Dear Friend,

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To know me is to know that Zora Neale Hurston is among my favorite writers in the American literary tradition. My admiration of Hurston's work is rooted in her refusal to grow complacent as a scholar-artist, evidenced by her unyielding pursuit to better understand the complexities that enrich and complicate communities, cultures, the world, and self. In her autobiography Dust Tracks on A Road, Hurston reflects, "I do not weep at the world - I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife." As I consider my roles as an education scholar-practitioner and musician, I respond, simply: "Me, too, Zora."

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I currently live and work in Nashville, TN, where I enjoy teaching piano lessons, hiking, watching Law & Order SVU marathons, and listening to an unacceptable amount of Fleetwood Mac, John Legend, Beyoncé, and Nat King Cole. 

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Whether in the classroom or during a music lesson, teaching and learning excites me. I look forward to our work together.

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From my desk to your heart,

MarQuis (he/him)