Show from Wed Oct 24 11:02:15 CDT 2007
Author Robbie Ayele - Sankofa Literary Society Audio EzineLast program description:
About the Author Robbie Ayele and Owner of Chocolate Angel Publications...
Robbie Ayele has learned much in her 40 years on this planet. As someone who has survived a mentally abusive marriage, a divorce and the deaths of triplet baby boys, she has come through the fire still in one piece! On the brink of death, she chose life and went on to experience an amazing journey overseas that turned out to provide one of the greatest lessons in her life.
The journey began some time after Robbie was still working through the pain of her past when she met a handsome stranger in a Starbucks on Wisconsin Avenue in DC. Eight months later they were married and went to live in her husband's homeland, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was to be a one-year getaway, a break from the rat race and a chance to write full-time but once she saw her surroundings, she wondered if it would be nothing but a challenge.
Being an urban planner by trade, she could not wrap her mind around the hard conditions people had to live in. While there was a strong, growing middle class, there was also poverty and disease like she had never seen. There were parts of the City that were still war-torn. There were people struggling to walk on legs mangled and twisted due to diseases such as polio. But still there was an unusual spirit and strength burning in the eyes of the people.
She realized that most of the people were survivors like her. But they had managed to not only maintain a positive attitude but make lemons out of lemonade. From the six and seven-year old shoe shine boys to the poor peasants selling roasted ears of corn, they were making the best of life and feeling the joy. And even though they didn't have much in the material sense, they had something even more valuable - a close-knit community. And they were all in it together and determined to do better.
One day as she sat people-watching, she noticed people of the same sex strolling down the street linking arms and laughing. She leaned over and whispered to her husband that even through hellish situations, people found plenty to smile about. And suddenly it hit her that if they could be happy, why shouldn't she? Maybe she could really push aside the past and find joy again by appreciating what she did have - a great husband, a supportive and loving family and wonderful friends.
Robbie came back to the States inspired and ready to impart some of what she had learned. As a result she wrote her labor of love, Chocolate City Chronicles. It is a collection of moving yet powerful poems reflecting on urban life in America. Specifically it is about where a people have been, how they have forged on despite the obstacles, where they are right now and how they might find the joy again.
Robbie's goal is to show that even if people have been through hell, they have to stay focused and keep it moving. They have to strive to achieve their goals and remember who they are in the process. For her, this is her written ministry and a cleansing of her own soul.