(About Breathing Lesson 101) I was 25 the first time I fully understood. I was navigating the tenuous journey of the Good Girl. At the time I was being courted by an older man who decided out loud and before our first real date that I was a sexual outlier—an adult virgin. The encounter was [...]
Category: politics
Guilty: Interrogating Cultural Appropriation
I've studied North African/Egyptian dance (also called belly dance) and West African dance since 2007. I've felt uncomfortable in my body sometimes--a lot of times--and sometimes unsure of what I was undertaking in what I call(ed) the study. When I read this article, I understood my uncertainty. Randa Jarrar writes: Women I have confronted about [...]
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Conversations that happen in my head…
...and maybe should stay there. **RAMBLE/RANT ALERT** I have gone through those break-ups that deflate you, suffered losses in which you know you will never stop missing the person as long as you exist on the planet and they do not. I have physically hurt to the point of tears, curses, and moans--all of which [...]
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One Solitary Life
"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” James Baldwin A [...]
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Trigger
It seems so obvious now. I don't want it all to be about race. I don't. But I teach mostly Black young people who have told me things like: 1. My family calls me "white boy," you know, because I'm the one who goes to college. 2. Slavery ended in, like, 1930 right? C'mon Ms. [...]
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2013 in review
Stay on the grind; stay on the low... Be well good people, Under the Radar A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. Under the Radar was viewed about 8,100 times in 2013. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 7 trips to carry that many people. In 2013, there [...]
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I Voted.
I voted. It's a simple gesture--my polling place is a few blocks from my home. The screens are touchscreen and simple to handle. So I voted. Also, this morning while waiting for the polls to open so I could vote, I sat with 2 young white women talking about fartleks and teaching; and with an [...]
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Monthly Meter (July, September, & August editions)
I am ridiculously behind on posting my stats. So for all 10 of you who keep track of my publication oohs and oh-ohs, here they are: July fellowship/publication submissions: 0 fellowship/publication acceptances: 1 fellowship/publication rejections: 3 books: Sister Outsider - Audre Lorde Secret Shame: I am in a love/hate relationship with Sleep. Mantra of the [...]
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Here we go…
Blonde Angel?! Aww hell.
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8 Million Stories
This happened. Two weeks ago. And it sits with me still. Artists: y'all know how they do--waiting to be told. So I tell for now. I'll revisit it later. "There are 8 million stories in the naked city Some ice cold and told without pity." Kurtis Blow, 1984 I was standing in front of a [...]
darlene anita scott 