Happy Sunday, Good People!

As many of us begin to think about “The Advent,” an important moment in Christianity’s sacred calendar, I wrote a poem this morning about the mystery of the incarnation, in which God in the person of Jesus became a human being to redeem all children of God. I named this new poem “The Migration of a Star.” Happy reading!

“The Migration of a Star: A Noël Poem”

The Divine touched the earth by giving us a star
to behold and light our path.
Its origin is as ancient as the oldest galaxy,
greater than the big bang of life force.
Securing in its hands are many gifts for all God’s children:
Bethlehem joy in the time of sorrow
Mighty comfort in moments of trouble
Just liberation for tomorrow.
We followed its lead
and learned to walk by its side:
one step toward its love,
two steps to touch its heart,
three steps until we become one.

Our eyes were watching the star
not to overcome it, but to welcome its joy into our homes.
We became anxious by its proximity,
and willingness to find another home.
It moved gently and kissed the dust tracks of life,
transforming them to glory on high,
birthing new children of grace to the Father on high,
with the gentle touch of the Spirit of love.

We marvelled and lost track of time.
It holds eternity in its right hand,
our life through time that will never end.
The star filled the vast space in which it migrated:
abandoned corners of the earth renewed,
hidden spaces made visible,
erased sins with the pencil of God.
Our eyes were watching God, Three in One,
becoming a star to give us light and redemption.

I wrote this new poem tonight just a few hours after I had my booster shot. Lol
I gave it a name: “The end of a Rainbow.”
Happy reading, Good People!

“The end of a Rainbow”

You are the end of the rainbow
my heart is trapped with your soul
unable to cross over the other world
to be in your endless weekends
falling under the hypnotic spell of your romance
to reach the rainy season of life
the dark kiss of the bluest star

You are the custodian of the moon
the physical entrance to heaven’s gate
You are an island oasis, my raindrop pearl.
Your imagination is like the aroma of passion fruit flowers,
the delight of Baobab trees
that defy the drought of my soul.
I compare you to a living fossil that sustains life in me,
and prolongs human existence in the outside world
You, the leaves of Maple that glisten with different colors of love: green, crimson, russet…
I relax in your bungalow of care
finding you is like finding the end of a rainbow

You are the shelter of the soul
looking at you makes me marvel where eternity begins
why the Ginkgo tree drops beautiful yellow leaves in the morning
why the birds sing during the midnight hour
I am inspired by your golden sunflower
to rest in the warmth of the sun of your skin
I crush on this fun fragrance of you
and dream of happy days with you
You are the end of a rainbow.

I spent the entire night working on a new poem. I gave it this name: “In the Shadow of Your Love”

In the shadow of your love
Love of stronger sea waves,
more secure than the umbilical cord of life,
more robust than the firmness of Samson.
Love that beats faster than the Queen of Sheba’s heart,
more inviting than her Black caress to the King,
seducing all young lovers to fall,
L’ Abri of dehydrated souls, rest and refresh.

In the shadow of your love
Love of ancestral past,
memories that will last,
steadfast like the brute fire force of Ogoun,
transcending the wisdom of Athena,
more beautiful than the beauty of Aphrodite.
Love that does not give up nor give in.

In the shadow of your love
Love of powerhouse of life,
upholding all powerhouse girls in light,
the shield of Harlem night dancers, delight and candlelight,
supporting all women to shine and be themselves.
Love that carries human joys and charms to the stars.

In the shadow of your love
Love of one thousand rainfalls,
make our life blossom for a thousand years,
manifest our dreams to create the life you love,
You, the guardian of my destiny,
the name of my rose,
the clarity of my passion,
come back to me to live without shame
our story can resume in the name of love
lead me to walk in the shadow of your love.

“The Editorial Scholar”

I am pleased to announce the opening of our new business: “The Editorial Scholar Proofreading Services Inc.” (a.k.a. “The Editorial Scholar”).

About us

“We are a team of professionals who provide professional proofreading and editing services in various disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences. We also coach and mentor individuals who are writing academic essays, dissertations, and books in the form of writing workshops, self-publishing workshops, and effective writing practices tutorials. Our skilled and experienced editors are dedicated educators and experts in their respective academic discipline. They hold PhD degrees in English, Literary Studies, History, and Humanities. All of them are published authors and currently serving as professors in their discipline of study; they have taught English, Literature, Composition, Rhetoric, ESOL, History, French, and other subjects. They are multilingual educators and writers who have worked with various writing styles or standards.

