Friday book signing

Remember, tomorrow from 7–9pm Barbara and Peggy will be signing copies of the book at The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza. We're looking forward to having Peggy and Barbara in Albany and we hope you'll join us at The Book House if you are in the area tomorrow.

Jacqueline Baptiste's review, en francais

For those who would prefer to read Jacqueline Baptiste's lovely review of GTM as it was written, in French, we've posted it below.


Vas-y, Parle à Michelle
Par: Jacqueline Jean-Baptiste

Des femmes américaines, de descendance africaine; quelques-unes des Caraïbes et directement du continent africain ont exprimé, à Michelle Obama, à travers des lettres, poèmes et contes, leur profonde et joyeuse émotion à l’occasion de l’arrivée à la Maison Blanche, de la Première Famille de descendance africaine.

C’est une belle collection littéraire où la passion se mêle à l’histoire. Ces femmes ont invoqué le long continuum d’évolution des Noirs-américains, des ancêtres à aujourd’hui : De l’esclavage à la ségrégation, aux luttes acharnées pour les droits civils et les souffrances afférentes, à l’acquisition légale des droits, aux luttes pour la mise en oeuvre et le maintien de ces droits, à l’équité et à l’intégration jusqu’au 4 novembre 2008, journée de l’élection de Barack Obama à la présidence des États-Unis d’Amérique.

Très bien écrit; les auteurs sont : ingénieures, médecins, avocates, professeures d’université et d’autres institutions post secondaires, travailleuses sociales, ethnomusicologues, poètes et conteuses, artistes, actrices, mères de famille, organisatrices communautaires, présidente d’université, membres d’assemblées
législatives et j’en passe…

De la Californie à New York, de la Floride à l’État de Washington en passant par la Géorgie, l’Utah et audelà; des Caraïbes, du Kenya, du Niger; toutes ces femmes ont parlé à Michelle Obama et, elles l’ont fait à l’unisson.

Elles ont remercié Michelle, parce que maintenant, elles sont complètement représentées à la Maison Blanche. Non pas parce qu’elles n’étaient pas représentées avant, mais parce que, cette nouvelle représentation n’est pas une simple représentation de nombre ou de genre. La représentation par Michelle est aussi une représentation ontologique. Toutes les dimensions de leur être sont représentées chez
Michelle d’où une compréhension totale de part et d’autre.

À travers leurs lettres, les femmes ont honoré leur pays, Les États-Unis d’Amérique, de cette capacité de changement qui est la leur. C’est le seul pays au monde, selon les femmes, capable d’effectuer un changement si majeur. C’est le plus beau pays au monde selon ces femmes, parce que porteur de si grandes promesses. Ce sont après tout, les Blancs-américains qui ont rendu possible l’élection de Barack Obama à la présidence des États-Unis.

Michelle s’est fait appeler : Excellence, Première Dame, Soeur, Tante, Mère. Elle est comparée à une chanson, un proverbe, un symbole même de dignité humaine. Remercier Michelle est une façon, pour les femmes, de reconnaître l’histoire de toutes ces grandes « reines » (les ancêtres) qui sont passées avant.

Les phrases sont puissantes par ce qu’elles expriment et laissent sous-entendre en même temps par ex : « Thank you for the beautiful face of Black America you have presented to the world… What a wonderful picture you have drawn for the world ». On le sait trop bien, l’image des Noirs dans les média a été pour la plupart, dégradante et horrifiante.

De vocabulaire soigné, élégant et parfois poétique; c’est un de ces livres qu’on prend plaisir à lire seul /e ou en compagnie, dans la cuisine, à haute voix, à notre mère pendant qu’elle prépare le repas. On peut commencer n’importe où. On peut lire une lettre ou un poème à la fois et refermer jusqu’à la prochaine lecture. Ne pas aimer lire ne peut-être invoqué comme excuse pour ne pas se le procurer.

