What a time we're in (rainbows and gumdrops edition)

It's that time of year in New York City when many days are weather-perfect, a spring breeze cooling your skin as the sun warms you up. I have yet to see cherry blossoms but I know they're blooming across the city and elsewhere. On a morning walk recently, I observed two birds pecking at a tree and learned from a nearby birder that they're yellow bellied sapsuckers. In the park a couple of blocks from my apartment, a diverse group including many elderly Chinese Americans practice tai chi every morning. Over the weekend, I once again experienced qawwali, among an enthusiastic young crowd of mostly South Asians. Last night, the MetGala celebrated Black style and how!

Adult male and juvenile yellow bellied sapsuckers. Photo by Patricia McGuire/Audubon Photography Awards.

Also worth noting – Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, among many who have been wrongfully detained, was released and defiantly declared to Trump and his cabinet: "I am not afraid of you." More of this, please, without the detention, thanks.

Last week, I listened to the Kurdish novelist Burhen Sonmez speak about his work and learned that he was nearly killed by Turkish police and lives in exile in Britain. He writes prolifically, in English and Kurdish and is the president of PEN International. If he can keep fighting, so can I, so can we.

Another event I attended last week was a panel on the 50th anniversary of the Vietnamese War, where the poets Cathy Linh Che and Lan Duong shared how intertwined their experience is with this period of history.

What I make of all of this is that we are still here, speaking, writing, creating. These are all means of taking space, just as nature is doing. This excerpt, from a poem by Cathy, says it better:

What is history

but that which we make ourselves,

together, as birds.

I'm getting ready to give y'all an assignment for the Summer of 2025. Until then…use your power and your creativity. Leverage your resources and connections. Make history with your words and actions.

Sayu