#blackwomenwriters

[trascapades]

📚#ArtIsAWeapon Remembering author, anthropologist, southern Black life storyteller, trailblazer #ZoraNealeHurston, who was born January 7, 1891.

#ZoraNealeHurstonDay

📷 photograph by #CarlVanVechten .

Caption and images reposted from @thefreeblackwomenslibrary It’s Zora Neale Hurston Day ⭐️🖤⭐️

Are you familiar with the life and writing of this legendary free thinking world traveling rule breaking culture defining Black woman icon?

Which one of her novels have you read and enjoyed?

Today we celebrate the birth of a chosen ancestor, spirit guide and muse of The Free Black Women’s Library, also a quintessential Capricorn and role model for Black girl scholars researchers historians anthropologists story tellers and mean muggers world wide!!

Cheers to the goat!!

🖤🖤🖤 🎂🎂🎂🐐🐐🐐🥂🥂🥂

BTW!!!

for those doing The Free Black Women’s Library Reading Challenge feel free to read

THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD for - a book where the characters speak Geechee, Gullah, Creole, patois or AAVE

BARRACOON - a book of history , historical fiction or slave narrative

HITTING A STRAIGHT LICK WITH A CROOKED STICK - collection of stories, poems, letters or prose

DUST TRACKS ON THE ROAD - a memoir

#zoranealehurston

#freeblackwoman

#TFBWL

#tfbwlreads

#tfbwlreadingchallenge

#thefreeblackwomenslibrary #TheirEyesWereWatchingGod #Barracoon #FreeBlackWomensLibrary #HarlemRenaissance #BlackWomenAuthors #BlackGenius

[thefreeblackwomanslibrary]

The theme for the month of July at The Free Black Women's Library that I am experimenting with is PLAY, which feels appropriate for summer in the city type vibes. ☀️

Save the date on whatever interests you and come on through ☀️

[mamawritten]

Day Four…

This is the fourth day that I have been stuck. Stagnant. During the weekend I made an attempt to get all the laundry done but as usual I fell short a load. Where I’d usually just finish it during the week, I just now today was able put some of the clean basket away. I am frustrated to say the least.

Our dog passed away last week. It was pretty traumatic for the family. I could tell by the way my aunt reacted that she was worried this would trigger me into an episode. As soon as I felt that energy I began to fear it too. I tend to pretend it’s not happening and when it begins. So naturally that is what I have done. I have accepted the bouts of tears in the bathroom and ruminating about what I could have done differently. I knew that I would get down but had things to do at the same time. Now that all the ‘have to-s’ are done I remain imprisoned in my mind.

It’s almost the weekend which means the kids will be home all day. I need to go to the grocery store. Tomorrow night is my girl’s basketball game and I need the energy for that. I can’t miss that. I know that I will push through and get done what has to get done. But what am I making for dinner tonight?

I am really tired of this.

[ambitiousblackfeminist]

A dreamy Tuesday. Sunshine, sea walls, laughter, and learning. #rezarites #vanity4themovement #iamsaltwater #gaiagallactica #blackwomanwriter #blackwomanartist #ambitiousblackfeminist #poetry #art #blackgirlmagic #blackwriters #blackwomenwriters #blackwomanpoets #blackartists #writingwhileblack #carefreeblackgirl #saltwater #narragansett #pier (at Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqEu2Q8MChK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[writtenbygrimes]

Behold Her

Behold Her In the sum of it all, there lies Beauty #InternationalWomensDay #WomensDay #WomensDaypoetry #blackwomen #blackwomenpoet #blackwomenauthors #poetrycommunity #femaleempowerment #womensupportingwomen #support #mentalhealth #relationships #poem

You don't look at me You used to Though it was never to see beauty Was beauty there? In your eye, I wonder Cracks and specks Errant things All disected and discerned, under your eye All the little things, The desperate things The shame-filled things Left to wonder How desperate I was To have your eyes upon me Undiscerning - a simple, admiring gaze Hopeful for the day That one fateful day…

[mfcommand]

Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD Came across title of this book & *clicked* with realization of seeing this occur in the workplace. I kind of already had an idea, let me go ahead read more in depth on it though. Not as obviously noticeable in smaller break rooms, quite a few mixed groups. Often times in smaller breakrooms I'd sit by myself, read a book, took edge off anxiety of sitting alone, or awkward silent pauses in conversations. Most noticeable in main large cafeteria. Some groups were mixed, other individuals intermingled about & so on. Could easily spot the racist anti-Black groups to avoid. While I, or almost anyone may have been welcome among primarily Black groups, I do remember impression, an unspoken rule, don't bring no bullshit, no racism, don't compromise that group safety, won't be no problem. An insightful read so far. Makes sense & definitely understandable. Pieces together many things I already had idea of & some others I hadn't thought of in connection. #READ #READS #READING #BOOK #BOOKS #BOOKSTAGRAM #NOVELS #NOVEL #NONFICTION #READBLACK #BLACKWRITERS #READBLACKWRITERS #BLACKWOMENWRITERS #LETSREAD #NOWREADING #CURRENTLYREADING https://www.instagram.com/p/ClecvxUOADA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[the-wilder-shores-of-love]

