Tour, Solidarity With Black Lives Matter, & Other News
Dear you,
I honestly don't even know where to begin.
Like many of us, I felt blown apart by the eruption of support following yet another incident that exposes the civil rights crises we face in the United States. Oakland was full, once again, of helicopters, of blocked roads, of a dystopia-level of police presence. When I say "blown apart", I mean both with rage and sadness and guilt and nihilism, but also blown apart with pride and awe and support and hustle for those who continue to fiercely show up to do the work.
I see so many of my white, resourced friends pulling out their pocketbooks and encouraging those in their moneyed communities to do the same. I see so many of my disabled friends pulling together to offer resources for one another on how to show up in solidarity in a system not built to support their welfare and needs. I see so many of my Latinx and other non-Black POC friends educating one another, stepping up, sharing information.
To have this all happen (and the accompanying curfews) during a pandemic is extraordinary. Never in my life have I felt so aware of the presence of bodies-- mine own, and those of others. Never in my life have I taken such serious inventory of the freedom/restriction of my movements.
To say it's overwhelming is a tremendous understatement.
I have been hesitant, as well, to promote the events and news that is happening that isn't related to BLM activism, but I have been encouraged to think of doing so as offering resources for people to find themselves through art. So, here it goes.
Some logistics:
On this front, the (mostly virtual) tour of my forthcoming book, "Via Negativa" (out next week! June 15th!) began on Saturday with a workshop through Writers & Books, a community space I love out of Rochester, NY. The workshop was called "Stranger Than Fiction: Channeling Existential Crisis Into Craft", and combined somatic and craft practices with a look at pandemic history (the writing of the AIDS crisis), and ending with a generative workshop. I cannot tell you how healing it was to be able to hold space and be a conduit for folks struggling with their anxieties on and off the page.
In the next month, I've got workshops and readings nearly every week. Thanks to my wonderful pal Julia Moon, I know have a calendar of events on my website where you can see where to catch me next. It's Google-doc based, so if you add it to your calendar it *should* translate to your time zone. If not, know that everything is listed in PST.
I am beyond honored that "Via Negativa" got a starred review in Publishers Weekly, alongside Joy Harjo.
In addition to tour, I'm in the process of taking PULP Magazine 100% indie. We wrote and released an accountability statement this morning that discusses our promises to our communities about solidarity with Black voices and visions.
This last week, we paused our fundraiser in order to center redistribution of resources to Black communities and organizations. Now we ask you for a favor: if you, or someone you know, is able to continue contributing to Black communities and also to help support our fundraiser to build a more socially just media landscape, please do/tell them about us.
We need your help to continue fighting the good fight. Please see our social media for a list of places to direct money to BLM orgs, and please go here to help fund our Kickstarter. This link also helps to explain the work we're doing to expand PULP into a truly multimedia community resource, with an education arm that is bound to blow your mind.
With love & solidarity,
July