February 18, 2022 • 13 mins
In this week’s episode of Bookmarks, Glory chats it up with Well-Read Black Girl member Petrushka Bazin Larsen about how the book club became a safe space to build sisterhood and exchange ideas. Glory also gives insightful advice on what to expect when starting a podcast. And, she lets us in on what she’s reading this week — hint: there’s intrigue, secrets and all the church tea to be spilled.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:16):
Pushkin. Hey friends, welcome to Bookmarks. You're exclusive one on
one with me Glory Adam, hosts of the Well Read
Black Girl podcast. You're getting this episode as a valued subscriber,
and we appreciate your support. Week after week, I'll be
(00:39):
dropping into the fee to check in and share some
tips on writing, how to get published, and how to
find your voice. I'll also be sharing conversations with independent
bookstore owners, community members, and literacy advocates on how they
keep the written word alive. Here a Well Read black Girl,
our homies means so much to us. This week I
(01:02):
get to share a conversation with you with one of
our dear friends, Patricia Bays and Larson in Harlem. And
every episode I'll share with you what I'm reading each week,
what I'm watching, what I'm totally obsessed with in how
I find inspiration. If you have a question, a recommendation,
(01:22):
or you just want to say what's up, hit me
at WRBG at Pushkin dot fm and stay tuned to
the feed for everything Well Read black Girl. When I
(01:49):
started Well Read Black Girl, I didn't know much about
book publishing or how to start a podcast. But after
writing two books and finishing up a third. I want
to offer some advice to listeners. In this episode, we'll
start with podcasting. Making a podcast was way more complicated
than I ever imagined, but my hope was to have
(02:11):
the authors all come together and talk about their journey
and what led them to become writers. I wanted something
to feel really unique, and part of it was I
wanted to challenge myself and to be able to share
stories with other people about reading and writing. And I
wanted to see the inner lives of authors like I
(02:31):
wanted to enter their homes and see like the messiness
of their desk and just like how they were able
to cultivate the characters and pull together the pros in
such an amazing way. So for me, it was kind
of like demystifying the process of what it means to
be a writer and an author, because you know, the
(02:52):
end product, the book that we hold in our hand,
is so beautiful and shiny, but I wanted to really
get into the messy parts of why it can be
a really complicated but rewarding endeavor. And that's what I
wanted to share with the community inspiring writers so they
wouldn't get discouraged or be deterred when things got hard,
(03:12):
they would know that it was simply part of the process.
So when it came to actually putting together the podcast,
I knew immediately that it wasn't something I could do
on my own, and I wanted to partner with just
a talented teen to help me like refine and put
together this really big vision and help me just understand
(03:34):
the world of podcasting, which is way more complicated than
I could have ever imagined. I realized that most people
think podcasting is just grabbing a mic and going into
a closet to record things, But it requires such precision
and an ear for understanding how sentences and stories down
(03:55):
like It's a curation that similar to putting together like
an anthology, like it required such a very delicate touch,
so you can hear the full story and you can
get like the right quotes and ask the right questions.
It is just like a puzzle that you put together.
It's a lot of work, and it's the end product
(04:16):
is totally worth it. But all these things are necessary
to make a beautiful final product. So you can hear
and just like fully understand the story that we're trying
to tell, and you're not distracted by anything else. The
most important piece of advice is to ask yourself why
why are you doing this? What do you want to accomplish?
(04:37):
And how will you feel when you're doing the task,
Because you want it to be something that feels encouraging.
It will make you want to keep going because you're
going to hit roadblocks. There'll be things that are challenging,
but you have to keep going and saying the course
so you can get to your why. I have been
(05:02):
trying to learn how to meditate, and I've done this
before the mask, and I have not been as successful,
But in twenty twenty two, I'm so determined to really
like lock in my meditation practice. So what I've been
doing is going for walks, like going for a walks
around my pluck, like you know, going to like the
(05:23):
local park and just like walking in a circle if necessary,
and allowing that to be my meditation because I write somewhere.
