It’s been dead silent around here for the past couple of months; I’ve been working on a couple projects that have taken me further away from my messy blog. I’ve also gone through two bouts of illness this winter (remarkable for someone who doesn’t get sick often!), seen two babies born in my doula work, and transitioned out of one job and into another. Someday I’ll get around to recapping everything in its full rich detail, but for now I’ll put down a roundup of the collaborations and writing I’ve been doing elsewhere around the internet:
My long-time friend, the brilliant artist Jess X. Chen created these two posters using my face as a model and collaborated with me on the caption text. They are for the #nobannowall protests that occurred after the immigration ban earlier this month. They are available for download at justseeds.
‘To Allah we belong and to Allah we return’ is a rough translation of the dua said at someone’s death. Blessed is this temporary cycle. We are part of a long lineage, a history of others who have dreamed us into being (as Walidah Imarisha puts it in the introduction to Octavia’s Brood). We are ourselves complete and also part of this larger whole and while we are impermanent, we are irreplaceable. Remember that you have the hands of ancestors at your back, and the duty to dream of the generations ahead of you.
I’ve written a piece called ‘Life After’ about the Tr**p election and what it means for us as vulnerable populations. Check that out at Fragments Magazine.
The Theo Westenberger Estate blog is featuring a piece about my experiential research process from my time in Bangladesh — it’s called ‘The Accordion Exercise’ and talks about some of my novel-writing process.
Finally, next month I will be in NYC working yet again on the lovely Feminist Zine Fest! If you’re in the city, please come through and support independent writers and art-makers from across North America. More info at our website and Facebook page.
