Artist Spotlight: Georgia S. McDade
EchoX is honored to partner with one of our first directory participants, the African-American Writers’ Alliance (AAWA), to present a Wednesday poetry and prose series from a collective of different authors. For the next few Wednesdays, we will continue sharing poetry and prose from one of these incredibly talented writers. This Wednesday we are proud to share the work of Georgia McDade. Our previous Wednesday poet was Minnie Collins.
Learn more about the work that AAWA does and support their writing at http://www.aawa-seattle.org/.
If Only
Georgia S. McDade
If only I had asked for less,
not wanted the best,
been satisfied to survive,
never known I could live and thrive,
taken the line of least resistance,
settled for anything,
accepted everything,
Then life would have been conflict-free.
Because there would be no me!
4/25/06
© Georgia S. McDade
Embarrassed
Georgia S. McDade
With a sneer of his lips and disgust in his eyes, he said,
I am embarrassed that they lie.
I am embarrassed that they cheat.
I am embarrassed that they steal.
I am embarrassed that they hurt.
I am embarrassed that they abuse.
I am embarrassed that they misuse.
I am embarrassed that they deceive.
I am embarrassed that they kill.
But it’s not just black people that I am embarrassed for.
I am embarrassed for white people too.
I am embarrassed that they lie.
I am embarrassed that they cheat.
I am embarrassed that they steal.
I am embarrassed that they hurt.
I am embarrassed that they abuse.
I am embarrassed that they misuse.
I am embarrassed that they deceive.
I am embarrassed that they kill.
She couldn’t, wouldn’t disagree with him. She wanted people—black and white—to do better, to bebetter. But she knew her greatest success most likely would be with herself. And she didn’t daretell him how embarrassed she was that afterall these years she was still suffering his lying,cheating, hurting, abusing, misusing, deceiving,and killing—her. This was something he could stop. And she wanted so badly for it to stop. But she wasembarrassed to tell him, much too embarrassed.
6/92
© Georgia S. McDade
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Georgia Stewart McDade loves reading and writing. She grew up writing and producing plays for the youngsters in her neighborhood and collaborated with church youth to write plays for special occasions. As a charter member of the African-American Writers’ Alliance, she began reading her stories in public in 1991. She credits the group with making her write poetry. For a number of years, she has written poems inspired by artists at such sites as Gallery 110, Seattle Art Museum, Columbia City Gallery, and for Onyx Fine Arts Collective. For several years Georgia wrote for Pacific newspapers, especially the South District Journal. Today she reports for South Seattle Emerald and The Leschi News and does interviews for community radio stations KBCS (91.3 FM) and KVRU (105.7) as she continues working on two biographies and poetry. She hopes soon to publish the journals she kept on her six-month, solo trip around the world. Copies of her four volumes of poetry called Outside the Cave and her first collection of prose, Observation and Revelations: Stories, Sketches, and Essays, may be found at the Seward Park Third Place Books.
Publications:
Travel Tips for Dream Trips
Outside the Cave (with or without photographs)
Outside the Cave II (with or without photographs)
Outside the Cave III
Observations and Revelations
Outside the Cave IV
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