You know, most people will try to like sit with
their legs crossed and you know, sit in front of
the wall and stare into you know, just right and
be quiet, and that is not me. Like I need
to keep moving. So I think I'm going to do
(05:44):
like a walking meditation instead, so I ca'm like walk
and like really be one with nature, feel the wind
in my hair, and help that be part of me,
like kind of winding down and be more present. So
(06:05):
right now I'm reading The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
by Disha phill y'all, and it's her debut collection, and
it follows the generations of different Black women and they're
dealing with like sex and love and family and what
it means to have your own identity and find your voice.
And it is such a like engrossing collection. And sometimes
(06:26):
you'll be reading and you'll collect your pearls because it
feels a little uncomfortable, or you're like laughing at loud
because the character says something that is hilarious. But I
just love her risk taking in the book and her
just yearning to ask like really hard questions and be
messy into the complications of black women that are really
trying to love themselves even when things don't go as planned.
(06:51):
So it's just a really fun short story collection. And
I'm a huge fan of short stories. If you have
been following, well We're a Black Girl for a little bit,
you know that I stand in a short story. So
Disha is like in good company with the greats like
Dorothy West and z Z. Packer in Petrie. It just
falls in line. And I love love the title of
(07:12):
the book too, like the secret lives those church ladies,
and I consider myself, you know, a little bit of
a church lady and I have some secrets too. So yeah,
I encourage everyone to read it. I am so excited
to have Patricia Basin Larson with us today. She is
(07:34):
a woman of many talents. She's a member of the
well Red Black Girl community, a professor at City University
of New York, and a business coach. Most importantly, she
is the co founder of sugar Hill Creamery, one of
my favorite ice cream shops. Welcome to Patricia, Hi, Glory.
I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
(07:54):
Tell me about your experience in the Walward Black Girl
book Club and how is it different from other book
clubs you've been a part of in the past. Glory,
as a person who likes to read and who has
organized her own book clubs as well as been a
part of others, what has been so amazing about the
Walward Black Girl community has just been the representation the
quality of books and the conversations that happen as a result.
(08:17):
I am always here for a sister circle with people
that I know and don't know. And that is exactly
the vibe that I have always gotten when being amidst
other Walward Black Girl book Club members. What I think
distinguishes the Walwared Black Girl community from so many others
is that instant familiarity that one has when they're sitting
(08:37):
around the table talking about a text that was all read.
I love that. It makes me think of just the
Paul Marshall and this idea of sitting around the kitchen
table together. That is like the space and the energy
we're always trying to cultivate. We want to be in community,
but we also want to be in solidarity. But I
think of solidarity, I think of the community building that
(08:58):
you do at sugar Hill Creamery. Like being in the
ice cream shop is just so amazing. Not only are
we like having delicious ice cream, but we're talking to
one another and getting to know our neighbors. When you
opened up the shop in Harlem, you said that you
were deeply invested in community building, and I know that
is not just a statement, It is the way you
live your life. How has the book club helped you
(09:20):
with that mission? Yeah, so I always say, actually say
this in my coaching practice, but you have to be
a joiner in order to get the most out of life.
And you need to be surrounding yourself with the people
that are issuing the same values that you have, or
that are living in their purpose in the way that
you want to be living in your purpose. And so
(09:41):
being a part of the Welwad Black Girl community has
allowed me to feel more confident in, you know, in
my opinions, sharing them, connecting with others and they might
have like different opinions and like just basically exchanging ideas, right,
And so any community that I'm a part of is
contributing back to my greater whole, my greater sense of
(10:03):
self and how I want to show up in the world.
And so because Wealdwad Black Girl is one that is
for me about representation and honoring black voices, I've embodied
that sort of it's mission like in my own way
of living my life. You know, I love that. So
what is a good ice cream and book pairing? I'm
(10:24):
gonna give you a book. What about if we did
Snowy Day, the classic, Yes, snowy Day. What would be
a good scoop of ice cream to go with snowy Day?
I've got it. Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats would
go really well with our Astop Rocky Road. So we
(10:46):
have some really fun names for our flavors. And if
the pairing works really well, I think because when I
think of a snowy day, I think of coals, brisk winds.
