Evolving

EVOLVING

By Latanya Mack and Kenya Wallace-Williams

It is written in the book of Ecclesiastes, “To everything there is a season.” This is indeed a season for Spoken Word and its diversity in poetic voice. Recently I participated in this year’s Artists in the Afternoon event in Atlanta as an author and one of the panelists representing the elders in attendance for this multigenerational event, which featured both straight and LGBTQ authors/poets. Among those elders with me was Latanya Mack, and it is my good pleasure to bring to you her poetry collection Evolving, co-authored by her granddaughter, Kenya Wallace-Williams.

Evolving is a compilation of poems in Mack’s six previous collections, representing her spiritual growth. Inspiration for a poem can and does come from everywhere, and hers stems from the Word. Each poem in this collection is preceded by the scriptural text that inspired it, including the signature piece “Evolving,” inspired by Genesis 3: 10-12. These are poems filled with the wisdom of experience and the guidance of the Spirit, something you can sit down over coffee, tea, or juice, and take a moment to let the words marinate in your mind before heading into the busy-ness of the day.

For myself, several poems in Mack’s collection referenced 1 Corinthians 13. They remind us of what love is and what it isn’t, and if we are giving love as we go about our lives. All in all, Mack’s gift for Spoken Word encourages us to move a little higher.

Originally writing to encourage her family and friends, from hearing Mack speak at the event and reading her work supports her belief in God’s promises and plans for us, plus the experience, strength, hope, and love.

Evolving is available through Amazon and REThink the Narrative (www.rethinkn.com)

Thank you, Latanya and Kenya, for your collaboration of a beautiful book that keeps us ever evolving in the Word.