an Arabic language).
WHAT IS A TROUBADOUR?
Troubadour is derived from an Old French word "trobador" which comes
from the verb "trobar" that means to invent or compose. When you put it all together, troubadour refers to a composer
and performer of lyric poetry. The French Middle Ages (1100-1350) gave birth to the troubadour tradition in the eleventh century.
The tradition defined troubadour lyric as poetical, rhetorical, and musical fiction. They dealt mainly with themes of courtly
love, chivalry, nature, life, and death. Most troubadour lyrics were metaphysical, intellectual, and formulaic. They also
included many genres including alba (morning song - the song of a lover as dawn approaches, often with a watchman warning
of the approach of a lady's jealous husband), canso or canço (the love song, usually consisting of five or six
stanzas), dansa or balada (a dance song with a refrain) ensenhamen (a long didactic poem, usually not divided into stanzas,
teaching a moral or practical lesson), enuig (a poem expressing indignation or feelings of insult), escondig (a lover's
apology), partimen (a poetical exchange between two or more poets in which one is presented with a dilemma by another and
responds), planh (a lament, especially on the death of some important figure), salut d'amor (a love letter addressed to
another, not always one's lover), and tenso (a poetical debate which was usually an exchange between two poets, but could
be fictional).
ODO NNYEW FIE KWAN is a Ghanaian Andinkra symbol that means the power of love.
Copyright 2009-2012 by Madelyn C. Leeke. All rights reserved.
The
slogans "Love's Troubadours"; "Be love, love light, and live as the spirit of life"; "YOGA is Your
Opportunity to Graciously Accept yourself"; "Honey I'm OM"; "OM on My Mind"; "Our Womanist Spirit";
"BAP Living"; "Black American Princess...BAP Being At Peace"; "Sisterhood, the Blog"; “Ananda
Leeke TV”; “The Ananda Leeke Radio Show”; and "That Which Awakens Me" are the intellectual property of
Kiamsha.com, LLC. They may not be used without the prior consent or licensing by Kiamsha.com, LLC.