I think of long days outside where it kind of
feels like you're at the beach, but like you're in
the snow and you come in and you feel all exhausted,
but like completely content and delighted by the day that
you spent outdoors. And so the ASoP Rocky Road incorporates hazelnut,
(11:09):
It incorporates fresh marshmallow fluff that we make rio crumble
like from the cookie and Graham cracker crumbs. Perfect perfect.
What was the last book meeting you hosted? And what
was it like? Red Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and
that story The way that we got to that book
is like so perfectly. I think sugar Hill Creamery and
(11:31):
Patrishika's commitment to engaging people in thoughtful and intentional ways.
And so when we decided to organize this book club series,
I was like, Katrenco is definitely gonna be one of
those books. And then I learned through you because I
was raving about this book. You're like, oh, I am
in She's lovely, like for real, not like on the
(11:51):
internect lovely, like actually lovely. You know, I'm gonna people
on the square too, But you know what I'm saying
in person connection, which is social the beauty of the
book club is and she's an Harlem resident, She's like
an exactly. So I didn't know. Well, actually I knew
that when we delivered the ice cream for this gift,
but like, oh my god, the multiple connecting point for me,
(12:11):
we just kind of mind bowing. So that's when I
started to fall in love in my head with men
jin Lee. But we are all in love with men.
It is a universal feeling to be in love with
her work, her writing, her personhood. I love men. It's
like none, yeah, because you are a mother and you
are such a wonderful community advocate. How do we get
(12:33):
more young people, more young women, more students, just how
do we get them interested in reading the way that
we teach is by doing. We don't teach by saying.
And so, how do we get more young people reading
well well Read black Girl right like having community around
(12:53):
the written word such that it's represented. So just continuing
to do what you do, glory and inspiring others to
do the same and there in their corners of the world.
Thanks so much, Patrushka. We'll be sharing more chats with
bookshop owners, literacy advocates, and more community members in the
weeks ahead. That's all for now, Push Nicks. Thank you
(13:25):
for your support, and keep an eye on the feed
for more bookmarks, bonus content, and uninterrupted episodes of Well
Read Black Girl. Until next time,
Pushkin. Hey friends, welcome to Bookmarks. You're exclusive one on
one with me Glory Adam, hosts of the Well Read
Black Girl podcast. You're getting this episode as a valued subscriber,
and we appreciate your support. Week after week, I'll be
(00:39):
dropping into the fee to check in and share some
tips on writing, how to get published, and how to
find your voice. I'll also be sharing conversations with independent
bookstore owners, community members, and literacy advocates on how they
keep the written word alive. Here a Well Read black Girl,
our homies means so much to us. This week I
(01:02):
get to share a conversation with you with one of
our dear friends, Patricia Bays and Larson in Harlem. And
every episode I'll share with you what I'm reading each week,
what I'm watching, what I'm totally obsessed with in how
I find inspiration. If you have a question, a recommendation,
(01:22):
or you just want to say what's up, hit me
at WRBG at Pushkin dot fm and stay tuned to
the feed for everything Well Read black Girl. When I
(01:49):
started Well Read Black Girl, I didn't know much about
book publishing or how to start a podcast. But after
writing two books and finishing up a third. I want
to offer some advice to listeners. In this episode, we'll
start with podcasting. Making a podcast was way more complicated
than I ever imagined, but my hope was to have
(02:11):
the authors all come together and talk about their journey
and what led them to become writers. I wanted something
to feel really unique, and part of it was I
wanted to challenge myself and to be able to share
stories with other people about reading and writing. And I
wanted to see the inner lives of authors like I
(02:31):
wanted to enter their homes and see like the messiness
of their desk and just like how they were able
to cultivate the characters and pull together the pros in
such an amazing way. So for me, it was kind
of like demystifying the process of what it means to
be a writer and an author, because you know, the
(02:52):
end product, the book that we hold in our hand,
is so beautiful and shiny, but I wanted to really
get into the messy parts of why it can be
a really complicated but rewarding endeavor. And that's what I
wanted to share with the community inspiring writers so they
wouldn't get discouraged or be deterred when things got hard,
(03:12):
they would know that it was simply part of the process.
