Elsie Augustave: Discussion with a reader

Photo by Sabine Cherenfant

I met Elsie Augustave not too far from Times Square on a cold Thursday evening. She wore a black fur collar coat and held a canvas bag and a purse hinting at her life as a teacher at the Stuyvesant High School in New York. After a "quick" stop, we made our way to the last floor of a building to talk about her debut novel, The Roving Tree, published by Akashic Books.
The novel depicts the brief life of Iris, a young Haitian adopted at the age of five by a liberal American family in the ending years of the Civil Rights Movement. The book takes you to the course of her life as she struggles to fit in and reconnect with her past. She moves from one place to another, all in a subconscious search for identity. Many topics arose from the book– political struggle, racism, Africanism, cultural boundaries and the mere history of humanity.
"Iris is a survivor," concluded Augustave as we discussed this heroine's ability to rise above all challenges and keep her head high despite all traumas.
As a reader, you begin to admire Iris' strength, and her independence becomes inspiring.
Yet, ask Augustave her reason for writing this book and she won't have an answer. Truthfully, she just knew she wanted to write a book. She was not trying to convey a message. Rather, she wanted to express herself leaving the readers the choice to find their own message.
"It wasn't so much that I was going to write a book about this or that," she explained. "The first thing I decided was I was going to write a book. The second thing was 'what about?'"
That is where her strong interest in the Haitian culture and her experience spinning the globe came into play. They guided her in writing the novel.
Even though Augustave's life is distinct from the life of Iris's, they are both travelers and seekers in nature.
"our itineraries are the same," said Augustave who have traveled or lived in all of the places mentioned in the book. Life circumstances led Iris from Haiti to the United States to Senegal, Zaire and France.
I asked Augustave about her most memorable experience traveling to South America, West Africa and Europe, and she recounted her time studying anthropology and archeology in Colombia in the 1970's, stubbornly visiting San Basilio de Palenque, a village founded by escaped slaves, for her final project. The mayor of the village took her in since there was no hotel in this isolated but historical community near Cartagena.
Just like Iris, Augustave grew up in Haiti under the Duvalier era and left at a young age.
"I was much older than miss Iris," she said. "I must have been 12 or 13 years old. It was quite a different experience."
Iris lived in Westchester with her family. Augustave's family first moved in Spring Valley, where few Haitians lived at the time.
"There were only three families [then]," she remembered. Her sister, the son of her father's friend and she were the only Haitians in the school they enrolled in.
On weekends they would visit family members and friends in brooklyn and the city. Seeing how happy those visits made her sister and her, her parents decided to move closer to the city.
Moreover, in addition to their early move to the US, dancing also united Iris and Augustave. Dancing connected Iris to her culture and transported her to Zaire where the second part of the novel takes place. Dancing gave her a purpose. Dancing also connected Augustave to her culture.
"I started dancing in Haiti but nothing structured," said Augustave who used to participate in neighborhood plays in Cabaret, Haiti.
She took ballet and modern dance classes when she moved to the US, studying under a famous Haitian dancer and learning Katherine Dunham's techniques. Augustave went on to choreograph a major production for the National Dance Theater of Zaire.
She also found another way to reconnect with her culture when she received a grant from Howard University and traveled to Haiti for a summer to study Haitian folklore. She spent a large amount of time in the north of the country, attending voodoo ceremonies with a historian friend. That time will shape Iris's return to the land.
"I wanted to write about that kind of world where people believe in life under water," said Augustave. "Monn Neg is an invention of my imagination. I wanted Iris's experience as a Haitian to be from that world."
That supernatural world also feeds this search for identity. We talked about the global aspect of the book, the common need among African descents in the Americas to know the past.
Augustave, who is currently writing her second novel, previously stated writing as her mission.
"When something becomes an obsession, it has to be because it is something you're meant to do," she replied when I asked her to elaborate on writing being her mission. "I'd like to know I have written before I die."
She is a reader at heart though her busy life makes reading and leisure almost impossible.
"I haven't used the word fun in my vocabulary in so long," she joked.
Lastly, I asked her what would be her advice to young writers to which she replied, "... perseverance and discipline are the two most important qualities one needs to achieve a dream."
"You have to persevere," she added. "Your desire to achieve that dream should be stronger than any obstacle."

