On April 20, the Yuba College Literary Arts Club came together for their last poetry cafe of the semester. The theme of this event was Earth Day, where many read poems that combined nature and powerful words. The featured guest for the event was Gabrielle Myers, an English professor, talented chef and aspiring writer. “I currently am an associate professor of English at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton,” she said. “I actively post recipes on my blog and have just finished a cookbook focusing on on seasonal grill recipes. I recently also finished a book of poetry, which is currently unpublished.”
Myers was there to introduce her own book, called “Hive-Mind,” which is based on real events of her life. “It’s a memoir about my life at a organic farm and family struggling to become the next version of yourself.”
“This book is to inspire others to approach life with the idea that we can change life. That life is filled with possibilities if we open ourselves to it.”
Myers explains the reason behind the book: “It was a traumatic event that happened on the farm,” she said. It includes a time period when she went through facing a loved one’s suicide attempt, then seeing that individual move in a different direction. “I began to see how she rebuilt herself,” She describes the message clearly again that her book is a combination of poetry and as a memoir, saying, “It was my journey to saving yourself.” It was a way she best represented strength.
Myers had written many poems of this experience. “It felt like it was missing a mark. I expressed what I saw in an inaccurate way. I wrote thirty poems of it.” After realizing the amount of writing, she understood she had much more to say and that’s when she decided to write a book. Not only was this helpful for Myer’s but to many others who can relate to what she had experienced. ”
” For me, I had to write the book in order to tell what happened on the farm. I felt the urgency and almost a call to bear witness and share what I saw happen there. I felt the urgency and almost a call to bear witness and share what I saw happen there.” Then Myer’s shares why she had titled her book Hive-Mind. “The title Hive-Mind comes from a Star Trek episode on the Borg. The idea behind it is that with the collective mind we can accomplish so much, but whether we as humans can ever join together in the ways that bees do is questioned throughout the book. A pivotal moment for me was when I was living on the farm and the plum blossoms had just unfolded in the orchard. The noise of bee trafic and the hum of their wings sung me into a new phase in my life.”
She also spoke about her history, saying she used to work as a chef, and then as an instructor with Yuba College. “ I received an email, then interviewed for Flumes a year ago. I used to work here as a part-time instructor.”
I recommend and encourage all to read Hive-Mind which you can buy on Amazon for only fourteen dollars. If you’d like to see more of Myers she has a website which contains her very own poetry and recipes at www.gabriellemyers.com .
When Myers went on stage to read out her writing the audience was silent and attentive. You could see the strength behind her words and after she had finished all applaud respectfully because they not only heard incredible writing but also witnessed a brave and brilliant individual.
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