So when it came to actually putting together the podcast,
I knew immediately that it wasn't something I could do
on my own, and I wanted to partner with just
a talented teen to help me like refine and put
together this really big vision and help me just understand
(03:34):
the world of podcasting, which is way more complicated than
I could have ever imagined. I realized that most people
think podcasting is just grabbing a mic and going into
a closet to record things, But it requires such precision
and an ear for understanding how sentences and stories down
(03:55):
like It's a curation that similar to putting together like
an anthology, like it required such a very delicate touch,
so you can hear the full story and you can
get like the right quotes and ask the right questions.
It is just like a puzzle that you put together.
It's a lot of work, and it's the end product
(04:16):
is totally worth it. But all these things are necessary
to make a beautiful final product. So you can hear
and just like fully understand the story that we're trying
to tell, and you're not distracted by anything else. The
most important piece of advice is to ask yourself why
why are you doing this? What do you want to accomplish?
(04:37):
And how will you feel when you're doing the task,
Because you want it to be something that feels encouraging.
It will make you want to keep going because you're
going to hit roadblocks. There'll be things that are challenging,
but you have to keep going and saying the course
so you can get to your why. I have been
(05:02):
trying to learn how to meditate, and I've done this
before the mask, and I have not been as successful,
But in twenty twenty two, I'm so determined to really
like lock in my meditation practice. So what I've been
doing is going for walks, like going for a walks
around my pluck, like you know, going to like the
(05:23):
local park and just like walking in a circle if necessary,
and allowing that to be my meditation because I write somewhere.
You know, most people will try to like sit with
their legs crossed and you know, sit in front of
the wall and stare into you know, just right and
be quiet, and that is not me. Like I need
to keep moving. So I think I'm going to do
(05:44):
like a walking meditation instead, so I ca'm like walk
and like really be one with nature, feel the wind
in my hair, and help that be part of me,
like kind of winding down and be more present. So
(06:05):
right now I'm reading The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
by Disha phill y'all, and it's her debut collection, and
it follows the generations of different Black women and they're
dealing with like sex and love and family and what
it means to have your own identity and find your voice.
And it is such a like engrossing collection. And sometimes
(06:26):
you'll be reading and you'll collect your pearls because it
feels a little uncomfortable, or you're like laughing at loud
because the character says something that is hilarious. But I
just love her risk taking in the book and her
just yearning to ask like really hard questions and be
messy into the complications of black women that are really
trying to love themselves even when things don't go as planned.
(06:51):
So it's just a really fun short story collection. And
I'm a huge fan of short stories. If you have
been following, well We're a Black Girl for a little bit,
you know that I stand in a short story. So
Disha is like in good company with the greats like
Dorothy West and z Z. Packer in Petrie. It just
falls in line. And I love love the title of
(07:12):
the book too, like the secret lives those church ladies,
and I consider myself, you know, a little bit of
a church lady and I have some secrets too. So yeah,
I encourage everyone to read it. I am so excited
to have Patricia Basin Larson with us today. She is
(07:34):
a woman of many talents. She's a member of the
well Red Black Girl community, a professor at City University
of New York, and a business coach. Most importantly, she
is the co founder of sugar Hill Creamery, one of
my favorite ice cream shops. Welcome to Patricia, Hi, Glory.
I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
(07:54):
Tell me about your experience in the Walward Black Girl
book Club and how is it different from other book
clubs you've been a part of in the past. Glory,
as a person who likes to read and who has
organized her own book clubs as well as been a
part of others, what has been so amazing about the
Walward Black Girl community has just been the representation the
quality of books and the conversations that happen as a result.
(08:17):
I am always here for a sister circle with people
that I know and don't know. And that is exactly
the vibe that I have always gotten when being amidst
other Walward Black Girl book Club members. What I think
distinguishes the Walwared Black Girl community from so many others
is that instant familiarity that one has when they're sitting
(08:37):
around the table talking about a text that was all read.