Moonlight and Mangos: The Artist

Photo by Sabine Cherenfant

"I finally know what I want to do when I grow up," the artist behind Moonlight and Mangos writes on her personal blog. "I want to color… Paint. Create… I am an artist…"

Her hair probably tied back or falling on the side, her sweats covered with a rainbow of paint colors, she leaves her garage door open to listen to the sound of the wind blowing through the entrance, the cars passing by and the birds singing their morning lullabies. She paints with no before-thought. She lets the brush take its own course because painting comes from within.

That's exactly what she tells her students from her art class at the 5 Star Sports and Entertainment Academy in New York. She refuses to dictate their drawings. Instead, she encourages them to let their feelings guide them.

The Artist, who prefers to remain nameless and refuses to be categorized, obtained her bachelor's degree in psychology and hopes to pursue a master's degree in art therapy.

"Painting is my therapy," she stated, and it was a part of her she kept private for a long time until a recent life transformation.

"Last year I fell in the street leaving SOBs," she recounted. "I broke my knee open. It was too wide to stitch and too deep to heal."

For six painful week, she was unable to work and stayed home while most of her loved ones turn their back on her.

"People don't understand how you could be so injured from a fall," she said. "They thought I was being a baby."

Confined to her home, painting was the only thing she could do. She never stopped painting from then on. She realized in life you can't rely on anyone. You have to take control of your life.

She hoarded all of her emotions in her paintings.

"I asked God 'why are you punishing me,'" she said. "[Then] I realized that it was not punishment rather something to make me stronger. I had to get up, get better and move on."

Looking back at the work she produced during that time, she remarks how different they are from her more recent work.

In her dearest painting, Mother Nature, a tear trickles on the right cheek of a mournful face.

"[Looking at it] I always go back the emotions I felt when I painted it," she confessed. This painting to her is an emotional photograph of her mindset during a painful time period.

As her emotion changed, her paintings became more vibrant, and as she became more confident in her work, she began to make it less private.

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you," she said quoting Maya Angelou. Aside from the paintings depicting the pain, she also wrote a poem, posted on her blog to remind her how far she has come.

Six months ago, she quit her job of 16 years as a lab technician to find more time doing what truly fulfills her as a person. Furthermore, this has allowed her to spend more time with her kids.

"you will never find happiness living someone else's life," she declared. "If something makes you miserable, get rid of it."

Optimism and the quest for happiness are her intents in life. This optimistic goal is unintentionally shown in her paintings almost never drawn with sharp edges and colored frequently with glitter. It is her way of making her paintings less threatening and bringing a little bit of optimism to the complex, dark emotions.

There seems to also be a correlation among the circular lines in her work, the name of her company and her personality.

"I can see the moon from my bedroom," said The Artist, who is a nocturnal woman.

In addition to paintings, she also has a collection of bottles, titled bottled emotions. She is also an interior, landscape and graphic designer, making promotion and invitation flyers. As a writer, she published two informational pieces on relationship on a blog and occasionally posts poems in her personal blog.

She is an innovative thinker and forward-minded artist, who stopped watching TV because of the vicious coverage of Haiti after the earthquake. Her free time is dedicated to her kids and her artistry.

"Sometimes, desperation is the best inspiration," she said regarding her ability to create art from nothing. Art crafts are expensive. Thus, she creates 3D art or mixed-media art from tiles, wood, glass, nail polish, hand sanitizer, stones, ink or anything else she could find around her.

Some of her paintings and bottles are sold on Etsy [click here to be directed to her shop]. On december 7th, she will have an art opening in NYC. Location and time are to be announced.

Her blog is filled with quotes from respected figures, such as Alice Walker, Pablo Neruda and Bob Ross. In fact, Bob Ross's quote, "whatever makes you happy, you put in your life," is her life mantra.
Sh strives to expand her knowledge of the world.

