#will be back to edit imani right after | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

samwilsonsbabymama · 3 years

Text

A Change of Scenery: A Family

Pairing: Dad!Angel Reyes x Mom Black!Reader (but anyone can read)

Summary: Reader and Angel spend time with AJ and Imani separately and they have a surprise for Angel and Reader that brings them all closer. Reader gets tired of Angel dropping hints and takes matters into her own hands.

Warning: fluff, smut, talks of pregnancy, and hints of a breeding kink... actually, no hints, just straight up breeding kink

Word Count: < 2,200

A/N: This is a continuation of this fic, you might want to read that one first before this one. It’s not edited or anything, i’ll fix any mistakes at a later date. I hope you all like it!

✨I don’t give anyone permission to copy/translate/repost/rewrite my work. Minors, DNI at all. ✨

Your relationship with Angel had been going well. Nights spent at his house turned into days at his which turned into weeks at his house. Before long, the four of you were officially living together. You were listed as his and AJ’s emergency contact, and he was listed as yours and Imani’s.

A key part of your relationship was making sure you each spent time with each other’s child, making sure they knew that you both loved them.

Imani instantly took to Angel and loved spending time with him. They would have Angel and Imani time every week while you and AJ had your time together.

On this particular day with AJ, he wanted to take you to lunch. You chuckled at the idea that he wanted to take you out, but you went along with it.

On your date with AJ, he ‘took’ you to your favorite restaurant, and he even pulled out your chair (but you had to get back up to help him into his but you didn’t mind.). While you waited for your food, you and AJ talked. He told you all about daycare and how he couldn’t wait to go to ‘real’ school.

“Y/n, thank you,” he said.

You were confused. “Why are you thanking me, sweetheart?”

“For loving my daddy and me,” he said just before your food came and your heart swelled. You didn’t know what to say to him, so you just smiled. You didn’t know what your and Imani’s lives would be like without your two men, and you didn’t want to find out.

You two ate, and after when you reached for your wallet to pay, AJ pulled out some money.

“Daddy says a man always pays for a date,” AJ said, making you laugh. He looked at the bills with a confused look on his face. “Can you help me?”

“Of course, sweetie,” you smiled and helped him count the right amount of money.

The two of you beat Angel and Imani home and you decided to watch a movie while you waited for them. You and AJ were cuddled up on the couch and AJ was knocked out when Angel came in carrying Imani. From the smile on his face, you knew they’d had a good time.

The two of you carefully carried the two sleeping children into their bedroom before heading straight to yours.

Angel watched from the bed as you did your nightly routine. He smiled as you walked back into the room searching for your bonnet. When you found it, he flipped back the covers and pulled you into his arms.

You two laid together in silence before Angel spoke.

“You know what Imani told me today?” He said before placing a kiss on your forehead.

“Hmmm?”

“She said that she loved me and that she hopes that I stay forever.”

With your head on his chest, you could hear his heartbeat increase and you smiled before snuggling in closer to him.

“And what did you say back?” You asked and threaded your fingers within his.

He smiled and brought your hand up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on your knuckles. “I told her that I loved her too and that I’d stay as long as the two of you want me to.”

You hummed. “AJ said something similar, well, actually he thanked me for loving the two of you.”

Angel chuckled, “We’ve got some amazing kids, huh?”

“Yeah, we do,” you sighed.

A few days later, you had a day off of work but Angel had a shift at the scrapyard. You decided to keep AJ and Imani home from daycare and they were playing in their room. You were doing laundry when you walked by their room and heard them talking.

“Mommy likes this color, Imani, right?” You heard AJ say.

“It’s her favorite,” Imani replied. “Does this look like Daddy’s m’cycle? I want him to like it.”

You backed away with tears in your eyes. You had never heard AJ refer to you as ‘Mommy’ or any variation before, and Imani had always said ‘Mr. Angel’ when referring to Angel.

Your first instinct was to call Angel, but you stopped. Clearly, they were planning on surprising you two with their pictures, and you wanted Angel to be surprised.

You were on cloud nine for the rest of the day thinking about your two loves.

When Angel came home later that day, you were radiating with joy. The smile on your face was contagious.

“What’s got you so happy, mama?” He asked as he greeted you with a kiss.

“Oh, nothing, just happy to see my man, that’s all,” you didn’t want to spoil the surprise for him.

When the two kiddos heard Angel’s laugh, they came running out of their room and straight into his arms.

“Daddy!” AJ yelled.

Angel gave each kid a kiss on their head as he hugged them. He sat down on the floor as they talked about their day at the same time, each one finishing each other’s sentence while they talked.

You smiled and made your way back into the kitchen and ordered some pizza for dinner. Angel walked in behind you and wrapped his arms around you as you ordered. When you finished, you turned around in his arms and gave him a proper kiss.

Before you lost yourself in him, you pulled away and smiled.

“Where are the kids?” You asked as Angel swayed you from side to side.

“In their room, they said they had something to show us,” Angel replied. He moved to give you another kiss, but you laughed and shook your head promising to take care of him later. Angel slapped your ass telling you that you better before you headed back into the living room.

You snuggled up to Angel and waited for the kids to come out of their room. You could hear them whispering to each other around the corner and even though you couldn’t make out what they were saying, you knew what they were about to do.

When they finally made their entrance, Imani stood in front of Angel and AJ stood in front of you. They both had their hands behind their backs and by the looks on their faces, they were nervous.

“What ya got behind your back, princesa?” Angel asked Imani.

She looked to AJ who nodded his head and they both handed you and Angel a piece of paper.

The picture that AJ handed you was a picture of all four of you standing next to your house and your eyes instantly filled with tears.

“I made you this picture, mommy,” AJ whispered and your heart stuttered.

Even though you’d heard him refer to you as ‘mommy’ earlier, you still weren’t prepared.

You pulled AJ into a hug and peppered kisses all over his face. You saw Angel smiling from the corner of your eye.

He looked at Imani as she held out her picture to him.

“Daddy, I drew your m’cycle,” Imani said.

Angel chuckled at her pronunciation of the word. No matter how many times you tried, she couldn’t get the whole word out.

Angel pulled Imani into his arms, “I’m speechless, mija. I absolutely love it.” The four of you sat together while Imani and AJ talked about their drawings.

You never felt so much love in one room as you did at that moment.

As the months went on, your little family became closer. Angel had begun hinting that he was ready for another child but he never came out and said anything. If you were being honest with yourself, you were ready to have his child the moment you met him.

You’d finally had enough of Angel dropping hints, so you called up EZ asking if he wanted to spend the weekend with his favorite niece and nephew.

“They’re my only niece and nephew, Y/n,” he chuckled into the phone, “but I’ll definitely take them for the weekend.”

It was a gamble asking EZ to take the kids for the whole weekend, but he assured you that if the club needed him that he would drop them off at Felipe’s.

Once you had their overnight bags packed and dropped them off at EZ’s, you set your plan into motion.

You put on some music and took a shower before rubbing shea butter into your skin. You knew how much Angel loved the scent of shea butter. Every time you wore it, he would be all over you. Once you were done, you headed to your dresser and pulled out a pair of lingerie that you knew would drive Angel crazy.

When you were done getting dressed, you heard the rumble of Angels bike and you covered yourself in a sheer robe before walking towards the front door. You heard him come into the house just as you turned the corner and the stunned look on his face was well worth it.

