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The last time I posted to Substack was a J-month. Half a year has come and gone, and the space between has accumulated tumbleweeds, rambling through the chasm of my unpublished musings. I hope you (and I, both) forgive me for breaking my monthly promise. I’ve fallen way off from my 30-day benchmark. Though I swear I have been writing, not enough has happened here, where my words are supposed to be amassed and displayed for however many eyes are willing to read them. In an effort to atone, I’m catching you up on what’s been on my mind and what I’ve been up to in the span of my extended silence, as well as what I’m looking forward to for the rest of 2023 …
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FEBRUARY: The year got off on the good foot with a JOURNEY(S) event, hosted in partnership with my grants organization HumanitiesDC. I presented research, inspiration and excerpts of my experimental “docupoem” series. Afterward, I moderated a panel discussion that included my mother and other narrators from the anthology. In addition, project collaborators, like my friend Yodith Dammlash, a photojournalist, archivist and fine art photographer, explained their involvement with the production. Taking audience questions, we had an open, intimate and intergenerational conversation about the themes connected to my work. Specifically, memory, translation, displacement and belonging. I was so appreciative of the event turnout and feedback. Some sixty people were in attendance.
MARCH: I have plenty of books in my antilibrary. I had no business borrowing another. But, alas, since the start of spring, I’ve slowly been devouring Alice Walker’s journals. The entries culled for “Gathering Blossoms Under Fire” have entranced me for weeks now. Split into chronological sections, the collection begins in the 1960s and trods pensively, quizzically, joyfully through the 90s. From across the decades, Walker’s words hit my marrow. She grapples vulnerably with everyday tragedies. Romantic troubles. Money problems. Family issues. Writerly woes. There are personal photos and early character notes from her famed 1982 novel, “The Color Purple,” as well as thorough footnotes explaining Walker’s shorthand references and filling in their blanks. Her sprawling thoughts and waves of emotional disarray are resonant. Many mornings, I find myself reading pages from her journal, shortly after scribbling entries in my own. We speak across notebooks. It feels like literary serendipity.
APRIL: HumanitiesDC awarded JOURNEY(S) another grant. The first one, dispersed in March 2022, was a DC Oral History Collaborative Grant, which provided the seed funding for the project. I was able to interview participants and produce the anthology, both in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and DC. The Beyond the Archives Grant will now allow me to enhance and expand JOURNEY(S), through innovative programming and creative partnerships, in and outside of the District.
MAY: I was honored to be nominated by a former employer and colleague in the documentary space to participate in a regional filmmakers lab with Firelight Media. Already a fan of Firelight’s community and impact, I had a chance to participate in a weekend of resource and knowledge-sharing, alongside a handful of fiercely talented fellow artists, from DC, Maryland and Virginia, respectively. This was Firelight’s first time doing their Groundwork Lab in our area. (They typically move between the filmmaking poles of New York and California, but the off-shoot program is meant to support filmmakers outside of these cities.) I was thrilled to be welcomed into the Firelight family. The lab was a two-day sprint with a packed itinerary of information. Sessions took place at the Maryland Public Television station (on day one) and, (then, on day two) at JHU-MICA Film Centre in Baltimore. We screened short films by Firelight alums and considered the directions of our individual projects. The experience helped me determine where I want to take JOURNEY(S).
JUNE: I’ve decided to go on tour. After hosting two successful events, (the one in DC, and another, last year, in Addis), I’m planning to take JOURNEY(S) on the road. Beginning this summer and going into the fall, I’ll be exhibiting the project at multiple locations and via various platforms. The goal is to reach diverse audiences across the U.S. and around the world. I intend to connect and collaborate with as many artists, communities and organizations as possible; and to spark more engagement and intergenerational / intra-cultural discussions around the anthology. I also want to give others the chance to share their own journeys, along the way.
A primary destination on the tour will be San Francisco, CA, where the pilot episode of JOURNEY(S) first aired in 2022, as part of KPFA's Women's History Month lineup.
If you’re interested in presenting the project or getting involved with the tour, you can contact me here or via Instagram. Otherwise, be sure to stay tuned for more updates.
Sooner, rather than later …
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