{"id":6279,"date":"2026-01-06T14:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/06\/write-of-passage-between-the-book-and-me\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T14:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:10:00","slug":"write-of-passage-between-the-book-and-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/06\/write-of-passage-between-the-book-and-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Write of Passage: Between the Book and Me"},"content":{"rendered":"<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6279-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/183645815\/ac5235046181ab0aa5ba847ce6444b79.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/183645815\/ac5235046181ab0aa5ba847ce6444b79.mp3\">https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/183645815\/ac5235046181ab0aa5ba847ce6444b79.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>Someone said, \u201cReading is elitism,\u201d and I knew immediately\u2014we\u2019re in trouble.<\/p><div id=\"vanes-3239291954\" class=\"vanes-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 2px;margin-right: 2px;margin-bottom: 2px;margin-left: 2px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\" aria-label=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?fit=1706%2C2560&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1706&ssl=1 1706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1365%2C2048&ssl=1 1365w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"569\" height=\"853\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>When people start calling books the problem, it\u2019s never about books.It\u2019s about control.<\/p>\n<p>A mind that doesn\u2019t read is easier to steer.Easier to distract.Easier to convince that vibes are enough and history is optional.<\/p>\n<p>But reading\u2014especially <em>our<\/em> reading\u2014was once illegal.Punishable by death.<\/p>\n<p>So no\u2014reading isn\u2019t elitism.It\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n<p>I saw a screed on Threads that made me stop and stare.\u201cReading is elitism,\u201d the post declared.<\/p>\n<p>It left me scratching my head.<\/p>\n<p>Why now?Why is this sentiment surfacing at a moment when people are desperate to escape the hellscape we\u2019re living in\u2014when they\u2019re trying to learn, to grow, to imagine ways to resist?<\/p>\n<p>Is it something more sinister?<\/p>\n<p>Because an algorithm shaped by bots and billionaires has no interest in a smart, savvy, or hopeful electorate. It wants control. A mind that doesn\u2019t read\u2014one that lives on vibes alone\u2014is easy to steer. It will thrive on chaos. It shall be misled, distracted, and ultimately enslaved.<\/p>\n<p>That post made me angry. The kind of angry that pulls my inner poet out of hiding.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Vanessa Riley has been known to write poetry. If you\u2019ve read <em>Island Queen<\/em>, <em>Sister Mother Warrior<\/em>, <em>The Bewildered Bride<\/em>, and others, you\u2019ve already seen my poetic bent threaded through the prose.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t you have a new book out? Fire Sword and Sea, next week, Jan. 13? Ain\u2019t nobody have time for all this.<\/p>\n<p>No. Nobody does, but I made time. For I got big mad.I reached for the pen\u2014or rather, the keyboard.<\/p>\n<p>What came out was a poem I now call <strong>Between the Book and Me<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Between the Book and Me<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Reading is a privilege, a refuge, a right sorely won.<\/p>\n<p>So miss me with the BS, the apathy.Because <em>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/em> (Maya Angelou).<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it\u2019s my generation.For we came from a time when we were raised as <em>Beloved<\/em> (Toni Morrison),and hoped for <em>Something Like Love<\/em> (Beverly Jenkins),Only to learn we were an <em>Invisible Man<\/em> (Ralph Ellison),Never a <em>Native Son<\/em> (Richard Wright).<\/p>\n<p>We sought out books to find <em>The Souls of Black Folk<\/em> (W.E.B. Du Bois),but kept our gaze fixed on librarians and mentors,for <em>Their Eyes Were Watching God<\/em> (Zora Neale Hurston).<\/p>\n<p>And they knew what books to pick for our good.They understood which passage would give us hope.<\/p>\n<p>When we learned that life\u2014she\u2014was <em>No Crystal Stair<\/em> (Eva Rutland),<\/p>\n<p>They gave us books that fed a <em>Hunger<\/em> (Roxane Gay),<\/p>\n<p>Because they knew we would ache when <em>Things Fall Apart<\/em> (Chinua Achebe).<\/p>\n<p>They understood that verses on a page, in a hymnal, on a screen,would become <em>Kindred<\/em> (Octavia E. Butler)\u2014Something to remember, to retain, to hug.<\/p>\n<p>That touch, that warm embrace, when nouns and verbs paint pictures,Keeps the flames of imagination burning.It will stoke <em>The Fire Next Time<\/em> (James Baldwin).<\/p>\n<p>Reading makes a difference.When peaceful with a psalm or enraged and ready to fight <em>Fire Sword and Sea<\/em> (Vanessa Riley),Try opening a book\u2014keep going\u2014Fill your soul with words and dreams.Get so full you must <em>Go Tell It on the Mountain<\/em> (James Baldwin).