Angel dropped his keys and slammed the door closed with his foot.

“What’s all this for, mi dulce?” He asked before licking his lips.

You smiled and took a step closer to him. “I've been thinking,” you said as you continued your approach. Angel pulled you flush to him when you were in arms reach, his arms roamed your body and squeezed your sides as you spoke. “Since the kids will both be in kindergarten soon, the house is going to be pretty quiet.”

“Mmhmm, go on,” Angel urged as he lifted you into his arms, your legs instantly wrapped around his waist. He kissed along the column of your neck as he began walking towards your bedroom. When you moaned instead of continuing what you were saying, he stopped his ministrations and pressed your back into the wall.

“Angel,” you begged. You could feel his hardness through his pants as he ground his pelvis into yours.

“Finish what you were saying, Y/n,” he rumbled against your neck as he continued to pepper kisses once again.

You threw your head back to give him more access but he threaded his fingers in your hair and forced you to look at him.

“Finish what you were saying, Y/n,” he repeated.

“Put a baby in me, Angel Reyes,” you whispered, and he claimed your lips in a heated kiss.

You were so engrossed in his kiss that you didn’t feel Angel's movements until he was sliding into you. You gasped at the stretch he caused each time he filled you up. Angel held your gaze as he thrust into you, refusing to let you close your eyes.

Angel held your hips still as he pounded into you. “You wanna have my babies, Y/n?” He asked. “Yeah, you do. Fuck, you’re gripping me.” He continued to praise you. “You’re gonnna look even more beautiful when you’re round with my child. Fuck, I can see it. How many babies are you gonna give me?”

You moaned and threaded your fingers in his hair. You wanted to feel his lips on yours, but he wouldn’t grant you that until you answered him.

“Answer me, Y/n,” he growled as his hips began to move faster.

“As many, fuck Angel,” you cried. “As many as you want.” And you were telling the truth. You’d pop out as many big-headed babies as you could for this man.

“Yeah?” He asked, and you responded with a nod. “I’m gonna keep you full of me then.”

You clenched around him at the thought and his hips slowed. “You like that idea, don’t you?” He asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.

“I do,” you panted, and he granted you with a kiss. You were close to cumming, and he knew it.

“You’re gonna cum for me right here, Y/n,” he stated. You nodded your head and clenched around him again.

“And then I’m gonna fuck you while you’re grabbing your ankles,” he kissed you long and deep before he continued. “After you cum again, I’m gonna lay you out on our bed and eat this beautiful pussy, and right when you’re ready to tap out, I’m going to slide back in and cum all up in this pussy.”

You were close and he knew it, Angel snapped his hips forward a few times. “Cum on this dick, Y/n.”

You saw stars as you came around him. You clenched around him, and he growled in your ear and you felt his hips stutter as he emptied his seed inside of you.

The two of you panted as you came down from your highs. Angel still held the two of you up against the wall as you calmed down. You ran your fingers through his hair, and you felt him twitch inside of you.

Angel slowly pulled out of you and steadied you on your legs. He kissed you and began stroking his dick before he pulled away again. “Grab them ankles, Y/n, I’m not done with that ass yet.”

This wasn’t the first time that Angel had fucked you in this position, and it wouldn’t be the last. You winked at him before you slowly bent at the waist and took hold of your ankles. With the way Angel was mumbling, you knew it was going to be a long weekend. But you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Part Three

A/N 2: If you ‘liked’ it, please reblog or leave a comment/reply even if it’s only an emoji.

#angel reyes x black!reader #Angel reyes x reader #angel reyes x black reader #angel reyes imagine #angel reyes fanfiction #angel reyes x plus size!reader #angel reyes x plus size reader #mayans mc fanfiction #maree writes

324 notes · View notes

sunnyxxmartin · 4 years

Photo

Sunshine Lorraine Martin Summer Adventure - Isaiah’s Graduation Edition - @gallaghertasks

tw: slight violence (just the martin twins fighting like usual <3)

Waking up early the day after the party, Sunny pulled herself out of the fort that her and Lucas made. Her mother had told her that she would be at Gallagher at ten in morning, which gave her three hours to get ready and leave. Her stuff was already packed up in the room, all she had to do was shower and get Starlight ready for their trip back to Alabama. It sucked, having to say bye to her friends, but in month, they would be back together.

She sat inside of her room, waiting for her mother to knock only to find her older sister Imani. The two screamed and hugged, you know, that cute sisterly shit you do. Were they loud? Hell yeah. Would anyone tell them to be quiet? No way! You try telling Gallagher’s sunshine to keep it down, you’ll regret it right away. Together, the duo packed all of Sunny’s belongings into Imani car (”Oh my god, you’re driving a mini van now? What are you, a soccer mom?”), ready by exactly twelve. Friends were hugged, pictures were taken, and byes were said before the youngest Martin took off. The car ride back home was filled with updates about their schools, singing loudly to their favorite songs, and questions about Sunny’s nonexistent love life (”Come on, there’s gotta be some guy you’re interested in!”). There was nothing but sisterly love being said between the two.

Once back in Alabama, all of her stuff was taken up to her room and hugs were given to her mama and papa. They all talk about her first year at school, it was only with her mama that she went more in depth in private. Worry crossed over the older woman’s face as she pulled her youngest into her chest. What a way to start off your college career: with fear and anxiety at an all time high. “Do you want to stop going?” asked her mother, a question that Sunny wasn’t expecting. She pulled away quickly, shaking her head no. She knew what she was getting into with attending Gallagher, she was NOT going to give up.

Her time at her childhood home lasted only a day as they had to leave the next day for California. Isaiah Martin was graduating from UCLA and the gang was ready. Flying to California was a lot better than driving, Sunny wasn’t sure if she could do that again. Once there, the family checked into their hotel before meeting up with Isaiah for lunch. The whole gang was back together, everyone! The cutest family out there that was filled with so much love. It was tough, not having her family with her while she was at Gallagher, but it allowed her to become her own person without living in the shadows of her brother and sister.

The next day was graduation day. Pictures were taken of the trio and also the whole family. When the name “Isaiah Martin” was about to be said, all you could hear was that THAT black family at the graduation (”We ask that you wait for all names to be called before cheering.” Sunny and Imani leaned onto each other, laughing at that.) His graduation day was filled with lots of love and happiness, the youngest Martin proud of her brother.

Since the family was in California, they decided to use it as their vacation time. Time was spent at the beach, shopping together, and even looking at Isaiah’s apartment (”You couldn’t get anything... better?” chirped Imani. Isaiah only rolled his eyes, hitting her back with, “Funny, did the girl who lives in a shoebox in New York say something? Oh, I guess not.” .... Let’s just say that the Martin twins did start fighting right there and then yikes). Things were back to normal and Sunny was happy about that.

After the semester that she had, it was what she needed. To spend time with family and to ground herself. Of course, she also continued talking to her friends! Her and Ruby would constantly text, both geeking out about various things (”Can you believe that we’ll be second years next year? We’re going to be upperclassmen to someone, whoa!”), and then there was her text and FaceTime sessions with Lucas. Anytime his name would pop up on her phone or if he would ask to call her, the widest grin that you’ve ever seen would show up on her face alongside the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. She would always catch herself, taking note of these things about herself, finding it strange.

