Meet Pat Gordon | Children’s author, writer and singer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pat Gordon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pat, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m from Long Island, New York but grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in the very Caribbean neighborhood of Crown Heights. My mother is Jamaican born, so I grew up comfortably claiming to be equal parts Jamaican and African-American. I went to school and held jobs with people from all over the world. It’s easy for me to consider myself a citizen of the planet. I love travelling and hearing other people’s stories, and being reminded that we are all the same under the skin. My primary occupation has been that of an English teacher. Reading and writing and helping young minds to be enriched through the processes connected with learning, provided the springboard for writing children’s books, although my love for writing started almost as soon as I first learned how to write!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Being a recent transplant from New York, in the midst of a pandemic, I had to shift my career as a classroom educator and singer/musician, to one as a remote tutor. Success has had to be redefined somewhat. I’m grateful that the parents of my students believe I’ve been instrumental to their children’s academic growth during a most difficult school year for everyone. Had I not had the years of experience and education behind me, particularly the flexibility that being a substitute teacher requires, I wouldn’t have been able to believe I could teach under the conditions that covid dictated.

Working toward my advanced degrees years ago was challenging in the way they are for everyone. I was an adult with a full-time occupation and had long commutes from home to work to school. But I loved the process of learning from my professors and from those more experienced teachers I was now peers with. Increasingly becoming aware of the varied approaches and needs we all bring to the learning desk keeps me interested in being both the student and teacher. On another note, this year showed me that I could still share my musical talents, albeit through a different platform. Back home I would have sung in church services and in restaurants if things were normal. This past year I helped to create and coordinate Easter and Christmas Zoom celebration concerts. The concept of being open to flexibility is always being redefined for me! Marrying flexibility with discipline and confidence is necessary for any definition of success, I think.

If someone reads my children’s book, Sage Finds Summer, or is in the audience during a performance I’m part of, or is one of my students, I want them to feel that excellence is important to me. That in every moment, I’m giving all of who I am to that expression.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in West Boca and one of the best aspects of living here is how close I am to my favorite restaurant from back home, Houston’s! At some point, friends and I have to have lunch or dinner there. My real girly girlfriends and I also need to do high tea at the Serenity Tea Garden in West Palm Beach, preferably a Sunday after church. Since I love jazz and used to sing it quite often, checking out the Arts Garage calendar in Delray Beach is a must. Enjoying great artistry in the intimate no-fuss setting of the Arts Garage is a memorable way to wind down an early day in the downtown area after beaching, sipping mojitos at Cabana El Ray or enjoying a healthy but undeniably tasty meal at Gary’s Farmhouse.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve been blessed with several supportive mothers, from my birth mother Althea Spence, who gave me direction by nurturing my Christian faith, to those who’ve chosen to love me along the way. They have never wavered as my cheering squad. I have a great father, Hal Gordon, who’s a wonderful listener and a husband, Patrick, who tells me to do what I need to do to get my dreams realized. The Bible is the book that daily sustains me, but Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life was particularly impactful in a difficult season.

Website: www.mywordsanctuary.net

Instagram: patgordon@mywordsanctuarypg

Facebook: Pat Gordon