At The Editorial Scholar, we deliver outstanding results across five key business ideas: customer satisfaction, professionalism, rigor, quality, and affordability. We offer a variety of services to meet the demands and needs of our clients. Please take the time to browse our well-informed website and do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions. We look forward to serving you and “ensuring the tone of your prose fulfills its purpose & reaches its destination.”

Please visit our new website to learn more about our proofreading and editorial services and how we can serve you:
https://theeditorialscholar.com/

“I had a GOOD Day Today”

My copy editor from Wipf and Stock Publishers informed me yesterday that he finished assessing my manuscript/book, in which I bring theological (and religious) education in conversation with the issues of hermeneutics, democracy, diversity, and human flourishing. He also noted that the manuscript will now move to scheduling. That made my day, Good people!

The idea of this book came to me 19 years ago during my second semester in seminary while I was working on my Master of Divinity degree (with an emphasis in Biblical and Theological Studies and Biblical Languages). I have endured many hardships and experienced an abundant level of joy during those four years of Graduate study–in addition to another year and a half of study to obtain a research Master’s degree in New Testament in my post M.Div. moment– toward that professional degree, which had radically transformed me intellectually, ideologically, and theologically.

I’ve worked on this book sporadically for 15 years and actively in the past 10 years. As time progresses, I will tell you more about this exciting and important book of mine. In due time, I will offer more updates about the publication process. I had a good day, folks!

This good news from the copy editor is indeed an early Christmas present à moi. Let’s hope for a Summer 2022 publication, friends!

The Journal of Expressive Writing just published my poem: “Freedom Shadows” (for Ahmaud Arbery)

If freedom could speak, how will it instruct you and me?
What will it say to you in the morning?
What will it teach the world?
when the clock is broken;
when the wound is not healed;
when the pain is not new and stands still;
a nightly song to us will it sing?

Click on the link below to finish reading:

https://www.journalofexpressivewriting.com/post/freedom-shadows-for-ahmaud-arbery

My sweet and beautiful Abby turns 9 years old today. Help me wish my princess a lovely and Happy Birthday 🎉🎂🌹.

I wrote this poem for Abby.

“It is You, the Gift”

The angels shouted for joy on the day God transferred his breath in you.

He wrote your name in big Blue letters in the sky,
alerting sons and daughters a divine princess is given
to be their light and their guide.

A signals your “amour” is kind and delight.
B reminds us your “beauty” will sustain life and make us laugh.
B highlights your characteristic as daddy’s “beloved” and the “butterfly” of our sun.
Y shouts your “years” will have no end…you define “yourself” in glory and splendor.

On the day He made you and penned your name with eternal ink,
which will not fade away,
nor will it be erased forever,

The sun released his brightest energy and exploded with radiant rays, but your favorite color stood out.

Streaming through celestial gaps in clouds,
you separated darkness and light,
humanity and angels,
boys and girls,
with the shadow of your smile.

The moon clothed herself in humility and handed you a rose🌹 to sing your praise.

A new galaxy was born to celebrate your divine beauty and nobility.

The highest star touched the surface of the earth to welcome you,
and follow your lead.

In the heavens, there arose a new song,
a melody of joy and hope
to erase all false memories on planet earth.

Here you are today, the divine in our midst,
a young lady clothed with the colors of the stars,
refreshing our soul,
making humanity young again
to reach the Divine.

“On Religion and Science”

Ancient civilizations, such as ancient Egypt (3150-31 BC), ancient Babylon, ancient Greece (800-146 BC), ancient Rome, Inca civilization (1200-1542 AD), ancient China (2100-221 BC), Maya civilization (2000 BC- 16th century), Medieval Islamic civilization, etc., clearly demonstrate that both science and religion can coexist and that faith and reason are indeed compatible. For example, some of the ancient priests in the Pharaohnic Egyptian and Babylonian civilizations, as well as high-ranking religious leaders in Medieval Islam and West African kingdoms were not only great scientists and mathematicians; they were also great people of faith, committed religious individuals. This intimate rapport and tradition between religion and science was maintained throughout the ancient world.

It is only in the West, beginning with the birth of radical and atheistic Enlightenment modernity, that European thinkers began to question the usefulness of religion in both the private and public lives, and interrogated the rapport between science and religion, if there’s any.

