I have a lot on my mind. I need your help. This is the problem: I have a woman on the street that I’ve been with for over five years before I got locked up. I’ve been down four years now. In the last year a lot of stuff has happened. She told me she now has a baby. She said that she still wants to write to me and wants to be with me when I come home, which won’t be until 2019.

Poetry showcase

Cave Canem presents the 15th Annual Poetry Showcase at 7:30 p.m. at the City of Asylum, 330 Sampsonia Way, North Side. Cave Canem is the North American premier home for Black poetry. The featured poets will be Colleen J. McElroy, Carl Phillips, Claudia Rankine and Sapphire, the author of “Push,” the novel adapted for film “Precious.” All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 412-321-2190 or visit www.cavecanempoets.org.

You should’ve seen it coming.

You knew the economy was bad. You saw friends losing their jobs, houses, their savings. Yet, when everybody else was slapping checkbooks shut, you didn’t worry. Your ship came in years ago and you figured you were okay.

But then, faster than a tsunami, you were drowning in debt. How did that happen? Sunk like the Titanic, your finances under water—suddenly, you’re broke.

So how can you keep your dignity, image and lifestyle afloat in lean times? Start by reading “Divanomics: How to Still be Fabulous When You’re Broke” by Michelle McKinney Hammond.

Two years after her first project, piano-based independent artist Joy Ike released her second full-length album, “Rumors,” with a release event at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

JOY IKE

The CD was recorded by Jake Hanner, who doubles as sound engineer of Play On Recording and drummer for accomplished indie-pop group, Donora. Emmy Award Winning Studio, Ya Momz House, based in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty, mixed and mastered the album. Produced by Ike, the project maintains her signature sound of pop, nu-jazz and neo-soul while simultaneously lending itself to a number of new ideas and sounds ranging from pop rock to classical.