"What is the opposite of 'ignorance is bliss?'" She asked to explained the importance and effect of knowledge in our life.

Everything she does is to inspire emotional freedom, empowerment and strength.

"[In Haitian paintings], even if a woman is sad, her chin is always up," she pointed out. In her own painting, she emphasizes the strength of women. Eyes, which are the windows to the soul, are also an important aspect in her paintings.

She wants to transform her brand into a household name, while bringing other innovative Haitians together.

"Something I noticed is that Haitians are proud," she said. "[Moreover] our generation is our future."

Tanguy Exume: "My work is a reflection of who I am and who I want to be"

Photo provided by Tanguy Exume

"I like to see writing as a mirror... and as a writer I believe I am a mirror," revealed Tanguy Exume, a young and passionate Haitian writer with a fierce voice diffused through postcasts accompanied with soft melodies on his blog. "I absorb conversations, sounds and feelings. That's what I try to depict in my writings."
He becomes highly critical of his surroundings, fetching for bits and pieces that he stores for future creative work.
This love for writing mellowed while he lived in Montreal. Far from the homeland, conversations about Haiti erupted among Exume, his friends and his elders.
"...But when you're a kid, you are not heard," he explained, so he began to put his thoughts into papers transforming writing into his voice and bearing his multi-performed piece, Haiti Parle (Haiti Speaks). Yet this very love for writing started much earlier than that with teenage love letters to girls.
"You listen to songs," he divulged with a chuckle. "We didn't have internet back then, so you write lyrics and you start familiarizing yourself with how beautiful those lyrics are. But, more precisely, my love for writing comes from my father."
He described his father as a heavy reader and quoted, "I've never known my father without a book. He used to joke: 'When he's dead, the only thing that he would leave us is a bookshelf.'"
Through books, Exume noticed the important of literature in conveying messages. His goal is to send messages marked mostly by the political landscape and the strong sense of community and family in Haiti.
In the midst of the interview Exume remembered his earliest, most vivid memory as a 4-year old child on a troubled January 1986. His father and mother, then pregnant with Exume's younger brother, led him to a demonstration against Duvalier.
"I remember the day Jean-Claude Duvalier left," he related. "We were living on Rue Capois then, not too far from Palais National. We went out in the streets and chanted."
A song came to mind, and Exume began to sing: "Se nan riyel vayan ohhh! Yo tiye neg vanyan ohhh!"
This song, depicting the massacre of November 29, 1987, resounded in his mind as if it were yesterday.
In his household, the political and social situations in Haiti were the main topics. Under a sweltering sun, his brother and he, grey or brown from the soil, played soccer in the large backyard while the parents and friends from the balcony, discussed the political situation of Haiti.  Furthermore, outside was where most of his cherished and vibrant memories took place.
This desire to be outdoor stayed with him. Unable to write at home, he finds inspiration when he is outdoor.
Outside, little ideas pique his interest and develop into bigger ideas. Writing for Exume is a slow and meticulous task that takes time.

Photo provided by Tanguy Exume

His poem, Petit Pays, posted on his blog on July 29, 2013, engendered from a regular day of him listening to Cezaria Evora's song, Petit Pays. In this poem, he opines on the inequality between Creole and French and the complicated political situation in the country.
"Petit pays, petit pays, je t’aime beaucoup," he concludes in the poem because as he stated, "despite all this, you can't deny the love you have for this country."

Amid his purpose to describe the crude reality of Haiti, he recounts in Nan Fon Ke'm the pride of Haiti, the pride of being among the descendants of "those who helped Bolivia, nurtured minds like Guevara and Lumumba" ["Men tankou sa-a yo ki te ede Boliva,/ Ki te bwode lide Guevara ak Lumumba]. 

Yet, Exume, who is a multilayered writer, embraces diverse topics aside from Haiti. Questions, such as are we practicing what we preach?, are we happy? and can we believe we will not exist one day? are addressed in his works. 