I love that. It makes me think of just the
Paul Marshall and this idea of sitting around the kitchen
table together. That is like the space and the energy
we're always trying to cultivate. We want to be in community,
but we also want to be in solidarity. But I
think of solidarity, I think of the community building that
(08:58):
you do at sugar Hill Creamery. Like being in the
ice cream shop is just so amazing. Not only are
we like having delicious ice cream, but we're talking to
one another and getting to know our neighbors. When you
opened up the shop in Harlem, you said that you
were deeply invested in community building, and I know that
is not just a statement, It is the way you
live your life. How has the book club helped you
(09:20):
with that mission? Yeah, so I always say, actually say
this in my coaching practice, but you have to be
a joiner in order to get the most out of life.
And you need to be surrounding yourself with the people
that are issuing the same values that you have, or
that are living in their purpose in the way that
you want to be living in your purpose. And so
(09:41):
being a part of the Welwad Black Girl community has
allowed me to feel more confident in, you know, in
my opinions, sharing them, connecting with others and they might
have like different opinions and like just basically exchanging ideas, right,
And so any community that I'm a part of is
contributing back to my greater whole, my greater sense of
(10:03):
self and how I want to show up in the world.
And so because Wealdwad Black Girl is one that is
for me about representation and honoring black voices, I've embodied
that sort of it's mission like in my own way
of living my life. You know, I love that. So
what is a good ice cream and book pairing? I'm
(10:24):
gonna give you a book. What about if we did
Snowy Day, the classic, Yes, snowy Day. What would be
a good scoop of ice cream to go with snowy Day?
I've got it. Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats would
go really well with our Astop Rocky Road. So we
(10:46):
have some really fun names for our flavors. And if
the pairing works really well, I think because when I
think of a snowy day, I think of coals, brisk winds.
I think of long days outside where it kind of
feels like you're at the beach, but like you're in
the snow and you come in and you feel all exhausted,
but like completely content and delighted by the day that
you spent outdoors. And so the ASoP Rocky Road incorporates hazelnut,
(11:09):
It incorporates fresh marshmallow fluff that we make rio crumble
like from the cookie and Graham cracker crumbs. Perfect perfect.
What was the last book meeting you hosted? And what
was it like? Red Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and
that story The way that we got to that book
is like so perfectly. I think sugar Hill Creamery and
(11:31):
Patrishika's commitment to engaging people in thoughtful and intentional ways.
And so when we decided to organize this book club series,
I was like, Katrenco is definitely gonna be one of
those books. And then I learned through you because I
was raving about this book. You're like, oh, I am
in She's lovely, like for real, not like on the
(11:51):
internect lovely, like actually lovely. You know, I'm gonna people
on the square too, But you know what I'm saying
in person connection, which is social the beauty of the
book club is and she's an Harlem resident, She's like
an exactly. So I didn't know. Well, actually I knew
that when we delivered the ice cream for this gift,
but like, oh my god, the multiple connecting point for me,
(12:11):
we just kind of mind bowing. So that's when I
started to fall in love in my head with men
jin Lee. But we are all in love with men.
It is a universal feeling to be in love with
her work, her writing, her personhood. I love men. It's
like none, yeah, because you are a mother and you
are such a wonderful community advocate. How do we get
(12:33):
more young people, more young women, more students, just how
do we get them interested in reading the way that
we teach is by doing. We don't teach by saying.
And so, how do we get more young people reading
well well Read black Girl right like having community around
(12:53):
the written word such that it's represented. So just continuing
to do what you do, glory and inspiring others to
do the same and there in their corners of the world.
Thanks so much, Patrushka. We'll be sharing more chats with
bookshop owners, literacy advocates, and more community members in the
weeks ahead. That's all for now, Push Nicks. Thank you
(13:25):
for your support, and keep an eye on the feed
for more bookmarks, bonus content, and uninterrupted episodes of Well
Read Black Girl. Until next time,
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