Think of the TikTok audio “wait, wait, wait, aye--”, that was Sunny whenever she caught herself. It wasn’t the first time that baby girl has liked someone, but it was usually some guy in another class in high school. This was one of her good friends, someone who she talked to on the regular and made plans with to hang out in Berlin!!! This was different and bad AAHH!!!!

Because whenever she would think about Lucas, her mind would go back to the last time they saw each other. How they danced together at the event, Lucas laughing at Sunny as she attempted to gamble, how they got their other friends to dance with them, him carrying her back to his room because the shoes that Maia loaned her were starting to hurt, so he offered to carry her on his back. Then there was the pillow fort being made, snacks that were waiting for them, Sunny choosing the movie to watch, how as they were getting ready and Sunny realized that she forgot her pjs in her room (Cyrus and Jai were having s*x so there was NO WAY she was going back there!), so Lucas let her wear his. To them cuddling together inside of the fort and then falling asleep next to each other--

Sunny literally swatted those thoughts away as the realization hit here. Picking up her phone, she clicked on Ruby’s name and sent the other a text:

RUBY!!!!! RED ALERT!!!!

i think that i have a crush on lucas

and i’m definitely fucked

And that concludes Sunshine Lorraine Martin’s summer adventure. Get ready for Berlin folks, because it’s gonna be a ride.

Some facts:

Starlight was with her the entire time because that’s her child and also her ESA.

Current hairstyle: long brown hair! A little protective style for Berlin, ya feel me.

Maybe she’ll shave her head because China with a shaved head? Hot af

Ya damn skippy the Martin kids made a bunch of TikToks together!!! And ya damn skippy they got that fame because they’re all hella attractive black kids

During one of their nights together, Sunny opened up to Imani and Isaiah about being queer. She was nervous at first but trusted them. The two accepted her without a problem.

Isaiah, a himbo: Aye, welcome to the we like girls gang! (Imani punched him for that)

It was the night of the party that marked the beginning of her crush for Lucas but it was only a week before Berlin that she came to term with those feelings!

Sunny is the CEO of not having a consistent Instagram theme which is SO different from Harper (I legit hate THIS)

Also, the only time Sunny gets a bunch of likes and comments is when she posts pictures of Isaiah because we are all simps for him

#muse ☼ i don’t care much just action #gallagher:task #ft. rubymeriwether #ft. cannyonmxon #ft. cyrsdiaz #ft. maiacurfman #ft. graysonberkshire #ft. jaimitchell #please enjoy this MESS #also let's all simp over isaiah yes

6 notes · View notes

johannesviii · 4 years

Text

Top 10 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2016

I think everyone will agree that 2016 had “Impending Doom” written all over it, and as a result a lot of pop music became very depressed very quickly, and as such, I’m less enthusiastic about this list than some of the previous ones.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will be stuff in French. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

For a year that was so cataclysmic worldwide, 2016 was pretty mundane for me, so let’s just skip to the albums that came out that year and which I consider relevant to my tastes. Obviously (and unfortunately) there was David Bowie with Black Star. We should have known we had jumped right into the Worst Timeline when the year started with the death of Bowie. Nine Inch Nails also released Not The Actual Events, which was pretty good, and as I said previously I consider Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams to be more of a 2016 than a 2015 album. And then there was the biggest surprise of all, the return of Enigma after eight years of silence, with the very good Fall Of A Rebel Angel (even if A Posteriori is still my favorite “modern” Enigma album). EDIT: I forgot Ghostlights by Avantasia. Took me YEARS to listen to it & realise how good it was.

But no. Surprisingly enough, my favorite album of the year wasn’t any of those. It was... oh god, that title. Here we go. It was I Like It When You Sleep for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It by The 1975 - which I like to call “The 1975′s second album” instead, because what the hell, guys. Anyway. It had been a while since I had found a new band I’d consider to be one of my favorite bands. I really liked Chocolate from their previous album but that was it. But this one? What a breath of fresh air. A Change of Heart, She’s American, Please Be Naked, The Ballad Of Me And My Brain, Somebody Else, The Sound, This Must Be My Dream? That’s only the songs I listened to on a loop and that’s already nearly half of the album. Great music, love the vocals, but I especially love the writing, full of strange and awkward details and lines that make everything feel so alive. The first time I listened to some of these songs, some lines actually got a chuckle out of me, like the American girl wanting the narrator to fix his teeth, or him hopping on a bus to ask the passengers if someone found his brain, or his girlfriend complaining about his shoes and his songs then immediately adding “I thought that you were straight, now I’m wondering”.

As someone who’s constantly puzzled by human relationships and tends to act super awkwardly, all of this is extremely relatable. So yeah. Album of the year, love this band - impatiently waiting for that fourth album!

As far as unelligible songs go, as you can guess I’m furious The Sound (The 1975) wasn’t a hit because I was and I’m still listening to it on a loop. And that’s about it. Wait there’s also Kids by One Republic. It was super good. Apart from that, there’s also one (1) elligible song that I’m gonna put on the 2017 list instead because I really struggled to find enough songs I liked for that list, and that particular one is elligible for 2016 thanks to the French year-end list and 2017 thanks to the US year-end list, so eh.

Time for some honorable mentions.

This Girl (Kungs vs Cookin’ on Three Burners) - Number one of the year here. Every time I heard it (and I heard it a lot) I enjoyed it until that wretched drop.

Fast Car (Jonas Blue ft Dakota) - Not a good cover, but I love the original so much I’d be lying if I said I hated this completely.

Sucker for Pain (Lil Wayne & Imagine Dragons) - No, that slow, heavy, tortured beat that all recent Imagine Dragons songs have doesn’t work on topics like being a natural at something, being a believer, or describing thunder. It does work, however, with a chorus saying “I'm just a sucker for pain”.

Cheap Thrills (Sia ft Sean Paul) - Sean Paul, and a song about having fun without any money. Everything I want from an average hit song on the radio.

In the Night (The Weeknd) - This would be much higher if I didn’t find The Weeknd’s upper register slightly painful to listen to.

J’ai Cherché (Amir) - Hey look, the guy France sent to Eurovision that year. He’s still around, too. He’s pretty good, and that song is super cute.

Ride (21 Pilots) - Not the last time they will appear on this list.

Je Suis Chez Moi (Black M) - Pretty good song about racism, and the singer explicitly calls out a far right political figure who said some pretty terrible shit about him, and it’s a good answer.

Perfect (One Direction) - This is just Style by Taylor Swift all over again except slightly less good. But as I said before, copying good songs isn’t always a bad thing.

Human (Rag’n’bone Man) - Would definitely be on the list if listening to it didn’t feel like working.

Into You (Ariana Grande) - The last cut. The ending is wonderful and explosive, it’s just a shame that the entire song doesn’t sound like that.

And now... the list.

10 - Stressed Out (21 Pilots)

US: #5 / FR: #9

Defining song of the entire year, whether you liked it or not.

Fortunately, as you can see, I liked it a lot, even if I don’t have anything interesting to say about it.

9 - Don’t Be So Shy (Imany, Filatov & Karas remix)

US: Not on the list / FR: #2

I often joked that the melody sounded weirdly similar to Goldman’s “Envole-moi” by singing the lyrics of the verses over the Don’t Be So Shy verses, and it fits nearly perfectly. But apart from that, great song, great remix, very overplayed but never to the point of being annoying.

