Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash For the last few years, I've been teaching courses around the business and logistics of writing through The Speakeasy Project. The reality is that many MFA programs never talk about the work of living as a writer. Particularly for POC folks who may not have the mentorship support through a MFA program [...]
Author: Raina Leon
#ThisIsTheBeginningOfAnEssay
Soon after the birth of my son, I developed a hashtag, which has started to gain some traction among my friends: #ThisIsTheBeginningOfAnEssay. It was an acknowledgement that my energy to write an extended essay is truncated by the energy needed for mothering and partnering. I have been collecting snippets through Facebook especially, using the hashtag personally, [...]
Nearly two months in wandering
Just a few days after my last One Quote Response, my family and I headed off to Berlin for new adventures, a living exercise, a pointed practice of living a dream. For several months now, Matteo and and I have been futurecasting, considering what our lives will look like in five, ten, and twenty years. We [...]
One Quote Response: How Long ‘Til Black Futures Month? by N. K. Jemisin
How Long 'Til Black Futures Month? by N. K. Jemisin was a collection that arose from one of the threads in my reading. I've been wanting to read her work for a while now, though, particularly since she is a black woman reading all the awards in genres that regularly imagine a future without black [...]
One Quote Response: Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney C. Cooper
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney C. CooperIt's been a minute since last I wrote my one quote responses, but since my last post, I finished How Long 'Til Black Futures Month? by N. K. Jemisin and Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney C. Cooper. While Jemisin's book was [...]
One Quote Response: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
A snapshot from my Kindle reader of The Poet X by Elizabeth AcevedoSo I been knowing that this book was brilliant, I just finally got the chance to read the whole thing (rather than the samples online and reviews). #sabbatical #sabbaticalreading is an ABSOLUTE delight. Side note: in my general life, I only get to [...]
One Quote Response: Well-Read Black Girl, edited by Glory Edim
In this One Quote Response, I'm interested in two quotations that stand together for me as I consider the importance of reading as a black/Afro-Latina woman and the writing of story as mother. Here are the two quotations: Reading highlights the intersection of narrative and self-image to create compelling explorations of identity. Reading allows us to [...]
