Emerald Reflections 2: A South Seattle Emerald Anthology

by Marcus Harrison Green (Editor), Lola E. Peters (Contributor), Ijeoma Oluo (Contributor)

Seattle’s most diverse community has a story to share with the world, a narrative of resistance, resilience, hope, tragedy, triumph, and passion.

It’s a story that can only be told by an area where Tagalog, and Tigrinya can flow as fluently from corner store door steps as English.
Explore in this collection experiences as varied and unique as the people who grace its streets, but coalescing in one wide-ranging story: The People of South Seattle.

Featuring work by
* Lola E Peters * Ijeoma Oluo * Nakeya Isabell * Georgia S. McDade * Nikkita Oliver * Gyasi Ross * Monica Hoang * Alvin “LA” Horn * Sharon H Chang * Hanna Brooks Olsen * Toshiko Grace Hasegawa * Rell Be Free * Alex Gallo-Brown * K. D. Senior * Mike Leitner * Lee Claiborne * Kayla Blau * Tiffani Jones * Isaac Robinson * Harvey Garvey * Nasra Ali * Namaka Auwae-Dekker * Gabriella Duncan * ChrisTiana ObeySumner * Rae Rose * Robin Boland * Kiana Davis * Sean Smith * Samira Abbas * Rev. Kelly Dahlman-Oeth * Courtney Weaver * Brian Burgen-Aurand * Laura Humpf * Jon Greenberg * Dan Ophardt * Marilee Jolin * Marisa Ordonia * Fathi Karshie * Will Sweger * Kelsey Hamlin * Sharayah Lane * Peter Johnson * Danica Bornstein * Miguel Jimenez

203 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2018

About the author

Marcus Harrison Green began his love affair with the written word at a young age upon his first foray to his local library. Finding himself encompassed by an eclectic assortment of works that included the dramas of Shakespeare, the prose of Baldwin, the comedy of Allen, and yes, even the lyrics of 2Pac, his fascination with the power of words to endure and inspire became ignited.

Coming from extremely humble origins, he was encouraged to put his writing ambitions on hold, while in college, to seek a lucrative career in Finance, graduating with honors as a Business Major and beginning his career as a Stockbroker soon after.

Finding his day unfulfilling and the desire to write still burning vigilantly inside him, he began the ritual of writing as soon as his work day ended until it was almost time for the next one to commence.

Grudgingly content to relegate his passion to after work hobby, he confronted a crossroads in his life courtesy of a very devastating end to a relationship with the woman he planned to marry. While distraught, this gave him an opportunity to reflect on his life. Finally facing the fact that he was miserable, he quit his job to devote his energies full time to writing.

Desperately seeking to come to some internal resolution in understanding the loss of his “Soulmate” he set out on an odyssey across the country collecting stories and anecdotes from the loveless, love struck, and loved alike, of all ages and genders. Distilling the narratives down into one while seeking to capture the enigma of love with both humor and pathos, he wrote his first novel, “A Year Without April,” which has been labeled as the male version of, “Eat, Pray, Love.” It is currently receiving attention from several film studios interested in turning the book into a feature film.

A noted essayist, journalist and public speaker, Marcus aspires to be one of the great writers of his generation. He continues to hone his craft in his beloved city of Seattle while working on both his second novel and book’s film adaptation.