8 - I Took A Pill In Ibiza (Mike Posner)

US: #15 / FR: #29

There’s nothing I could say about this song that Todd hasn’t said before in what I consider to be one of his best reviews, if not the best, so here it is.

7 - Heathens (21 Pilots)

US: #21 / FR: #23

Super ominous and tense. It’s rare when a mostly grey song looks interesting, and this one definitely does. I also like the ending a lot. Don’t hang out with too many toxic people, guys, they will influence you over time.

I had no idea this was made for the Suicide Squad movie until very recently and frankly I wish it hadn’t because it’s way better on its own, especially the hand grenade line which works a lot better as a metaphor for self-destructive tendencies.

6 - Starboy (The Weeknd)

US: #58 / FR: #16

As I said before it took me ages to like The Weeknd. His voice is great but I found most of his songs fairly boring or disliked their lyrics. And then he teamed up with Daft Punk and to be honest, I didn’t even care if the lyrics of this one included weird lines about drugs on furniture, the beat was completely worth it and the singing was great. Not enough to put it on my mp3 playlist, but a delight every time it was on the radio.

5 - Faded (Alan Walker)

US: Not on the list / FR: #11

I adore this post-apocalyptic, contemplative music video. The music itself has this weariness and this quiet despair that felt super relevant, and even the drop is a bit slow instead of energetic. I usually don’t like this kind of song but this one found the perfect balance. If we really need to have more sad, exhausted hit songs, more like this, please.

4 - Closer (The Chainsmokers)

US: #10 / FR: Not on the list

I usually don’t like love songs if they are just that, random love songs without a good melody or good colors or good stories. If the melody isn’t particularly great and the colors boring, it needs to paint an interesting picture, and the more details the better, even if they are super awkward, like, as I said previously, in some of The 1975′s best songs mentioning bad shoes, or people’s jobs, or how a car smells like.

So yeah, what I’m trying to say is that my favorite thing about this song is the over-abundance of weird and kind of off-putting details that most people consider to be its main flaw. To each their own, I guess.

3 - Never Forget You (Zara Larsson & MNEK)

US: #46 / FR: Not on the list

See, this is one of the reasons why I decided to make these lists: to find great stuff I missed over the years. I discovered this song while making the 1.0 version of the lists on a google sheet in early December, and now this has a spot on my mp3 player. And it’s so weird because this song shouldn’t work. The drop is ridiculously lifeless compared to the soaring quality of the chorus and it actively works against the rest of the song. It takes a while to get used to it and I’m still not entirely sure it does work, at all.

But what can I say, framing is, once again, everything, and songs about imaginary friends are super rare, and that music video made me cry and catapulted this song from “that’s pretty good” right into the “holy shit that’s fantastic” category. And it made me rewatch Where The Wild Things Are, so yeah.

2 - Perfect Strangers (Jonas Blue)

US: Not on the list / FR: #70

This, on the other hand, stayed on my mp3 player for about two years, and the music fits the lyrics perfectly. It’s not a groundbreaking song, it’s not even that original, but in such an average year for pop music, “happy energetic song with beautiful colors and nice lyrics” meant the world to me. It’s kind of telling that it was enough to put it as high as #2, though.

1 - Hymn For the Weekend (Coldplay ft Beyoncé)

US: #73 / FR: Not on the list

And with this, Coldplay has officially topped as many of my lists as Linkin Park. If, back when The Scientist dropped, you had told me how much I would love this band in the future, I would have laughed pretty hard, but here we are.

But yeah, it’s one of my favorite songs on the album and it’s a super weird combo of heavy and aerial sounds, soft and super colorful notes, and I love the lyrics that completely mirror that feeling, feeling “drunk and high", “poured on a symphony when I’m low, low, low”. A great party song that’s also strangely melancholic. Exactly what I needed.

And then the Seeb remix happened and added a truely fantastic drop on top of an already great song, like turning the saturation up and adding little pulsing lights and transparency effects and shit. It’s sincerely hypnotic and visually so complex and fragile I’m afraid I won’t be able to draw it if I ever attempt to turn it into a synesthesia drawing. Just like A Sky Full of Stars, I was driving the first time I heard that remix on the radio, and I wasn’t expecting that drop at all, and I was gawking.

Godspeed, Coldplay, I’m so glad you’re still a positive force in my life, especially in these trying times.

Next up: Oh my god are you telling me that after 15 years I can finally put a song from that other band at the top of one of my lists

#Johannes’ bad not good pretty terrible music lists #music #long post #eye contact tw

9 notes · View notes

sesskagarchive · 5 years

Text

Kagome Saves the Day

These fics involve Kagome saving Sesshomaru’s life, or saving other major characters or OCs.

They may also feature Kagome being the grand savior of the Grand Battle or defeating Naraku on her own.

‼ Please note that these themed lists may always be expanded based on the suggestions and recs we get, so the lists might change at any given time, even after they’ve been reblogged ‼

A Little Blue Shell and the Bone-Eaters Well by Gantain

Posted on: AO3, FFnet Rating: K Summary: Kagome finds that Sesshoumaru is in trouble, she has only a split second to choose his fate... but, is that even up to her? What will Inuyasha do when he finds that little Rin's been left behind? Status: One Shot

Reserve Untapped by SilverEyedHyuuga

Posted on: Dokuga Rating: MA Summary: Years of battling Naraku have kindled Kagome's formerly feeble reiki into a considerable force. Now that the spider demon has been defeated, she has taken it upon herself to train and maintain her power. A certain daiyoukai cannot help but be intrigued by the blossoming of her gifts, and when their chance encounters begin to become not so coincidental anymore, he, against his better judgement and opinion of humans, begins to recognize her for the formidable priestess she has become. When Sesshoumaru joins forces with Kagome against a deadly new enemy--the powers of which they have never encountered before--he comes to respect her more and more as not just a mere miko, but as his equal.

Second Alliance by Imani Joain

Posted on: AO3, Dokuga, FFnet Rating: MA Summary: A new threat has breached the peace left in the wake of Naraku's defeat. This time, it will be Sesshomaru who must propose an alliance to defeat an enemy he has no experience with: a death that claims humans and demons alike. Only his half-brother's strange miko truly understands the danger, and she is the key to conquering it. 2nd Semi-annual 2013 Dokuga Awards: Best Canon, 1st Place; Best Kagome Portrayal, 1st Place; Best Sesshomaru Portrayal, 3rd Place; and Best Darkfic/Horror, 3rd Place. Nominated for Best Romance. Feudal Association October 2014 Awards: 1st Place Best Drama Fiction.

Sunset Love by Aurora Nyte

Posted on: Dokuga, FFnet Rating: MA Summary: The sun sets even as the crescent moon rises to greet his eternal love. Her mother's words a prophecy that has set Kagome's feet on the path of destiny once more. SessKag Edited, The final two chapters have been uploaded.

Taking Her Destiny by Caedes

Posted on: Dokuga, FFnet Rating: MA Summary: Kagome came back through the well three years after the defeat of Naraku. But she misses a sense of purpose and destiny; she needs a reason for being back in the Feudal Era. So, she finds a reason and starts off on a new path. Drabble series.