In two of his poems, Perdu and Nan Yon Kafou, he invites his readers to travel inward and discover the different avenues of their mind. He uses the dilemmas that he faces and present them in his work.
His poem, C’était comme ça dans le temps, was triggered by a twofold question asked by one of his student: What is the difference between abortion and suicide? Isn't it the same thing? [the student gave him permission to write a poem based on the question]

Exume currently has two projects ready for publication. The first is a collection of 31 poems, titled Sur Mon 31, he wrote in 31 days for his 31st birthday. He will also produce a CD version with 12 or 13 of the poems. He intends to have a rap collaboration with Justin Mizzy Mejia on one of the poems. Exume previously recited a poem as the intro track of Mizzy's album, ComMiZZerate Your Soul (CYS).
The second project is a novel about a mathematician who, unable to find a pertinent job, worked at a call center and discovered another side of society. The title of the novel is, Le Centre, and the novel was revised by Gilbert Mirambeau Jr.
Soon, he will posting some of his performances on Youtube not for visual purposes but rather to give his audience a chance to see how he is on stage.
Exume is also venturing into Spanish while finding inspiration from the Chilean poet,  Pablo Neruda because of his ability to condense emotions and send it out to the world in the form of concise, powerful poems. However, his favorite poet remains Michel Welbeck. 

Upcoming singer/songwriter Sahri Theodore talks about her first EP

Photo provided by Sahri

With her first EP out TODAY, Sahri Theodore's (artistically known as Sahri) love for singing started a long time ago when she was just a little girl. She made friends and family members her audience and her home her stage. In 2009, she recorded her first songs and started working on her first EP two year later.
"The dates have been pushed back a lot of time,"explains Sahri. "I wanted to make sure everything was perfect."
After going through several titles for the EP, Sahri decided to name it "Notes".
"Every song tells a true story, whether mine or someone else's," Sahri explains regarding the reason for choosing this title. She often writes notes on her phone after listening to friends' stories or overhearing others' stories.
"It starts as a subject and becomes a whole song," she explains.
In addition, "Notes" stand for musical notes.
It will contain songs ranging from Pop to R&B with a little bit of soul.
"I want it to have... [at most] 10 songs," explains Sahri. Among the songs that will be part of the EP are "All of You," "In Lve," "She Isn't Me" and "Would You."
Sahri does not put herself in any category as an artist.
"I sing a little bit of Pop... some R&B," she says. "It depends on how I feel about the song."
Growing up, Sahri listened to French and Spanish singers, her mother's favorites. She was only exposed to Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston as American singers because they were the only ones her mother listened to.
"It's really Whitney Houston who started it for me," she states.
As a kid, she often interpreted Houston's songs. With a much spikier voice then, it was easy for her to sing her songs.
Nowadays, Sahri's vocal range is high.
"I can hold a note for a long time," she explains. She displays this ability in "All of You."
Sahri's goal is to become a better singer than her idol Beyonce.
"Your goal should always be [to be]better than the person you look up to," she explains. "Therefore, I want to be better than [she is]."
"I want to have enough impact that I'll be remembered long after I'm gone."

Jerry Laraque: Every Rap Song Is A Page of A Diary

Photo provided by Jerry Laraque

Tall, calm with a keen knowledge of Hip Hop, Jerry Laraque (Jey) is a rapper with a mission. Through his raps that he deems "more like a hobby," he relates his life and the social life in Haiti.
"I rap about everything that strikes me," said Jey. He embarked in this journey in 2002 when his friend, The Maestro, also known as T-Ansyto Mercier, established his record studio. Soon after, Jey had turned the studio into his second home. Everyday after school and work, he would come in to work on new records. By 2013, Laraque had recorded more than 20 songs.
He released about six songs, including the hit song Konpran mwen, found in the Envazyon mixtape by The Maestro and Aton.
He later joined Trafik, a rap band founded by The Maestro and comprised of Kadafi, Sila and Mad-C. With them, he released another successful song, titled Ke Solid.
Nonetheless, because of personal issues, he had to stop rapping for a while.
"[Going to the studio after work] was a sacrifice,"explained Jey.
Moreover, his band, Trafik, dissolved after the 2012 Haiti earthquake. Many of them left the country.
Eventually, Jey returned to the music scene. He is now working on a project, titled JeyDay, with Freday, another rapper. They are working on an album together and already have five songs ready.
"Before, I only recorded with T-Ansyto," said Jey. "[T-Ansyto] is now working on multiple projects; therefore I now work with multiple producers, which is good for my style. My style is more of a party thing."
He has also been featured in five commercials in Haiti.
"I've done commercials for Access Haiti, Toro (an energy drink) and King Cola," said Jey.
"I want to thank everyone who supported me, especially my mom and brothers," he added.
As an advice for all aspiring rappers, he concluded they "must strive and rap with love."