“Angela is fiercest woman I have ever met and I come from a long line of fierce women. And I mean fierce literally, not academically. Her hatred’s are monumental and she has not sense of danger. Sometimes I think she cannot perceive it.  She is also incredibly, phenomenally disciplined. I myself do not believe her control when I see it…. It is important to note that I have been on extremely intimate terms with her, and am probably one of the three or four people who do not idolise her.” - T.M.

In defence of Davis’ autobiography draft https://blogs.cul.columbia.edu/rbml/2022/01/18/toni-morrisons-memo-on-angela-davis/

[survivingnarcissism]

Rumination

It has been almost five years since leaving the narcissist. In that time I have done a lot of ruminating. I mean A LOT. Rumination has brought some reconciling with past traumas. And realizing that some of those traumas have contributed to me accepting being treated poorly.

In this time I have gone through many episodes of depression. I have reflected on past experiences and tried to see these things through more mature eyes. I have learned about forgiveness. Not only of others, but of myself. This has been the most difficult part of my journey, forgiveness.

But fast forward to now and the narcissist has been locked up for almost three years. Nothing that had anything to do with me. Just his addictions placing him in a situation that resulted in poor decisions being made. I saw him the day before he got arrested. We had an argument about him getting his life together. He had been staying between his mom and sister’s house, who were both alcoholics as well. I told him he would wind up dead or in jail if he didn’t get some help.

In the time that he has been in jail he has gotten his GED, attended several classes in anger management, sought therapy, among other positive things. In that time I have also allowed him to maintain communication with the kids. He has been very consistent in that. I however, have been mean, disrespectful and more. I have cussed him out for next to nothing and get defensive when he tries to give advice. I mean who does he think he is, right? But seriously I find it difficult to accept this change. I don’t trust it.

I find myself resenting his ascension into his higher self. All his reading, exercising, and reflection. His patience with me is unnerving. I know that this is the toxicity in me that has grown over time. I know that I remain in my lower self. I am uncomfortable with him having to pull me out of the shit he put me in. Or was I already in it? But I am proud of him nevertheless. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I have reservations about who he will be when he gets out. Sobriety changes a person. But addiction never goes away. I would be taking a huge risk in reuniting with someone who is capable of the things that he’s done. Yet I stand conflicted.

[callmekenyaa]

Transcending humanity's self-inflicted trivial confines, I found myself traveling within love’s Interstellar.

The timeline can be described as comically paranormal in my opinion. I tethered to her heart and suddenly I began writing romantic epistles. 

Painfully cheesy, is what it is.

Retrospectively, the deepest parts of my heart frequently wrestled with the idea of saving myself for a mystery future husband. Marrying this said husband, having kids and continuing to serve beside him as his submissive yet somehow simultaneously equal wife read bizarre.

The monotony of it all was repugnant. Patronising.

Being in a relationship and committing by way of marriage or whichever capacity that 'seals us in a covenant', was never an aspiration or specific dream of mine either. The entire concept never resonated with me even when I sincerely surrendered myself and tried to adopt it as my own. I felt as though I was suffocating. Drowning in the belly of a volcano-like cauldron, overflowing generously with religious obligations as well as man-made superficial social expectations.

All I ever wanted to be was authentically me. 

Subsequently, I decided that if Love ever knocked on my door asking to get coffee some time, I needed it to be unconventional. Multi-dimensional. Possessing an onion peel-like stratum, if you will.

I needed Love to break through the four walls that so often boxed it in.

That being said, nurturing a life away from a force-fed modus operandi has been infinitely rewarding though explaining what I have been blessed enough to experience in my lifetime would be futile.

The more I explain, the further away I move from its core.

To love and be loved not only outside of the proverbial box but far beyond its perimeters is indescribable. Fitting neatly in the realm of ethereal and surreal. I am inside Love.

Traveling within it daily. Turbulence is inevitable. Godspeed.

[just1pr]

Do you want to be a part of @blackwritersweekend ?! Are you an author looking to promote your books? Or want to be a speaker? As we’re opening our stage for YOU! Do you have a Film you want to submit? Appear at the Black Writers Weekend Aug. 4-6 Visit our website so you won’t miss the opportunity to apply now! For more info and to sign up, visit our website www.blackwritersweekend.com just click the link in our bio 📖 . . . #WeLit #BlackWritersWeekend #blackwomenwriters #books #ourstories #blackauthors #blackscreenwriters #blackcreatives #blackwomenwriters #authorsofinstagram #bookstagram #bookloversday #book https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpd-XO_rnSo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[blackhistorychatgpt]

History Lessons for my daughter - part 3

Me: Write description of life and work of Toni Morrison and Lorraine Hansberry

ChatGPT:

Toni Morrison was an American writer and professor, best known for her novels exploring the experiences of Black Americans, particularly Black women. She was born on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio, and died on August 5, 2019. Morrison was the author of several critically acclaimed novels, including "Beloved," "The Bluest Eye," and "Song of Solomon." She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.

