Frayser author sends upbeat messages to ‘budding roses’ with children’s books
Frayser native T'Arrah Marjé is the author of "Big Mad" and "Still A Rose." (Courtesy T'Arrah Marjé)
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Shelby County, forcing many residents to stay inside their homes, T’Arrah Marjé challenged herself to do something she had always wanted to do.
Isolated and anxious, she began thinking of ways to put her creativity to work. She challenged herself to write a book. Writing and storytelling had always come naturally to her, she said.
Now, the 29-year-old from Frayser has published two books through her own publishing company. Marjé is an alumna of Frayser High School, which has since been taken over by charter operator Frayser Community Schools. She studied journalism at the University of Memphis.
Being at home throughout the pandemic gave her time to sit down and study the process. During that time, she created books with messages that she wished she’d heard growing up in her neighborhood often burdened with a negative reputation. About a decade ago, state education officials took over schools in Frayser, placing them in the Achievement School District for the lowest-performing schools in the state.
She infused her Frayser upbringing into every aspect of this challenge. Her publishing company is called Bay Roses Publishing LLC, as an ode to the neighborhood, which is sometimes referred to as the Bay Area. Her first book, “Still a Rose,” bears a dedication to “all of the budding roses in the Frayser community.” It published in June 2020.
“Good things and good people are there, and I just wanted to shine light on that and give hope back to that because sometimes we can get discouraged by our environment and what’s around us,” she said. “But we can’t forget that the beauty is still within us, and not around us.”
In the book, the main character stumbles upon a rose growing from the concrete. Marjé uses first person to let young readers know that like the rose, they can bloom wherever they are planted and that their circumstances should not define them.
“A rose is still a rose, no matter where it grows,” the book reads. She hopes to inspire self-confidence.
Her second book, “Big Mad” follows a character named Kennie Beans through a big, bad day. As he goes through his day, he faces challenges that make him angrier and angrier. When his teacher shows him how to meditate, he begins to take control over his actions and emotions.
Kennie Beans’ plight was also personal for Marjé. The author said that learning meditation is a practice that helped her to get through being isolated at home during the height of the pandemic. So she translated what she learned to language that breaks it down for children. The earlier they learn, the better, she said.
“Big Mad” published in July 2021.
Recently, she said, her dream has come full-circle. Earlier this year, she got to take her books to Frayser-Corning Achievement Elementary, which she attended when it was known as Frayser Elementary.
“When I first got the idea to publish in 2020, that was the vision that I had, that I would see kids at Frayser Elementary holding up the books,” she said.
Marjé said she has a couple more books in mind and wants to try her hand at filmmaking. She is also consulting with others to help them to publish their own books.
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Frayser T'Arrah MarjéDaja E. Henry
Daja E. Henry is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a graduate of Howard University and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and currently is a general assignment reporter.
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