By any means am I saying that European Enlightenment thinkers were the ones to first espouse atheism and radical secular humanism or to separate science and religion. Of course, atheists and non-theistic humanists have always existed throughout human history. Yet in modern West, the quest to divorce science and religion and to show the incompatibility between faith and reason has increasingly become an intellectual passion, even a cult: the cult of reason and the worship of science.

God of light, and God of peace:

Give us rest.
Give us peace.
Teach us how to love more generously and more tenderly.
Guide us to walk in thy eternal light and unchanging truth.
Redirect our path toward righteousness, justice, and humility.
Treat us with more grace, empathy, and lovingkindness.

Amen!

“End-of-the Year Reflections: A Few Academic Things I’ve accomplished in 2021”

As I get closer to the end of this academic semester and year, I begin to reflect on a few things that I have accomplished in the academic year 2021. My brain is literally exhausted and has no more room for additional academic works or intellectual musings. In the fall semester 2022, I will request my sabbatical from work. Also, in Fall 2022, I will be eligible to apply for full professorship at my institution. Allow me to share with you a few academic things I have done this year:

1. Wrote a book on Theological education, hermeneutics, diversity, and human flourishing (I submitted the final manuscript about three months ago to the publisher: Wipf and Stock publishers); hopefully, the book will be released in summer 2022.
2. Completed five academic book reviews for peer-review journals:

a) Dubois, Laurent, Kaiama L. Glover, Nadève Ménard, Millery Polyné, and Chantalle F. Verna, eds. “The Haiti Reader: History, Culture, Politics” (Duke University Press, 2020).

b) Chelsea Stieber, “Haiti’s Paper War: Post-Independence Writing, Civil War, and the Making of the Republic, 1804–1954” (NYU, 2020)

c) Raphael Dalleo, “American Imperialism’s Undead: The Occupation of Haiti and the Rise of Caribbean Anticolonialism” (University of Virginia Press, 2016)

d) Raoul B. Altidor, “Haiti and the American Military Occupation (1915-1934)” (CIDHICA Publisher, 2019)

e) Todne Thomas, “Kincraft: The Making of Black Evangelical Sociality” (Duke UP, 2021)Directed/conducted six interviews for Haiti Then and Now’s interviews series: “Haitian Thinkers in the Public Space”

3. Directed/conducted six interviews for Haiti Then and Now’s interviews series: “Haitian Thinkers in the Public Space”

4. Reviewed 2 book manuscripts for academic publishers.

5. Participated in three academic conferences: chaired four panels and delivered three individual papers.

6. Taught five courses: 3 hybrid ones and 2 exclusively online courses

7. Co-edited our Students’ Journal associated with the Writing Club: the second issue came out two months ago.

8. Taught an additional course at a University in Haiti—as a Visiting Professor.

9. Wrote six letters of recommendation for students, friends, and colleagues.

10. Published four opinion pieces in various online media newspapers and magazines

11. Delivered two keynotes as invited guest.

12. Wrote two book endorsements for two publishing presses.

13. Conceived a new book project and wrote the Call for Papers for an edited volume on interreligious dialogue between Vodou and Christianity in Haiti

14. Mentored and helped two friends who are writing their doctoral dissertations.

15. Held (I was the guest speaker) two training conferences for Haitian leaders and clergy.

16. Published a new book, that is, an edited volume with Paul Mocombe: “Reconstructing the Social Sciences and Humanities: Anténor Firmin, Western Intellectual Tradition, and Black Atlantic Tradition” (Routledge, April 2021)

17. Contributed two book chapters (one in French, the other in English) to two excellent volumes.

*** I am thankful to the most gracious and the most compassionate God for sustaining me, my family, my students, and my friends throughout this challenging year.

What I am looking forward to in the New Year 2022:

• The Year 2022 will be the year of rest for me.
• I will not be writing anymore book reviews for academic journals.
• I will not take on that many speaking engagements nor will I get involved in so many writing activities.
• The Year 2022 will bring a radical change in my academic year. I will announce the news later next year.
• I would like to spend the following year strengthening my spiritual walk with God, enhancing my relationships with my family and siblings, and improving my interactions with friends and colleagues.
• In 2022, I hope to resume an important activity that I enjoyed doing before COVID: hanging out with and feeding the poor and the homeless at the City Park in Fort Pierce.