Lorraine Hansberry was an American playwright, author, and activist, best known for her play "A Raisin in the Sun." She was born on May 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, and died on January 12, 1965, at the age of 34. Hansberry was the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway. In addition to her playwriting, Hansberry was also a social and political activist, working to advance civil rights and combat racism and discrimination. Her life and work continue to inspire and influence artists and activists today.

[trascapades]

♎️#ArtIsAWeapon

#LibraSeason

Reposted from @blackwomenradicals Happy 71st Birthday, bell hooks (September 25, 1952 – December 15, 2021)🎈🕊️

We miss you.

📣What has bell hooks taught you? Share with us in the comments!

Image 1 🖼️ by @bydorianadiaz

Reposted from @nmaahc #Author, #feminist, #critic, #activist and #scholar bell hooks was born #OnThisDay [September 25] in 1952.

Born Gloria Jean Watkins to working-class parents in 1952, hooks grew up in the segregated city of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Her interest in poetry began at a young age as she recited the likes of Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes and Elizabeth Barrett Browning for her church community.

hooks received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and was only 19 when she began working on the draft for her first book, “Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism.”

She would eventually publish more than 40 books and receive the National Book Award for Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In her book, “Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work,” hooks writes, “Writing is my passion. It is a way to experience the ecstatic. The root understanding of the word ecstasy— 'to stand outside'—comes to me in those moments when I am immersed so deeply in the act of thinking and writing that everything else, even flesh, falls away.” Her most notable works, including, “Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom” and “All About Love: New Visions”, influenced generations of feminists, educators and artists to approach their work with love and purposefulness.

Her published works were diverse and ranged from scholarly books to films to children’s books and more. hooks, who passed away in 2021 is remembered as a force in feminist theory and in cultural criticism and continues to inspire a multitude of Black and women writers.

Image 2 📸 Courtesy of Anthony Barboza/Getty Images

#blackwomenradicals #bellhooks #BlackWomenFeminists

#BlackWomenScholars

#BlackWomenWriters

#APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory #LibraArtists #ArtistActivists

[sistahscifi]

This photo of Leslye Penelope, author of The Monsters We Defy, repping Octavia E Butler completely made our morning!! Did you know Sistah Scifi has signed copies of The Monsters We Defy!!? Link in bio: @sistahscifi | www.sistahscifi.com. It's also available at your local #library!! Reposted from @leslyepenelope I mean, she did. Shirt available from: @exittheapplesupplyco #octaviabutler #parableofthesower #parableofthetalents #TheMonstersWeDefy #blackwomenwriters #LeslyePenelope #SistahScifi @orbitbooks_us @hachettebooks (at Sistah Scifi) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnM74uwJtQU/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[markyboyce247]

Black and Beautiful - (Portrait 21) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #blackwomen #blackwomenrock #blackwomeninbusiness #blackwomenmatter #blackwomeninhollywood #blackwomenwriters #blackwomeninluxury #blackwomenarebeautiful #blackwomenlead #blackwomenartists #blackwomenart #blackwomenartistsforblacklivesmatter #blackart #blackartist #blackartists #blackart365 #blackartwork #blackartmatters #blackartistspace #blackartcollectors #blackartsupport #blackartgang #blackartsmovement #blackartistconnected #blackartistry101 #blackartexpo #blackartgallery #blackartsvision (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl4SIVEM8du/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ambitiousblackfeminist]

High art. Street art. Critical social discourse. 3 AM IS THE NEW BLACK #3amblack #rezarites #ambitiousblackfeminist #poetry #art #blackownedbusiness #blackbusinesses #blackwomanowned #blackwomanownedbusiness #blackgirlmagic #blackwriters #blackwomenwriters #blackpoets #blackwomanpoets #blackartists #blackartmovement #blackwritersofinstagram #blackpoetsofinstagram #blackartistsoninstagra #blackentrepreneurs #collageart #writingwhileblack #carefreeblackgirl #digitalart #askmeaboutit #pariscollagecollective #pariscollageclub (at Providence, Rhode Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqStrHBuljc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[writtenbygrimes]

Nanooooooo

Morning Folks! Just popping in to wish everyone continued success in their Nanowrimo journey. Whatever that looks like to you. I am sitting on my usual morning train on my usual commute to the city and I am taking this opportunity to get my morning pages in. Today I am writing by hand in an old notebook I dug out of the basement that must have been there since my university days. Lol. Let’s…