<\/p>\n<p>So it makes me sad when some insistOur whole story lives only in the <em>Narrative of the Life\u2026 an American Slave<\/em> (Frederick Douglass),or the <em>Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl<\/em> (Harriet Jacobs).<\/p>\n<p>No. <em>Black Boy<\/em> (Richard Wright).No\u2014Black girl.No bright child misled into craving <em>The Bluest Eye<\/em> (Toni Morrison).<\/p>\n<p>Rise up from <em>The Street<\/em> (Ann Petry).Savor words as if they are rare,Growing sweeter when harvested in the mind like <em>A Raisin in the Sun<\/em> (Lorraine Hansberry).<\/p>\n<p>If you read, you will learn this:That you are more than <em>Sister Outsider<\/em> (Audre Lorde).You are <em>The Black Jacobins<\/em> (C.L.R. James).You are an <em>Island Queen<\/em> (Vanessa Riley),Swaying to a <em>Harlem Rhapsody<\/em> (Victoria Christopher Murray).<\/p>\n<p>You see, <em>Between the World and Me<\/em> (Ta-Nehisi Coates)\u2014Between a book and you\u2014AreA mother\u2019s prayer,A grandmother\u2019s wisdom,An ancestor\u2019s war song.<\/p>\n<p>So don\u2019t turn your back on reading.Don\u2019t dismiss the act our forefathers and foremothers chose, even under the penalty of death.<\/p>\n<p>Reading isn\u2019t elitism.It\u2019s essential to survival.It\u2019s defiance, spelled out.It\u2019s the way to live.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s book list is in my poem. Go to the show notes. Get the full list. I\u2019m supporting Novel Neighbor through their <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenovelneighbor.com\/events\/4281820260116\">website<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/shop\/novelneighbor\">Bookshop.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We are less than a week away from the release of <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenovelneighbor.com\/events\/4281820260116\"><strong>Fire Sword and Sea<\/strong><\/a><strong>. She comes out on January 13<\/strong><strong>th<\/strong><strong>, 2026. Caribbean women pirates\u2014That\u2019s Black pirates, integrated crews, and secrets\u2014of those who sailed the seas for adventure, a better life, or because they darn well felt like it. Read their truth. Get folks talking about this book.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Consider purchasing Fire Sword and Sea from <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenovelneighbor.com\/events\/4281820260116\"><strong>Novel Neighbor<\/strong><\/a><strong> or one of my partners in the fight<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\"><strong>, bookstores<\/strong><\/a><strong> large and small who are with me.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Come on, my readers, my beautiful listeners. Let\u2019s get everyone excited to read Fire Sword and Sea.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Show notes include the poem mentioned in this broadcast.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can find my notes on Substack or on my website, <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanessariley.com\/\"><strong>VanessaRiley.com<\/strong><\/a><strong> , under the podcast link in the About tab.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Enjoying the vibe? Go ahead and like this episode, share, and subscribe to <\/strong><strong><em>Write of Passage<\/em><\/strong><strong> so you never miss a moment.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you for listening. I want you to come again. This is Vanessa Riley.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>January 10 &#8211; Gwinette Library  with Jasmine Sinkfield (Click the image for Registration Links)<\/p>\n<p>Jan. 12 &#8211; Resist Booksellers in Petersburg, VA <\/p>\n<p>Jan. 13 &#8211; Release Day &#8211; Loyalty Books in DC with Victoria Christopher Murray <\/p>\n<p>Jan. 14 &#8211; Park Books in Severna Park, MD with Kate Quinn<\/p>\n<p>Jan. 15 &#8211; FoxTale Books in Woodstock, GA with Simone Umba<\/p>\n<p>Jan. 16 &#8211; Novel Neighbor in St. Louis, MO with Pat Simmons<\/p>\n<p>Jan. 17 &#8211; Black Pearl Books in Austin, TX with Ali Hazelwood<\/p>\n<p>This is a public episode. If you&#8217;d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=CTA_2\">vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"vanes-2950702707\" class=\"vanes-after-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 3px;margin-right: 3px;margin-bottom: 3px;margin-left: 3px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?fit=1080%2C1350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Listen to the Write of Passage Weekly Podcast\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=240%2C300&ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=819%2C1024&ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=768%2C960&ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"540\" height=\"675\"   \/><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Someone said, \u201cReading is elitism,\u201d and I knew immediately\u2014we\u2019re in trouble. When people start calling books the problem, it\u2019s never about books.It\u2019s about control. A mind that doesn\u2019t read is easier to steer.Easier to distract.Easier to convince that vibes are enough and history is optional. But reading\u2014especially our reading\u2014was once illegal.Punishable by death. 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