The Beast Awakens... by Vyncent

Posted on: Dokuga Rating: MA Summary: Sesshomaru has his darker side under tight control and even tighter chains. What happens when the chains that have bound his inner beast for centuries finally break one night? Status: One Shot

Transgressions by wonderbug

Posted on: AO3. Dokuga, FFnet Rating: MA Summary: With her friends' lives hanging in the balance, Kagome agrees to Sesshoumaru's demands and sets about righting a wrong she committed on the day they first met. But her crimes against the demon lord run far deeper than she knows, and his dark obsession is only the beginning... [COMPLETE]

Ultimate Sacrifice by cindygirl

Posted on: Dokuga, FFnet Rating: MA Summary: A deadly curse was placed on Sesshoumaru. A miko with a determination to break it to help him. The Kami’s plans to get rid of the evil on the lands, but at what cost? Will their plan work to rid the lands of the evil, or will the balance of power be shifted to plunge the world into darkness? Join me on this journey to see who will win.

#sesskag #SKFA Themed Rec List #Completed Fics

30 notes · View notes

6-mcs-for-6-lis · 4 years

Note

I.. I want to know. What things make each if your apprentices feel safe? What are they scared of? And what thing would endear each of them to someone? ^.^

Ok....this gonna be long love, so sorry it’s taking a bit to get to. I took pity on people and put the answer under a cut

Edit: the cut didn't work T.T

Ziv:

Ziv is scared of fire, ironically because that is the easiest form of magic for them to use. They’re also not fond of horses, but that’s not quite a fear so much as not liking animals that are bigger than them.

Asra, blankets, and having their back to a wall when sitting are what most easily makes Ziv feel safe. Especially when they’re in an unfamiliar place and safety isn’t a sure thing. Nitzan, their shape-shifting familiar, also helps keep them safe. Birds and other flying creatures are Nitzans preferred forms, but when needed they will be something fuzzy to comfort Ziv.

Bring them food, and talk to them like a normal person. People stare because of the whole back-from-the-dead thing, so it’s nice when it’s overlooked. They aren’t really fond of people doting on them, but little practical gifts are nice, but quality time is key.

Rina:

Rina is scared of...not much excpet heights. She is short, she is smol, she was not meant to be high off the ground. Julian can swing through the rigging all he wants, she will man the deck, thank you very much.

Rina feels safe as long as she can go to bed and wake up with Shea, her familiar curled around her head or behind her back as always. If Shea is missing, she knows something is wrong. She’s the big sis of her family, nerves of steel by the time her twin brothers were two.

Compliment her work and be genuine about it! Whether it’s a bracelet she braided for you, or you’re moaning about how good her massages are every good thing you have to say goes right to her heart and she never forgets it.

Harlow:

The poor man has anxiety, he’s afraid of nearly everything. He does have a phobia of bugs though, especially anything in the larva stage (except perhaps caterpillars because his sister kept butterflies as a child).

He has a calm charm that he and his sister made each other ages ago and that brings him comfort and safety as long as he wears it. Nadia is also growing on him in a way that encourages him to be, well, courageous.

Offer to help him with work. Whether it be organizing his projects and supplies, delivering things around the palace, a tailors work is never done and he is just one man with an okapi. Also bring Imani - his familiar - sugar cubes and he’ll be very happy with you. She’s the only family he has in Vesuvia so please treat her well.

Prima Lamia:

Her biggest fear in the universe is being forgotten. Prima is an orphan, and her aunts and uncle couldn’t even take her in so she grew up in an orphanage, and then got into the ballet by exchanging work for lessons. She was a nobody for most of her life and it wasn’t until she could out-sing and out-dance every other person in the ballet and opera that she was noticed. She has nightmares of it going back to how it used to be, scrubbing anything she was told and no one bothering to learn her name, let alone having respect to use her title.

Praise and applause bring her comfort. Pamper her and lavish her with flattery. Show that you know who she is and that you’ll remember her.

To gain endearment with her, realize her name isn’t Prima. That’s a title that she has earned and one that she refuses to let be disused. But her name is Lamia, just like her grandmothers was. Don’t use it (unless you’re Lucio), but know it and she’ll be touched.

Zaza:

Zaza is afraid of falling. He never was as a kid, but after the accident he’s terrified of falling again.

Warm fires, good smells, good food, Mimi, Muriel, Asra, tight hugs, lots of things make him feel safe. Zaza doesn’t feel threatened by very much honestly, but when he does he can usually find something to help ground him.

Be nice to Muriel, and don’t shriek when you notice Mimi in his hair or on his shoulder. She’s a mouse. She won’t hurt you. But the amount of grown people who don’t seem to realize that....

Ayo:

They....don’t like the water. Or ice. Or snow. Basically if they can’t feel the ground firm beneath their feet they aren’t happy.

They’re tall enough that most situations don’t make them feel unsafe, but if there’s ever a feeling of being watched, Pablo - their potoo familiar - will nestle onto their head and yell at whatever he sees and doesn’t like around Ayo. If you’ve never heard a potoo cry, trust me when I say it’s enough to scare anything off.

Engage them in a talk about bee and butterfly health. Care about the bugs. Share their soft spot for garden “pests” because all of them have a role to play and most are more helpful than you think.

2 notes · View notes

richincolor · 5 years

Photo

Group Discussion: Watch Us Rise

Welcome to our first book discussion of 2019! We all enjoyed reading Renee Watson's & Ellen Hagan's feminist novel "Watch Us Rise" that gave us two amazing teens Jasmine & Chelsea that we all laughed, cried, and loved with. Onto our discussion!

K. Imani: I first read this book almost in one sitting, it was so good! I loved how it was so “in your face”, but completely authentic at the same time. There were many touching moments, many funny moments where I laughed out loud, moments where I was annoyed with the characters (mainly Chelsea), and moments where I felt so proud of these girls. I loved the structure of the novel and greatly enjoyed the inclusion of the poetry, and the different styles of the Write Like A Girl blog posts. This is definitely a book that I would think about using in the classroom. So, what did you think of the book? What aspects of it did you absolutely love?

Audrey: Honestly, one of the things I loved most was all the different forms of media in the book. There were blog posts (and likes/reblogs/comments on them), poetry, sketches/drawings, posters, biographies, lists, etc. that all got used to tell Jasmine and Chelsea’s story, and I thought it was all very cleverly constructed.

I also loved the fact that this was explicitly a novel about activism and the journey of how to be an activist. Jasmine and Chelsea made mistakes in their activism, but they also learned from them. I loved their conversations with Leidy in the second half of the book and how she got them examine their own motives and consider how they could expand their activism. The mentorship and community support demonstrated in this book was really uplifting.

Crystal: There were many things to appreciate so it’s hard to pick, but like Audrey, I really enjoyed the variety of media used to tell this story. I especially like to find poetry in YA, so that was an extra gift.

Activism can be complicated. I really liked seeing how Jasmine and Chelsea used their voices. Sometimes they acted impulsively, but they ultimately worked through what they wanted to say and how they could say it to create change. I appreciated seeing them have to think through what they were really fighting for and why they were speaking out.

Jessica: First off, I have to say: I love the cover. It’s just so eye-catching and whenever I see it in a library or a bookstore, my heart lifts a little. Totally agree on the different forms of media. It really brought the story alive. I appreciated that the book tackled the online aspect of activism -- the good and the bad. That’s never easy, and it made Watch Us Rise all the more relevant for today’s generation of students.

