Back to our Roots

It's been a long time since I've been around. I've been so busy that today I feel like I'm floating. I always seem to have a mess of thoughts swirling around in my head these days.

When I came back to Newfoundland for the summer, I was reminded of coming back from South Africa. The cultural gap is smaller between Halifax and St. John's, but it's still present. When I was a circus coach in SA, I was galaxies apart from being here. Now, although I still live in Atlantic Canada, and although I'm just coaching at a recreational circus school while I finish up my degree, I still feel like this place moved on without me, and I without it.

Now we're together again, and I'm learning more than ever about my roots. Where I came from, where the world came from, and where my mother culture came from. Although I'm moving forward, I'm learning about the past.

Like always, though, I haven't forgotten about Ekhaya - about "home," about family, and about all of the things that built me out of nothing. I'm also becoming bigger from being in this place, and sometimes it's awful, and sometimes it's great.

But just like Ekhaya is always lurking at the back of my mind, I hope it's in the back of your minds, too. Manuscripts are going out, and the stories never die.

If you want to sample Ekhaya, you still can. Click this link, and read a sample chapter of Ekhaya, and do something great for the world. Meanwhile, this is Melissa, signing out.

Photo: Sarah DeVenne
MUA/Hair: Thyra Sanft
Studio: Aperture Studios
March 2009

Photo-A-Day

Visit the Ekhaya facebook page for a photo-a-day of South Africa or circus... see what the book is all about!

Nelson Mandela Crash Course

So, when I was in South Africa, one of the things that made me feel like a highly uneducated human being was that, aside from knowing the name and recognizing the face, I knew absolutely nothing about the amazing person who is Nelson Mandela.

So, I went out and bought the 700-page unabridged version of Long Walk to Freedom, and read it cover to cover. First of all, I would recommend that you go with the 300-page abridged version, if you decide to follow my footsteps, because you'll avoid a lot of political rhetoric. But, if even 300 pages is too much, you should still take my advice and get a crash course in Nelson Mandela. Click the links below to learn a little bit more about an amazing man.

Biography of Mandela by the ANC, his political party
Mandela as one of Time Magazine's top 100 political leaders of the last century
Timeline of South African presidents throughout history
Nelson Mandela Foundation
Barack Obama's birthday wish to Mandela
Buy Long Walk to Freedom, the long version

Teaser, and some wonderfully talented people.

Recently, I did a photo shoot here in Halifax with local (soon to be local to Toronto) ultra-fantastic photographer Sarah DeVenne, spectacular hair and makeup artist Thyra Sanft, and my hugely talented coworker and contortionist Caitlan Anthony. We partied for a few hours last week at Aperture Studios, and
came out of it all with some spectacular shots. So, in celebration of inspiration, I'm offering you a teaser that doesn't appear in the Ekhaya sample chapter - eat your hearts out. And remember, if you want to see more, there's more to be had, and some amazing kids to benefit from it. Just visit the blog entry from January and follow the instructions. 

Photo: Sarah DeVenne
Hair/Makeup: Thyra Sanft
Studio: Aperture Studio
Subject: Melissa Marie Legge

The following is an excerpt from Ekhaya: A memoir of 21 years, circus, and South Africa, by Melissa Marie Legge.

It was at Wonderbolt, only short hours later, that I first lay my hands on juggling clubs. They were decorated Renegade Fatheads, words that meant next to nothing to me at the time, that felt like marbles in my mouth. I spent hours trying to learn how to wield them, and I willed my brain not to forget the rudimentary three-ball pattern that I had learned as an adolescent, standing over my bed. Little did I know how important these pieces of plastic and wood would become in my life. A few short years later, a set, my set, of white Henry’s juggling clubs would represent my entire relationship with the world of circus. Those simple objects embody the pain, the elation, the rush, the fear, the intimidation, and the confidence, all of it. It is so strange how much importance objects can have. And what do they mean? Nothing. Plastic. Tape. Wood. Metal. They are nothing.

They are everything. In years to come, I would work for hours and hours and hours and still miss the same trick. I would throw them to the ground, furious. I would pray that they would turn to glass and shatter. I would pray that they would turn to sand, to dust. I would clutch them as though the sun would fade if I let go. I would juggle for six hours on end. I would be inspired to the point of breathlessness. 