Get to Know Jasmine Tate and Help Her Raise $20,000 for Her Life and Love Album

Photo provided by Jasmine Tate

"A lot of times I tell people I'm a Christian who just happens to be an artist," said Jasmine Tate, an emerging singer/songwriter who recently debuted her first EP (Extended Playlist) at number nine on iTunes singer/songwriter chart.
"I stay away from saying I write Christian music," she explained. "I am simply inspired by the things that happen in everyday life, but I'm looking through a different lens. God is my muse."
Tate only picked up the guitar 4 years ago.
"A pretty crazy course of events led me to believe that I was supposed to pursue music," she said. "One day, I said yes to the call."
She remembered making that decision in her mentor's house in March of her freshman year. A week later, while she was in her room, she picked up her dusty guitar and started strumming chords that she'd never been able to play.
"My only explanation is that God taught me how to play the guitar," said Tate, who previously explained that she learned to play the guitar in a supernatural way.
Tate went on to write more than 100 songs, perform on TV and radio shows across the nation, gain popularity in her stance for social justice and win the 2012 Robert Morris University Idol, her Alma Mater.
During her senior year, she decided it was time to share these songs with the public.
"Some friends of mine have a studio in Pittsburgh," said Jasmine. She was able to record four older songs and a new song for the EP there in Skyline Studios.
The recorded songs were then sent to Los Angeles to a friend who works with some well-known artists for the mixing and mastering portion of pre-production for The Jasmine Tate EP. When the finished product was sent back, it was submitted to iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and a few other online stores.
"[The executive producer] invested a lot of money into the project," she revealed referring to a family friend. "He truly believes in my work and the vision I have for my music."
Last weekend was the first radio play of The Jasmine Tate EP on 91.3 WYEP. In addition, on June 20th, she started a Kickstarter Project, called Life and Love project, to raise $20,000 to produce a full length album that will be titled Life and Love. The fundraising money will also help produce a mini video series that will tell the stories of various individuals through the lenses of each song on the album. It will also help her embark on her first tour, in which she hopes provide a platform for upcoming artists across the nation. The Kickstarter Project will end on July 20th.
Aside from her musical talent, Jasmine was a point guard for the Robert Morris University women's basketball team and served as the 2012-2013 senior captain of the team. She also won the Rising Star Award, Professional Focus Award, Signature Leadership Award and Renaissance Award for her academic performance and involvement within the school and community.Please click here to be directed to her website and click here to purchase her EP on iTunes.

Pittsburgh emerging designer: Beth Shari

Beth Shari, former Point Park University graduate with a degree in technical theater and an emphasis on costume design, opens up about her passion for designing.
With her main aspiration being lingerie designing, Beth also designs ballroom dance costumes, and designs for theater.
"Silk and Satin are great for my vintage inspired designs," she explains. "They hug the body well."
However, she does not only limit herself to these two fabrics.
"I'm definitely a fabric junky," she says.
It is a lovely recreation for her to visit a fabric store and explore new materials for her designs.
"Things will inspire me by what I touch," she explains.
Occasionally, Beth also works on other concepts to create. For instance, she recently designed the bridal dress for a friend's beach wedding, and worked on a client's daughter's first communion dress. Right now, Beth has only a handful of clients who are all located in Pittsburgh.

To collect more clients this summer, she plans on hosting a fashion show in which she will show 10 pieces of her lingerie designs.
"We're thinking some time in July," she states regarding the date for the event. For now, she is working with a location to host it.