K. Imani: This novel had a lot of poetry in it. What was your favorite poem? Mine was The Bod (pg. 237) that Jasmine wrote. As a Black woman, it really spoke to me with all the insecurities I’ve had about my body and my hair at times in my life. The way the poem moved from dealing with racist words about the body to the acceptance of her body was beautiful to me. The last line really sealed the poem for me.

Audrey: I loved “What It Be Like: on being a girl” (pg 115-116, hard copy edition), particularly the sentence “It be like second-guessing your know-how, like fact-checking your own truth.” That hit hard for me. I’m intimately familiar with that hesitation, that instinct to second-guess my own experiences and desires. I’ve read it a couple times now, and I really appreciate the way the poem transitioned to the final verse.

Crystal: So many of the poems dealt with bodies - how we are seen and how we see ourselves. I enjoyed many of them, but really felt “This Body II” (pg. 333). There are so many things that our bodies are and can be, but no matter what -- our body is our own. Jasmine says “My body is perfect and imperfect…” and she lists things that make her body distinctively hers. She explains that her body is a masterpiece. Jasmine reminds us to love our bodies and claim them.

Jessica: It’s honestly really hard to choose! If I had to pick, then I’d say “What It Be Like: on being a girl” was also my favorite. It definitely rang familiar to me in a lot of ways.

K. Imani: While this novel is practically a feminist manifesto, it does touch on the need for intersectionality. The moment when Chelsea doesn’t consider Jasmine’s size when ordering the t-shirts really hit home how white women feminists can get caught up in their own fight and forget about others. I felt like it was a lesson, not for just Chelsea, but for all budding young Feminists to really think about how different types of women experience oppression and their own privilege.

Audrey: Yeah, I cringed when Chelsea picked up the t-shirts because I knew immediately that she’d screwed up. She took the time to order extra small but it never crossed her mind to go beyond a large in the women’s sizes, which--yeah, that’s a major oversight on her part, especially right after writing a poem against the ads that told her to change her body. I’m also glad that the girls were told that some of their actions had negatively impacted people they hadn’t considered (the school janitorial staff) and resolved to apologize and be smarter about the actions they took. Jasmine and Chelsea’s conversations with each other, their friends, and their mentors in the community were often learning opportunities and chances for them to think deeply about their goals and the repercussions of their actions.

And on a broader level, their whole school was supposed to incorporate social justice in basically everything, but there were still major flaws within it. There were a lot of intersectionality fails there, from the students to the teachers to the principal. Even in spaces where people want to “do better,” they still screw up and can push back when someone points out where they failed.

Crystal: Yes, this was definitely a wake up call for Chelsea. No matter how much she thought she was seeing and addressing injustice, ignorance and/or obliviousness could still happen. I think it can be worse with people (and I’m pointing that finger at myself too) who are making concerted efforts in specific areas of injustice because they are ultra-focused on that aspect of identity or marginalization and then it’s hard to see the bigger picture. Like Audrey pointed out, there were flaws throughout the school even though it had a social justice emphasis.

Jessica: There’s definitely been more and more conversations online about what intersectionality is and isn’t, and I think Chelsea and Jasmine’s interactions really drive that home. There was a lot of nuance to the discussions and conflicts in Watch Us Rise, and it made me realize I definitely need to give this book a reread to digest all of it.

K. Imani: One of the parts of the book that I loved was when Jasmine & Chelsea did the Feminist Spotlight. I had not heard of any of those artists so I was happy to learn about Feminist artists doing their thing. I know if I were to teach this book, I would have my students look up these women and respond in some way to their art. What other aspects of art that was all over this novel stood out to you?

Audrey: I think the thing that stood out to me most wasn’t necessarily the art itself but the fact that in the novel there’s a few sentences explicitly mentioning that Jasmine and Chelsea deliberately set out “to make sure we were inclusive of art forms, ethnicities, and work for and about women.” And then the text itself backed up that in-universe decision by highlighting a diverse range of activists, many of which I hadn’t heard of before. The book repeatedly had Jasmine and Chelsea’s draw upon and name previous activists and movements for their inspiration, and there was even an entire bibliography at the end entitled Resources for Young Activists that included poets, books, blogs/sites, etc. I appreciated that effort toward inclusion, the acknowledgment of the work done before, and the resources provided for the teens reading the book so that they have a place to start from with their own work.

Crystal: I just really appreciated the many ways of expressing their thoughts and opinions. They used their voices in so many ways. I also liked that Isaac is also part of this feminist group, not just because he cares for Jasmine, but because he’s actually a feminist. Like Audrey, I also found the resources to be an excellent addition to the book so readers can move into or continue their own activism or growth.

Jessica: The aspect that stood out to me was just how varied it was. I’m usually not a fan of books that incorporate different forms of media, or show exactly what the protagonists have created (i.e. a book about fanfiction, with actual fanfiction excerpts). I’m very picky that way! But Watch Us Rise was brilliant in its portrayal of the many forms of art that Jasmine and Chelsea create and reference. I just loved that.

K. Imani: I realized most of my comments & questions have focused on the feminist aspect of the novel and forgetting that this novel just also gives us a slice of real life. I feel like Jasmine’s sweet growing romantic relationship with Isaac, that also mixed with her growing activism and her self-esteem, really showed how complicated life is. Jasmine was finding her voice throughout the novel but was also opening herself up to loving herself and being loved by someone, and the way their relationship was written was so beautiful and real. Their relationship was very healthy and I was happy to see it portrayed that way. What other storylines stood out to you?

Audrey: I also enjoyed Jasmine and Isaac’s relationship for the reasons you pointed out--it was very sweet--especially since it contrasted so well with Chelsea and James’s not-a-romance. I was so proud of Chelsea for realizing that she deserved better in a potential partner and that James wasn’t it, no matter how attracted to him she was. The two romantic plots were great foils for each other.

The death of Jasmine’s dad was a major, and hard-hitting, part of the novel as well. I haven’t read many YA books that dealt with the death of a parent due to cancer, but I felt that this plot was handled sensitively and handled well. I was glad that Jasmine’s family, friends, and community were there to support her, her dad, and their family all through her dad’s failing health, eventual death, and Jasmine’s mourning.

Crystal: Yes, there was way more going on here than I expected, but I too appreciated Jasmine and Isaac’s relationship. It didn’t overwhelm the story, but revealed another layer of life. There’s a lot happening, but the relationships in the story are meaningful.

So, that is our discussion. Have you read Watch Us Rise yet? What did you think of it? Share your thoughts in the comments!