Lots of Razorwire

Today has been an interesting day in the development of this book. I am full of doubt. I feel like there is no interest, and like I have no support, for something that I worked so incredibly hard on. I feel like I wasted a year of my life, and like I should just burn the project.

But, I was looking at the photos and videos today. I remember the faces, the landscapes, I remember how far it was from everything here. I had forgotten how noisy it could be. I had forgotten how the rawness in Cape Town made me feel soft and fuzzy in comparison - the opposite to how I feel here.

That, and I will never forget that these stories need to be told. It hurts me to think that I would have failed in telling the stories that I promised to share.

It's bleak outside - cold and frozen and bits of ice falling from the hard, gray sky.

I guess the bottom line is, if you want to read Ekhaya, now's the time to let me know.

Back-Burning. Alternate Title: Throw me a punch.

Hey, sportsfans.

I know, it's been a while. It's amazing how fast a month can rush past you when your life is filled with essay writing and drama, isn't it? Well, as an update, it turns out that no circus, big or small, is without drama and confusion, and all writing consumes your life, no matter what you're doing it before. As a side note, if you ever want to talk about Victor Hugo, quiz me on uses of the subjunctive in Spanish, chat about pre-1958 revolution Iraq, discuss comic books (especially X-Men Noir), see the Vagina Monologues, or just generally be crazy academic, I'm your lady.

Or, if you're looking for someone to abuse a little, I can be your punching bag, too. After getting a little criticism for a recent attempted journalistic project, followed by a fair amount of criticism from the first few people featured in the book to check out Ekhaya, followed by a third rejection by a literary agent, I am all over it. Turns out, it's all well and good taking criticism, until it's from the people who you know and care about. Throw a punch at me, I dare you.

Also, I'm reading an absolutely dreadful book right now. The kind of book that makes you wonder whose bright idea it was to invent the English language, I mean, really. And it's totally depressing, because somehow, somehow, crap like that gets published... but anyway...

So, Ekhaya has taken the back burner as a pursue other worthy projects (ie, academic excellence, forays into romance and idealism, and uninhibited protest of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver)... but if you're one of the people who have said to me over the past few weeks, HOW'S THE BOOK GOING?!... well, find out for yourself. That's all I'm saying.

Sample chapters of Ekhaya are now available for purchase, with a small donation, part of which goes to help people in need. Check out the previous entry for details.

Over and out, Sportsfans. See you on the flip side.

Sample Chapters Available For Purchase

Welcome back, sportsfans!

So, in this edition of the Ekhaya times, I am opening up a new offer. I've had a lot of people asking about the book, how things are going, what the whole deal is about... so now's your chance. The deal is this.

The manuscript is roughly 130 typewritten pages long, single-spaced font. Typical printing cost, roughly $13 to $15 CAD. Shipping on a document that size, about $7. Minimum cost to send that document to ONE publishing company... about $20. Here's the catch. If I don't manage to secure an agent for the book, how many publishing companies will I have to send the manuscript to before I find one that will take it?

If you click on the Donate button below, you will be prompted for a $5 donation. Out of this $5, half will go straight into my bank account to help pay the costs of promoting my manuscript. The other half will be put in a separate account which will then be forwarded to my friends at Obs House in South Africa. This money, for them, can be used to do anything from buying toiletries and clothes to having the small treat of a chocolate bar or a trip to the townships to visit their families. Keep in mind that the current exchange rate is one Canadian dollar (or 0.96 USD)  to 7.17 South African rand, so every bit counts!

ALSO, in exchange for the donation that you're making to the promotional fund, if you send me your Email address, I will send you you an electronic 25 page sample chapter of Ekhaya - the same sample that is being sent to literary agents across the country right now.

IN SUMMARY: One $5 CAD donation buys you a sample chapter of Ekhaya, a yet-unpublished manuscript, and makes a small donation to help some people who are far away, but who definitely deserve it! And don't forget to include your Email address! You can Email them to me here, or leave them in a comment at the bottom of this page!

Click on the Donate button below to make your $5 donation now!

OR, if you don't feel like $5 is enough, click on this second button to enter your own donation amount! As with the $5 donations, half will go to South Africa, and the other half into the promotional fund for Ekhaya!