Aside from designing, Beth finds herself busy with other projects.
"I do several different things," she says.
She has been doing her one-woman show, Carousel of Costumes~Variety Show, for the past three years. She entertains at private parties or senior facilities by dressing up as different characters, such as Betty Boop, Marilyn Monroe and Mae West, and interpreting them (dances and sings like them).
She also does face painting at KinderCare facilities in the Western Pennsylvania, and at different festivals during the summer. She has created her "Pixie Painter" character for these events.
"Each thing has its own joy," she affirms. For example, Beth enjoys bringing good memories to the seniors.
As of now, Beth works at home. However, she hopes to grow her designing company in the future.
"I would like to be designing for Christina Aguilera," she jokes. "I would like to be established enough where I would have a nice clientele and do what I love."

Photo provided by Beth Shari

Photo provided by Beth Shari

How to be a musician and a professor- Heather Pinson

Photo provided by Heather Pinson

"In American culture, it's very important to have [kids] involved in as many different things as possible," Heather Pinson explained on the many activities she was involved in as a kid. Her parents enrolled her in different sports, music and ballet classes. Nevertheless, she quitted many of them out of a lack of interest.
"I was nine when I started playing violin," she went on, also admitted jokingly to being a late starter. "I started reading Sherlock Holmes, and he played the violin. I wanted to be like him so I decided to keep up with it."
she went on to study music in college with an emphasis in performance making the violin an even bigger part of her life.
"I practiced a lot in college," she narrated. "We played music about seven hours a day from orchestra to string quartet to chamber music."
That's when she started experiencing excruciating pain in her left wrist, which led her to see a doctor and realize she had Keinbock's disease, a disorder of the wrist.
"It is a disorder where your bones don't grow the same length, which causes pain when you turn your wrist around to play the violin," Pinson explained. "They had to remove part of the bone to make them the same length."
"I had to take a year off of playing," she said. "I lost my voice. I still went to college, but I couldn't play classical music."
"I still went to orchestra and chamber music, and I just sat there. I couldn't play. That's when I started learning jazz."
... And thus began Pinson's journey in jazz, regaining her voice from this genre of music. Jazz gave her more control over the musical notes, and therefore she could alternate the notes she couldn't play, an exercise impossible in classical music.
"Jazz was to me like a beautiful exotic woman I didn't know anything about," Pinson cleverly illustrated. "I would go to jazz clubs wondering why they are clapping in the middle of the song. That's what you do in jazz. You clap after the soloist plays his or her performance."
"It was so odd and fascinating because it was so different from anything I grew up with, and I learned it in the clubs," she added. "My teacher would be the guy playing the horn in the house band. He would show me a couple of notes here and there every night. They were very patient with me and told me what I was doing wrong."
After graduating college, Pinson moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana  to attend a graduate program in music history in Louisiana State University. One of her teachers who understood her love for jazz, let her join his jazz band.
"He didn't know where the hell to put me because there's no violin [in jazz]," she said between a chuckle.
He let her play the part of the third trumpet on her violin, which gave her freedom to improvise on the notes. She joked about how horrible she was at the beginning, yet her determination led her to other gigs in country, rock and zydeco bands.
Nowadays, Pinson plays in two bands, Antz Marching band, a Dave Matthews cover band and The Fabulous Gunslingers, a country band she joined a month ago.
"I have to learn their music," she said referring to the latter band. She held up three sheets of paper with a long list of songs for me to see.
She is also the interim department head of communication at Robert Morris University and a faculty member.
During the time she is not teaching, administrating or playing music, Pinson volunteers as a board member for the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. She also works with "poetry reading, the art group and the music group in Pittsburgh."
"It takes a lot of time, but you build up [your network] that way," she confessed.
She does her best to juggle between all of those obligations.
"I can do this with the amount of energy I have right now. The music is my relief from work."
"I think music is important because it enriches one's life," she stated.
She advised aspiring musicians to be flexible and to have a backup plan. For instance, her first years as a musician, Pinson taught violin to support herself.
"In music, you have to be able to teach, compose, perform and play in all venues," she concluded.