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Simple Word Publications
Artful stories and practical principles for living the most creative life possible. Make something from nothing. Make your next creative leap. This is the way.
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Amplifying Black Voices
Amplifying Black Voices
I’m beginning the Fall semester of 2024 in a new role. I was appointed a few months ago to a two-year term as interim chair of the…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Sep 12
Margin-writing
Margin-writing
Being marginalized as an African American in the United States has always been somewhat to my advantage. I’ve never seen much point in…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Jun 29
Fast Forward
Fast Forward
Today, I am an educator, a tenured full professor at a major university. Teaching is really a giving profession. To do it really well is…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Jun 23
Cowboy Carter: A New Self-Portrait, by Beyoncé
Cowboy Carter: A New Self-Portrait, by Beyoncé
Beyoncé dropped a new album today and it once again proves she knows something that most artists know and not enough of the world has…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Mar 29
Moons, and Junes, and Ferris Wheels
Moons, and Junes, and Ferris Wheels
Computer generated artwork created by my father, Jim Rolling
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Feb 18
Making Sacred Spaces
Making Sacred Spaces
Since today is my 60th birthday, I began the morning by reflecting back on things I have done and left undone. We don’t get to have many of…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Dec 28, 2023
Thickening Our Faith
Thickening Our Faith
One of the reasons I established Simple Word Publications was because of my impulse to, from time to time, publish short pieces of writing…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Dec 17, 2023
Remembering Ma: A Mother’s Love, Life, and Eulogy
Remembering Ma: A Mother’s Love, Life, and Eulogy
Ma in her youth, a couple of years after bearing her fourth child.
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Nov 30, 2023
Affirmative Action and this Reactionary Supreme Court
Affirmative Action and this Reactionary Supreme Court
We’ve been here before. I was jolted by a sense of déjà vu when I heard the following caution from the official movie trailer for the…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Jul 10, 2023
Word Games of the Weekend Culture Warrior: 3 Critical Tips to Win the Main Plot
Word Games of the Weekend Culture Warrior: 3 Critical Tips to Win the Main Plot
What’s in a word? More than just the games people play. For example, I call myself an “antiracist.” Why? Because racism’s destructive…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Jun 20, 2023
Waking Up to the “Wokewashing” of the Anti-Woke Whiner
Waking Up to the “Wokewashing” of the Anti-Woke Whiner
First, let’s cut through the whitewashing. Whenever you hear anyone say they are “anti-woke” in the news or on social media, they are…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Jun 7, 2023
Full STEAM Ahead: A Seven-Point Remedy Toward Opening Up STEM Education for All
Full STEAM Ahead: A Seven-Point Remedy Toward Opening Up STEM Education for All
The Roots of STEM
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Mar 5, 2023
Black-on-Black Racism Is a Part of the System: The Tyre Nichols Tragedy
Black-on-Black Racism Is a Part of the System: The Tyre Nichols Tragedy
Let’s start here: You don’t have to be white to perpetrate a racist attack or offense against other citizens of color. You don’t even have…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Jan 27, 2023
The Man Who Tried to “Swat” Black Girl Joy Who Was Outside Swatting Spotted Lanternflies
The Man Who Tried to “Swat” Black Girl Joy Who Was Outside Swatting Spotted Lanternflies
This is a short story about racism, but it’s not what you think you’re going to hear because it’s not a story about hatred, prejudice…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Nov 25, 2022
Modeling Wakanda Forever, or “How to Build a Better STEAM Camp”
Modeling Wakanda Forever, or “How to Build a Better STEAM Camp”
Every once in a while, a visionary new movie helps us all to see what was right in front of our eyes all along, offering a flight plan to…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Nov 11, 2022
It’s My Birthday and I’ll Write if I Want To
It’s My Birthday and I’ll Write if I Want To
It’s been a very difficult year — so many losses. But today is my birthday and I wanted to write. I don’t have a plan for this new bit of…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Dec 29, 2021
I Am an Anti-Racist Because Everyday Monsters Live Among Us
I Am an Anti-Racist Because Everyday Monsters Live Among Us
How to vaccinate yourself against apathy and indifference
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Oct 11, 2021
Four Ways to Jump-Start Your Creative Collaborations
Four Ways to Jump-Start Your Creative Collaborations
The Best Path To Your Next Creative Leap Is Through Collaboration, Not Competition
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Oct 7, 2021
Resilience After Isolation: The Restorative Power of Creative Activity
Resilience After Isolation: The Restorative Power of Creative Activity
One of the lessons I’ve learned in 2021 is that to move forward, sometimes I must echo the shape I once held. Every human life holds a…
James Haywood Rolling Jr
Sep 29, 2021
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