#group discussion #WeNeedDiverseBooks #ownvoices

3 notes · View notes

hg47 · 3 years

Text

47 Reasons Why I Fear Islam - (Reason 44)

-44-Islamic hatred of non-Muslims is often simmering just below the surface, only needing a pretext to flash into violence. We are unclean, detestable scum who are polluting the Earth, THEIR EARTH, with our miserable presence. ++++------- http://www.amazon.com/Cruel-Usual-Punishment-Terrifying-Implications/dp/1595551611/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380310980&sr=1-1&keywords=CRUEL+AND+USUAL+PUNISHMENT+by+Nonie+Darwish In CRUEL AND USUAL PUNISHMENT Nonie Darwish is very eloquent in describing how polygamy under Islam has worked against the average Muslim man because he cannot afford the pleasures and sexual options and ego massage his religion allows him. Instead, the average Muslim man becomes an angry sexually repressed victim full of hate, cued-up for mob violence by the local ranting preacher. ++++------- A quote from Robert Spencer: The Jerusalem Post carried a report that a group of Arab villagers in Israel, rejoicing at a wedding celebration, had been heard chanting, “The Arabs will soon be cutting the throats of the Jews.” ++++------- http://www.amazon.com/Why-I-Am-Not-Muslim/dp/1591020115/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380655534&sr=1-1&keywords=why+i+am+not+a+muslim From WHY I AM NOT A MUSLIM by Ibn Warraq: “…God could scarcely have been more explicit. He told the Arabs that they had a right to despoil others of their women, children, and land, or indeed that they had a duty to do so: holy war consisted in obeying. Muhammad’s God thus elevated tribal militance and rapaciousness into supreme religious virtues.” ++++------- tweet ~ The slave trade still flourishes in Muslim countries. There are over 500,000 slaves in Mauritania alone, circa 12/23/2013 1:14 PM ~ verify at: http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics ++++------- http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Islamic-Tolerance-Treats-Non-Muslims/dp/1591022495/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380476667&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=MYTH+OF+ISLAMIC+TOLERANCE+%28THE%29+edited+by+Robert+Spencer In MYTH OF ISLAMIC TOLERANCE (THE) Robert Spencer tells about the troubles his publishers and translators had with Muslims over his book ISLAM UNVEILED. The translator and the publisher both received vicious death threats by eMail. “You must be an enemy of Islam! You will die for what you do!” “You must be a Jew! I hope somebody will slit your throat, you dirty Jew pig!” @hg47 says – These events also demonstrate that Muslims are tapped into the power structure. Another way to look at that would be to say that Muslims have spies in French businesses. This is a “moderate” function that “moderate Muslims” can perform; because Muslims are at war with anything that is not Islamic, it is quite proper to glean info about the enemy and then pass that info along to other Muslims willing to take action to “Defend the honor of Islam” by shutting down the truth through intimidation, death threats, and if necessary violence, or even murder. The honor of Islam must be defended! “I am beheading you now—Infidel Scum!—to prove that we are peaceful!” WHACK! My guess is that the issue of “pretext” was also involved here. Possibly the publisher had already published things that irritated Muslims in France and/or possibly the translator had translated something that had irritated Muslims in France. This would put the publisher and/or the translator on a sort of Muslim Watch List where their actions would be tracked. Any dealings at all with Robert Spenser would endanger the publisher and translator. Muslims like to provoke the enemies of Islam into making some sort of aggression against them, so they can call their violent attack a “defense of Islam,” not an attack at all, really, but a defensive action. Working with Robert Spenser would be a sort of last-straw that could be seen as requiring counter-attack! If Muslims cannot actually provoke an aggression on the part of Infidels, a sort of straw-that-broke-the-camel’s-back effect occurs. Little irritating Infidel events build up, turning minor irritation into simmering hatred, until any imaginary slight is seen as an attack upon Islam which must be redressed! (By death threats and/or a violent attack!) Two links concerning pretext in Islam: http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2008/08/pretext-for-hostilities-in-islamic.html http://www.inquiryintoislam.com/2010/10/24-islamic-writings-teach-use-of.html ++++------- http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Troubling-views-on-suicide-bombings-78-of-2573956.php An interesting stat from the article: The war in Iraq is wrong, according to 75 percent of the American Muslims surveyed, and only 40 percent believe Arabs carried out the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. ++++------- A quote from Ibn Warraq: …Muslims have not moved away from the literal interpretation of the Koran: all Muslims—not just a group we have called “fundamentalist”—believe that the Koran is literally the word of God… ++++------- A quote from Citizen Warrior: “Islam not only encourages intolerance and violence against Unbelievers, but commands all Muslims to show their devotion to Allah by fighting for Islamic domination over all other governments and nations.” ++++------- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324787004578495711470936512.html?mod=googlenews_wsj CHARLOTTE ALLEN on how when Pope Benedict XVI quoted some words from 14th-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos in a 2006 speech; this provoked a fatwa against Pope Benedict in Pakistan, church burnings and bombings in the West Bank and Gaza, threats of jihad from al Qaeda, and the murder of a nun in Somalia. ++++------- http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/28/us-syria-crisis-lebanon-idUSBRE91R0OV20130228 Evidence of how the Civil War in Syria may cause Lebanon to implode into Civil War also. ++++------- http://pedestrianinfidel.blogspot.com/2006/11/twenty-things-you-should-know-about.html Islam regards all unbelievers as ritually unclean subhumans to be killed, subjugated, enslaved, exploited, or parasitised. Kafirs are described by the Arabic word ‘najis’ - literally ‘filth’. That’s why Muslim hatred of Kafirs is intrinsic to their ‘religion’. A Kafir doesn’t need to DO anything to offend a Muslim; his very existence is enough of an affront. @hg47 says – Infidels are filth, in the same legal category as piss and poop and (if I remember correctly) dog sweat. How much do Muslims hate us? My Holy Bible is suitable for use as toilet paper by Muslims, according to Islamic law, but if I so much as touch a Koran, I make it unclean. And this puppy calls itself a religion? Preaching hatred and inciting violence toward Infidels is not an accepted religious practice, in my opinion, but rather a hate crime. But what do I know? I’m just another inferior Infidel. The United States tamed the Mormon Church; the United States tamed the KKK; it’s time to tame Islam and the Muslims among us. You don’t get a GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD just because you’re a religion. ++++------- http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.9277/pub_detail.asp LT. COLONEL JAMES G. ZUMWALT, USMC (RET) on the creeping Islamization of Western societies, partly because most Muslim immigrants refuse to assimilate, and work to impose their own values on the West. ++++------- A quote from AMIL IMANI: Islamic clerics believe it their right to execute people they consider heretics and place bounties on the heads of those their bloody hands cannot reach. Salman Rushdie is one of the widely known cases. ++++------- http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view/2011_0405fired_up_over_nothing_book_burning_neither_illegal_nor_interesting/ Interesting article by Michael Graham on how Muslim death threats are destroying the Western concept of Freedom of Speech. ++++------- tweet ~ 1,250,000 white European Christians were captured and sold into the Muslim slave trade between the 16th and 19th century. ~ verify at: http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics ++++------- http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/568093/201104041857/Beheading-Ourselves-Over-Islam.htm Quote from Rashad Hussain, U.S. special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference: “I am of the opinion that one of the strongest tools that you can use to counter radicalization and violent extremism is Islam itself, because Islam rejects violent extremism.” After Hussain spoke to the locals in Afghanistan, telling them that the antidote to Islamic violence was Islam itself, the Afghans reacted by murdering a dozen United Nations workers. In the name of Islam. Rashad Hussain’s message plays very well in the West; unfortunately, the only people who agree with him are Infidels, even though many other Muslims are singing the same tune to fool us inferior creatures who must be subdued. ++++------- A quote from Pamela Geller: It needs pointing out that wherever Muslims live in non-Muslim countries, there is a level of agitation, conflict if you will, the level of which is directly tied to the size of the Muslim population. ++++------- http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/02/christian-persecution-continues-amid-egypt-turmoil/ Christian Persecution Continues Amid Egypt Turmoil. ++++------- A quote from Terry Kelhawk: Middle Eastern countries should open their eyes to see that the United States is not working on an anti-Islamic agenda in Middle East, but rather is cooperating with their leaders, and in fact is showing restraint… ++++------- http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2009/05/terrifying-brilliance-of-islam.html A quote by Citizen Warrior in this excellent article: The use of pretext means you need only the barest excuse to begin hostilities. It means you’re actually looking for an excuse, and even trying to provoke others into striking the first blow (“starting” the hostilities). @hg47 says – When Muslim mobs go on a rampage on the other side of the world “because” of a cartoon in the West, that’s not what is really happening. It’s pretext in action. Islamic leaders have long lists of Infidel targets they are itching to attack because the presence of Infidels that have not been properly humbled in their midst is an affront to their Muslim “superiority” and dignity. The preachers just need a theme for their next Rave Jihad Paradise Party: a pretext. The best way to fire up an angry Muslim mob is by ranting that Islam is under attack, and Muslims need to defend the honor of Islam, and by the way, there are a bunch of Infidels at the U.N. outpost just down the block, Go There! Also, angry rioting Muslim mobs are the result of a carefully orchestrated plan; not some spontaneous eruption. The official word authorizing the attack comes down from above to many separate preachers, operating from the same script, pointing their crowds at the same designated target. The proximate cause of the violence is never some cartoon or holy book that got burnt. That’s just the excuse to attack NOW. The proximate cause of Muslim mob violence is a high-up Muslim religious leader giving the order to Cut Loose The Dogs, and the many preachers following orders likely ranting from the same script to incite violence against a specific Infidel target. ++++------- KORAN; Sura 47, 4: “When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads till ye have made a great slaughter among them…” Keep in mind that Christianity has an interpretive tradition where the violent Old Testament passages are moderated by Christ’s teachings in the New Testament. Also keep in mind, that Islam is the reverse: every last peaceful passage in the Koran about Infidels has been officially abrogated, reduced to meaningless pretty words of nonsense by the intolerant and violent passages about us. ++++------- tweet ~ Africans taken as slaves by Muslims (or killed while being taken) is estimated to be higher than 140,000,000! ~ verify at: http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics @hg47 says – Yes, the United States has an awful and terrible history of slavery, in our past. I timidly suggest that before you hate our own culture so much that you love Islam without reservation, check the facts. 140 million African slaves taken or killed by Muslims! If Sharia law triumphs over the U.S. Constitution, here we go again: Slavery without limit! “Tote that bale, Y’all!” ++++------- http://www.jpost.com/home/article.aspx?id=188855 DANIEL PIPES about the erosion of Western Freedom of Speech. Muslims in the West have achieved a privileged status where they are free to insult others, but Muslims may not be insulted. ++++------- http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/249704/islam-and-west-conrad-black From the article by Conrad Black: When a completely unofficial Danish cartoonist produced some relatively innocuous renderings of Muhammad five years ago, Danish embassies were stoned and the whole nationality was anathematized in many Muslim countries. ++++------- A quote by Oskar Freysinger: Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist, lives in hiding under the threat of a fatwa. Having survived three attacks, he often changes his town and country, never leaves home without armed escort and turned his home into a fortress. This hell has lasted five years. Enough to discourage other practitioners of “misplaced” humor. ++++------- tweet ~ 95% of all suicide bombing attacks conducted worldwide are carried out by Muslims. ~ verify at: http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics ++++------- http://blogs.forbes.com/abigailesman/2010/10/12/just-say-nothing-is-the-american-press-afraid-to-talk-about-radical-islam/ From the article, by Abigail R. Esman: So while the Dutch courts try parliamentary leader Geert Wilders on charges of hate speech (or what in another era we’d have called “free speech”), America, it seems, has adopted another approach: Just say nothing. ++++------- http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/former-cia-agent-in-iran-comes-in-from-the-heat/2/ An article which gets into the radicals who control Iran. “We are anti-American and we are America’s enemy,” and “Non-Muslims are animals roaming the planet.” +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +Go-To-45+ +Go-To-Beginning-Of-47-REASONS-WHY-I-FEAR-ISLAM+

