Queens Reading & A Quote

Wanted to share this wonderful quote I saw in an email today from an amazing feminist teacher. I did not ask if I could mention her name, so you will just have to trust me when I say that she is fantastic beyond words :):

"I think the importance of doing activist work is precisely because it allows you to give back and to consider yourself not as a single individual who may have achieved whatever, but to be a part of an ongoing historical movement."  – Angela Davis 

What an absolutely lovely way to start off the day! That quote encompasses everything writing is for me. Personal achievement means little if everything around me stays the same. My kids still have to grow up in the mess and the beauty that is this world and if I can do something to elevate the beauty and reduce the mess . . . that is accomplishment enough for me.

In other news -- I have been very excited to read in Queens, NY, because it is home to one of the largest Asian/South Asian populations in the city. When I volunteered at SAYA! (South Asian Youth Action), I was lucky enough to work with some of those diverse Queens teens and it was always the highlight of my week. 

As part of the Teen Author Fest, I will be reading with Melina Marchetta, Barry Lyga and Brent Crawford on Thursday, March 17th from 10-12 at the Long Island City branch (37-44 21st Street, LIC, NY 11101), then signing books that Sunday (the 21st) at Books of Wonder in Manhattan. If you're in or around any of those locations, please come and say hi!