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 HuffPost Essay + More essays on Medium  + Still others scattered across the webiverse.

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History Lessons and Decompression

This is Sandro Rudan, who has lived several lives. He competed as an Olympic swimmer in Munich in 1972 - 100 meters and 200 meters freestyle (placed 6th)- and he won the bronze in 1971 along with the silver in 1975 during the Mediterranean Games. After his second life as a mathematician, he opened a farm-to-table restaurant. As much as I love storytelling, I love hearing other’s stories even more, and this guy has a treasure trove. 

                                                                                                                    Photo Hrvotski olimpijski odbur/Athletes database

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The Tamron Hall Show: Answers to your questions

I was delighted to have had the opportunity to appear on The Tamron Hall Show after HuffPost published my essay on being black in Boulder with a KKK member for a grandfather. As a singer-songwriter, I’ve been crazy fortunate to perform worldwide and have had national air time around Europe. Still, my experience on an American Emmy award-winning daytime talk show was considerably different. There are many things that there was no opportunity to express during my brief spot on Tamron’s show- too brief to unpack the many nuances in the essay, so I thought I’d address some questions and comments.


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Equanimity

As we near the end of this historic year,  thanks to one of those collaborations with the wonderful multi-instrumentalist Viktor Haraszti whose upcoming work focuses on this concept, I find myself reflecting on the Buddhist sublime virtue of equanimity. How can we maintain our equilibrium when being buffeted by so many opposing forces? Lisa Marie Simmons and Marco Cremaschini


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Yes Afro-Italians Exist ( & They’re Thriving )

So many still think of Italians as white. When I googled Afro-Italians for the first time, Google kept asking me, “Don’t you mean Afro-Latinos?” Google, seems you’ve lost the narrative. There are many Afro-Italian intellectuals and a great many writers who have been advocating for social change for years now, but it took the furor over George Floyd’s murder to bring the Afro-Italian movement to the attention of the mainstream here in Italy and beyond.

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A Black and White Tale of Two Cities

My maternal grandfather, who lived in Boulder, was rumored to be a Klan member. While he mellowed with age and forgave his rebellious daughter for marrying a black man and adopting black kids, his wife did not. My bestie, Lisa Bell, and I have recently written about our wildly different experiences growing up in Boulder in the same era. After reading our post we invite you to participate in a dialogue pertaining to your experiences either as a POC or, from our white friends, about your grappling with these questions regarding privileged bias and blinders.

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It's a lockdown life for us!

On March 13, 2020, my new album was set to be released on Ropeadope Records. With the arrival of Convid-19, I was forced to consider how best my time might be spent, in light of our release party/concert cancellation as well as all other gigs for the foreseeable future, while in quarantine. Like my colleagues who make their living mostly from live shows, it was daunting to imagine what this new reality would bring, in the short and long term.

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Little Bundle of Joy + Literary Icons = Ropeadope & Jaipur

So close, we are soooooo close. Ropeadope Records, my band and I have our own little bundle of joy about to be born and though I’ve got a few of those teeny birthing anxieties I’m mostly just excited af to get her out into the world and let her find her way. Some people have had a sneak peek...

Photo by Saviolam

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Dancing one step forward, two steps back

Reflecting on the past 10 years. To those who filled me up when I was running low, Thank you. All I strive for is to scatter beauty, seed joy, cultivate creativity and compassion - in the way that all of you have for me. I remain hopeful because today’s youth are fierce, committed, empathetic & motivated, demanding change every day & making strides. I remain hopeful because there are millions of people: like songwriter Peter Mulvey, artist Kayhan Irani, artist Millie Chen,  Pixar Wonder Woman Danielle Feinberg, poet Saul Williams - who outnumber the warmongers, the power-hungry, the racists, the tyrants, the misogynists, the homophobic, the bullies, the despots. We outnumber them. We can yet turn the tide. 

  Writing at Ritmo&Blu Studios in 2010.

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Giddy Giggly

There’s a part of me that just wants to move to a little house down the road from my mother in Shreveport and set up house, spend as many hours as I can making up for those lost. Hear her stories. Make her laugh. Learn each other. Then there’s that other thirsty part of me that is so excited, so giddy giggly with the way the NoteSpeak project is progressing.

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