La faiblesse de ce livre est qu’il s’adresse plutôt à des lecteurs avisés, c’est-à-dire, la génération des personnes d’un certain âge qui sont conscients de l’histoire et de la littérature des Noirs ou des Noirs-américains. Pour une personne de culture autre, pour qui jusque-là, l’intérêt pour les Noirs était absent; pour les très jeunes personnes même aux États-Unis, non instruits de l’histoire des Noirs-américains ou des Noirs, une bonne lecture de ce document, sans guide, reste inaccessible.

À travers le livre, on peut constater comment Michelle Obama est scrutée à la loupe. Elle est citée mot à mot. Elle est déjà remerciée pour des promesses qu’elle a faites avant de devenir la Première Dame. Cette très grande effusion d’amour inquiète. Michelle est d’abord et avant tout un être humain, elle commettra des erreurs; elle ne tiendra peut-être pas toutes ses promesses. Michelle est aussi la Première Dame des États-Unis, une population de plus de 300 millions d’habitants, dont les Noirs sont moins de quinze pour cent. Pourra-t-elle répondre aux attentes, et espoirs de cette minorité. Cette passion, survivra-t-elle aux attentes non comblées, aux espoirs déchus. Est-ce une lune de miel? Qu’arrivera-t-il après? C’est l’inquiétude provoquée par la lecture de cette oeuvre littéraire pourtant si agréable. Fortement recommandé. A+

Another day, another stellar review

Over at the APOOO Book Club, Jennifer Coissiere wrote a wonderful review of Go, Tell Michelle. Jennifer was moved to tears by Peggy's letter:

There were two letters that brought tears to my eyes. The first one was the letter written by Peggy Bertram. I was reading it aloud to my daughter and almost did not make it to the end.

Another example of the impact the book has had on readers. Thank you for sharing your experience with the book, Jennifer.

Jacqueline Baptiste's review

Today we have a translation of a wonderful French review of Go, Tell Michelle from Jacqueline Baptiste, one of the Canadian Uncrowned Queens.

African American women as well as others from the Caribbean and the African continent express their deep and joyful emotions to Michelle Obama through letters and poems and stories. They are all elated with the arrival of the first African American First family to the White House. This compilation of letters and poems is a fantastic literary collection where passion mingles with history and represents a long continuum of evolution of African Americans from the ancestors until today. These letters capture events from slavery to segregation. They describe hard struggles for civil rights and the suffering that accompanied the struggle up to the winning of rights and the struggle for implementation and maintenance of those rights. They carry the reader to the struggles for equity, to integration and to November 4, 2008 and the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America.

The letters are very well written. The authors are lawyers, physicians, university professors, social workers, ethno-musicologists, community activists, university presidents, artists, mothers politicians and many more. They represent every region of the United States from California to New York, from Buffalo, New York to Florida and beyond. Letters came from the Caribbean, and the African Continent. On the African continent, they wrote from Kenya, Cameroon, Liberia and Niger and all these women talked to Michelle Obama with one voice.


They thanked Michelle because they feel they are completely represented in the White House. Unlike before, they are now ontologically represented. All dimensions of their being are represented in Michelle. Consequently, it is a total understanding that stretches from her to them. Through their letters the women honored the United States for this ability to effect such a momentous change. It is the only country in the world, according to these writers that is capable of such a major change. It’s the most wonderful country in the world because it has so many promises to fulfill and Michelle Obama as First Lady is one of those promises. These writers saw this change as an achievement brought about by all of the people because a broad and diverse group of Americans worked together to make such a change possible.


The writers addressed the First Lady with numerous titles. They called her Michelle, Your Excellency, First Lady, Sister, Auntie and Mother. The made numerous comparisons describing the First Lady as a song or a proverb and saw her as symbolizing human dignity. Thanks Michelle was a way for these women to recognize all those great “queens” who came before. Their sentences are powerful not only by what they express but by what they did not expressly say. For example, “thank you for the beautiful face of Black America you have presented to the world…What a wonderful picture you have drawn for the world.” We know too well how images of Blacks in the media are for the most part degrading and horrifying.


