Crystal Wilkinson's Blog

So happy to join such a cache of writers on this Bustle list. And of course any opportunity to use this #blackgirlmagic gif is a win!

http://www.bustle.com/articles/144471...

The Birds of Opulence has finally hit bookstores across the country. What a thrill to have friends, neighbors and strangers alike to send me notes about how happy they are to be able to have the book in their hands. I hope that you will find time to read it, review it or recommend it.

Someone asked me recently "What did you learn from opening a bookstore and then watching it close three years later?" Apparently not a darn thing. We've done it again.

The NEW Wild Fig  nestled in a diverse community at the corner of Eddie and Limestone is a booming area. In addition to more new books than used, we've added boutique items such as t-shirts, tote bags and pencil cases (all with

For years I have watched people make fun of me and allowed them to think that I don't see them.

Once at a  mixer a "friend" was making fun of what I had on. I admit I am prone to the eccentric and you can never tell what I might wear on any given day. Most times I get dressed with the idea that I am daring someone to say something negative. But on this particular day I wasn't dressed too

As most of you know my partner Ron Davis and I have owned The Wild Fig books for three years. We are artists and dreamers and want to continue to be an integral part of the Indie Bookstore movement. Wild Fig Books is the people's store. It always has been. We have continued to support writers and readers not only in Kentucky but across the country. Please take time out to read our story in our

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I received a text earlier today from my dear friend Nikky Finney urging me to help her get the word out


about the change.org petition below. A link on her FB page was accompanied by this post:

Dear fearless lovers of truth and poetry, As many of you
know the story of LaVena Johnson is close to my heart. When I wrote the
poem "Florissant: for LaVena Johnson, 19" I intentionally wanted

It's been a long while since I posted. Honestly, I have been living in a whirlwind. Spread too thin? An understatement. A friend recently sent me a FB message that began "I see from your FB post that you have a lot going on..." I wish I had a long list of fabulous things that I could post here or something profound but I don't have that right now. In fact, I feel as though today there is barely

For Marita Golden, Marie Brown, Judy Sapp, Matthew Miller and Christine Wilkinson, who all believed even when I didn't.

It has been a long time habit of mine to wake up at 4 a.m. to write.

This morning I woke up to play "catch up" with my classes at the university.

In the shower, I bemoaned the fact that since the beginning of the semester I had spent little to no time dedicated to the final

The Wild Fig Books--1439 Leestown Road--Lexington, KY
Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read.  One does not love breathing.  ~Harper Lee


I have owned a house in the Meadowthorpe Neighborhood in Lexington, KY for more than 17 years. My son turned 13 when we moved into our house. The twins were five. One of the mainstays of the neighborhood was Morgan Adams Books, an eclectic