Juanita’s recently published memoir – Lessons from Starfish – is about the art and science of teaching. She has two current projects: a children’s book about a boy’s first fishing trip – Wrigglin’ Worms and Flappin’ Fish – and a novel in the historical fiction genre, set in the Caribbean islands.
Juanita Coleman–Merritt. Ed. D.
Editor, Author, Speaker
Juanita Coleman-Merritt is a retired Educator. She was a teacher for over 25 years and ended her career as a Central and Local District Administrator with the Los Angeles Unified School District. In her last position, as Parent Ombudsperson for the South Los Angeles area, she developed information, resources and points of access for parents/parent organizations, and provided Professional Development for district and school personnel in order to enhance parent engagement. She is currently an Educational Consultant and Trainer, as well as an Author.
Dr. Coleman-Merritt edited and published Come Drink from My Cup: Musings of an East Harlem Poet as a tribute to her brother, Damon Chandler. Damon was an Actor, Stand-up Comic and Poet, who passed away in 2005.
The experience of editing and publishing this collection of poetry inspired her to begin writing for publication in her own right – this was a journey she had long thought about, but attempted only in relation to her work as an Educator. Juanita has recently published a memoir about the art and science of teaching; Lessons from Starfish. She has two current projects: a children’s book about a boy’s first fishing trip –Wrigglin’ Worms and Flappin’ Fish, and a novel in the historical fiction genre, set in the Caribbean Islands.
Published works: Education and Human Resources
Once a Teacher… – Tribute to the Work of Harlem Educator: Mildred L. Johnson; Bank Street College of Education, N.Y. 1978 The Parents as Partners in Education Component of the Academic English Mastery Program; Pepperdine University, ProQuest Information and Learning Company, MN 2005 Effective parent outreach: Meeting parents on their turf, The Ladder, 2009 Fall, LAUSD, Los Angeles, CA
Articles In:
The Routledge Companion to Happiness at Work
The Routledge Companion to Inclusive Leadership
I enjoyed close to a 50-year career in the field of Education – wrote many articles, research papers, contributed to journals – even wrote a doctoral dissertation – but it was only after I retired that I finally began some of the writing projects I had day-dreamed about.
I say that I found myself here in a literary world because I was inspired to edit and publish a book of poetry – not mine – my brother left it with me and died before he was able to get it published. That began my journey as a writer!
Read on to learn about my current literary projects…
I am inspired by the work of so many writers going way back to adventures I had in that little neighborhood library at 168th St. off St. Nicholas Avenue, New York City, so long ago. I remember the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series by Carolyn Keene, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and all of Jane Austin’s engaging characters. I remember The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and poetry such as “Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow– and the darker poems of Edgar Allen Poe. I remember poetry by Langston Hughes and the searing political and social commentary of Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Dubois and The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. I am deeply inspired to write in the Historical Fiction genre by Alex Haley’s masterful story of his family’s history in Roots. I am currently captivated by Diana Gabaldon’s fascinating attention to detailed world-building in her Historical Fiction Romance, the Outlander series.
What has been a real eye-opener for me was the journey I took to publish my brother, Damon Chandler’s poetry. Looking back to 2003, Damon spent about a year dropping by my house regularly, pecking out something – I didn’t know what exactly – on my PC keyboard – using his two index fingers. I was working a demanding administrative job at the time and caring for my 90 year-old mother, so I didn’t pay much attention. One day, he presented me with a manuscript he was planning to publish. “I’m giving you a copy”, he said, “because one of your poems is included” Really? Sure enough, he had gotten a copy of a poem in my high school yearbook and put it in the introduction to his collection of poetry. I was charmed – I never realized he had paid any attention to my writing. I had often heard him recite his own poems – sometimes during stand-up comedy routines or at gatherings of friends and family. I hadn’t realized he planned to publish them – and certainly not mine!
I found the manuscript in a file one day, years after he had died – still unpublished. As I read through it, and found myself laughing or being touched by so many of the poems, I decided to look into getting them published. After researching publishing houses, I learned that there were several that provided assistance to writers who were willing to self-publish. So, I took that route – I wanted Come Drink from My Cup published so that I could share it with our vast and far-flung Caribbean family and friends, Vietnam Vets and fellow servicemen/women – and all the people in the entertainment world – New York and Los Angeles – whose lives were touched by Damon. I became immersed in organizing, editing, choosing photos to enhance Damon’s story, reviewing and approving galleys and developing ideas for marketing. When I held the finished product in my hand, I knew that I was going to create my own written works and have them published – one way or another. For now, I knew that being a published author didn’t depend on anyone else but me. You might say I was called to the work by my brother, Damon, who showed me that he was inspired by my long-forgotten poem and thought it worthy of publishing.