They wrote in many voices with a refined vocabulary which was elegant and sometimes poetic. It is the kind of book one has the pleasure to read alone or in company in the kitchen, out loud to a mother while she prepared dinner. One can start anywhere, read one letter and close it until the next reading. Even if one does not like to read this would not be an excuse for not having this book.


If I had any concerns for this lovely book, it would be that the book might benefit from a reading guide so that those not quite aware of African and African American history might be better informed to savor the full depth of the writings. Further, these writers wish for so much from Michelle and they seem to observe the First Lady through many lens. They already thank her for things she promised to do before becoming First Lady. This large expression of love is not without its dangers. Like each of us, Michelle Obama is a human being subject to making mistakes. She may not be able to hold all her promises. Because she is the First Lady for all the people one hopes that the passion expressed in these letters will survive expectation if those expectations are not met. One wonders. These are my concerns for this extraordinary book and I highly recommend it.

GTM Events

To make it easier for you to follow the events (readings, signings, receptions, award presentations, etc.) for Peggy, Barbara, and GTM, we've added a link (over on this blog's right hand side with all of the other links) to the SUNY Press Calendar of Events. You'll find all of the upcoming SUNY Press events on the calendar, including, of course, those related to GTM.

And for those in the Albany area next Friday the 13th, The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza will host a reception for the book at 7pm. We're looking forward to having Peggy and Barbara in town and we hope you'll join us at The Book House if you can.

Ms. Henley Goes to Washington

Peggy sent us this latest update—and it's a big one!

At the request of the First Lady of the nation, Ms. Mary Henley of Richmond, Virginia was one of a group invited by the First Lady to attend the President’s first address before Congress. This is not the first time Ms. Henley has met and talked with the First Lady. The first time was on September 17, 2008 at the Richmond Convention Center where she attended an Economic Conference featuring Michelle Obama on the campaign trail for her husband. During the question and answer period, Ms. Henley stood next to the First Lady to tell her story of economic hardship for seniors nearing their eighties. A photo was taken of Ms. Henley and the now First Lady talking. That photo is the bottom photo on the cover of our book Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady. The coeditors and the contributors have been waiting with bated breath to receive word that the book dedicated to Ms. Obama had reached her hands. Well, we can all breathe a sigh of relief because Ms. Henley took her copy of the book to Washington, and had it signed by First Lady Michelle Obama with President Obama by her side. Yes she DID! As a matter of fact, according to Ms. Henley, President Obama looked at the book and leafed through it and then passed it to Michelle Obama to sign. We are waiting for a photo from Ms. Henley with the book standing beside Michelle Obama! Now we know that the First Lady has seen the book and held it! For now, one of our books has been seen and signed by the First Lady of the Nation. We are ecstatic! We are still working to have a meeting with the First Lady and the contributors to discuss the book and the GTM Sisterhood. We will keep you posted.

Thank you, Peggy, for sharing that wonderful story of Ms. Henley's second meeting with Michelle Obama. We look forward to posting a photo of Ms. Henley with the First Lady and a copy of the book!

Audio Update

Barbara in studio

Here's an update from Barbara Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram on the recording of the GTM audio book:

Peggy in studio

For more than a week, we were in the sound studio recording the audio version of GTM. Our sound engineer David Lee Chandler was such an excellent director. He never let us get away with a single missed word or slurred phrase! We also have to thank Dr. Carole Smith Petro, Associate Vice President and General Manager of WBFO Radio at the University at Buffalo for providing the studio for our recording. We are excited about this new audio version of Go, Tell Michelle and think that readers who have already picked up a hard copy will enjoy listening to the book as well.

Sound engineer David Lee Chandler

Stay tuned for more news on the forthcoming audio book...