Thank you so much, in advance. You don't know how much of a difference this will make in my life, as well as in the lives of others. And don't forget to contact me with your Email addresses! You can Email them to me here, or leave them in a comment at the bottom of this page!

All my love, sportsfans.
Over and out.

Another Week, Another Bullet. Alternate title: Two Down.

So, guys, another week, another gentle rejection from a literary agent. Let's hope that one of the other four that are still left are feeling a little more generous.

I'm sorry for the delay in getting back to you.  Unfortunately, your project doesn't fit my needs at the present time, so it's not something that I can pursue.  I'm afraid I don't have another agent I can suggest, but I recommend that you continue to query agents to see if you can find a match with someone else.
Thanks for thinking of me.

Suffice to say that Ekhaya could use a little love right now... so keep your eyes open. Later this week, fingers crossed, I will be posting an offer that could get you the option of getting your very own sample chapter, as well as a chance to do a little something good for the wonderful boys at Obs House in Cape Town, South Africa.

Keep your eyes and ears open! I haven't given up yet.

Full

These days, I find myself thinking how full I am. Full with experience. Full with emotion. Full with stress. Full with anticipation. I feel like my seams are stretching in ways that I would rather them not.

I find myself pawing through photos of days spent on beaches, or days when I had to put on ten pounds of makeup and a unitard to do my day's work. I find myself looking at the students I teach, and thinking back to students I've had in the past, and how full they made me feel, in a totally different way than how I feel now, and thinking back to how full they all are. I find myself thinking of friends, and knowing that sometimes, just because you are far away from someone, that doesn't mean you can't be filled with love. I find myself looking at people right next to me, sometimes, and thinking that they have no idea how filled with love I am. Love and longing, but that's how the story goes, right?

I wish that all of the people who taught me things could know. I wish that there was some way to express to my students here how full of life and beauty and potential they are. I wish there was some way to tell all the kids that I met at the circus camp where I coached how they were what changed my life that summer. I wish that there were some way to go to the places on earth where I have friends... all the wide world of places... I have friends in Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Dominica, France, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA and the UK. I wish that there was some way to be there and tell them all... everything.

Ekhaya is just a piece of what I am bursting to tell.

One Down, Five To Go!

Hey there, sportsfans.

So, this past week has been very productive in the world of Ekhaya. Six Canadian agents received very special packages by Email this week, promoting Ekhaya. They were a lot of work, but in the end they looked shiny and impressive. Now, it's just a waiting game. Will anyone take the bait?

The things that are going against me are that I am a first-time author, and that this is a new project with just me plugging it. In a way, my fingers are crossed that an agent will take a risk on me, because that would be the end of my job here... they would be doing the promotions to publishing companies and so on. That said, it's super hard to get picked up by these people... In fact, I've already gotten one gentle rejection:

Many thanks for sending this along. I see a large number of promising manuscripts and although I consider each carefully, I can take on very few every year because of the enormous long-term investment involved in the work we do. Ultimately I've decided against pursuing this project. Please accept my best wishes for the successful placement of your work

...so we'll see what happens. I could definitely use some support while this process is going on. It's like I'm wading in a pool of stress, not sure where the deep end starts... Cross your fingers for me, I could use a little luck!

As per the challenge that I put to everyone last week, so far only one person has successfully guessed the meaning of the word "Ekhaya" on the facebook wall, and gotten a brand spanking new hot off the press 25 page sample of the book... the reward still stands, for anyone else who will give it a shot! What is there to lose?

That's it from me. Over and out.

Coming Soon

That's right, sportsfans. For those of you keeping count, Ekhaya has seen a two drafts already. New to today, draft three on the way.

My editor-in-chief's little sis was great enough to drop it off to my house this afternoon, along with a bag of scrumptious brain food, straight from the Métropole itself. In a few days, the final draft will be ready, and I'll be getting prepped to send it off on the first round of judgings: agents.

Anyone who wants a sneak peek? A taste tester?
Head on over to the Ekhaya facebook fan page, join up if you haven't already, and write your guess on the group's wall. The question of the day?: What does the word "ekhaya" mean? And be honest - this means no search engines!

Look forward to hearing what everyone comes up with.
Over and out.