#islam

0 notes

accrafreepress · 4 years

Text

Bright Simons counters EC’s push for new electoral roll with 4 arguments

Honorary Vice President of think tank, Imani Africa, Bright Simons, has said recent arguments by the Electoral Commission (EC) for a new voters’ register is merely a Public Relations (PR) stint to legitimise a premeditated decision.

He criticised the EC for not consulting political parties, activists, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other interest groups before deciding to ditch the current biometric voting system for a new one.

“As far as I am concerned, the EC is engaged purely in a PR exercise to legitimise a decision they have already taken. Because this is not consultation,” he said about EC’s seeming active communication on the matter.

Mr Simons made the comments on Saturday’s edition Joy FM/MultiTV’s Newsfile that focused solely on the controversy over the EC’s push for a new voter’s register.

Mr Simons, renowned for his cogent and analytical arguments on national issues, presented four key points to counter EC’s decision to acquire a new voting system and compile a new electoral roll.

His first argument against the controversial process for a new voters’ register concerns the transparency and the timing of EC’s public announcement that it will compile a new register for the December 7, 2020, presidential and parliamentary elections.

He said it was clear that the EC decided on a new register as far back as December 2018, however, the processes leading to a tender, published later in April 2019 has not been transparent.

“Nobody in media or civil society has an idea what is the research that has led to this outcome, who were the people that were consulted?” he asked.

In his view, the EC was currently focusing on “procurement as opposed to problem-solving,” and urged the Commission to take the views of some 18 CSOs opposing the process seriously.

“The 18 CSOs represents, as far as I am concerned, one of the broadest institutional spectrums we have in this country from activists through to research-based organisations,” he stated, noting that they will not take a stance against the process if they were convinced that it was a bad decision.

His second argument is that the architecture of the current biometric voting system was multi-component, adding that “it is not entirely true that the system as it was designed cannot be separated as far as vender design is concerned.”

He revealed that after studying the architecture of the current system, there was every indication that should there be problems with specific components of the system, they can be dealt with.

He said EC’s proposal for a voters’ register was analogous to uprooting an entire network and implement a whole new system, “as opposed to incremental and surgical upgrades where it is most important.”

His third point counters EC claim that the existing system has not been upgraded since 2011.

“You can’t tell us that all the devices started in 2011…I have read all your budgets…and I have seen all your procurement plans and I know that you continue to buy equipment. In the Charlotte Osei affair, we saw that STL, for instance, had made offerings to replace some of these equipment the EC had gone ahead to make procurements when she abrogated and renegotiated. We know those numbers. We know what was purchased and we know the pricing,” he stated.

He said contrary to EC’s claims, there have been procurements over time.

In his final arguments, he urged the EC to take a policy decision to calibrate the biometric devices to solve the EC’s often cited point that the error rates recorded for the current system were high.

“To the extent that we have a system that is not 100% right, our way of determining whether we are improving or getting worse is to look at the conduct of the elections themselves,” he stated.

He also countered the EC’s claim that some $56 million quoted as the cost for the procurement of a new biometric system was lower than what it will cost to upgrade the existing one.

“Is that $56 million the result of a tender process, was that the lowest bidding proposal or lowest bidder? Where are you getting that figure from?” he asked the EC.

He argues that had the EC had done a request for quotation, it would find that the $56 million it is quoting as reasonable is actually very high.

Source: myjoyonline

0 notes

primeetime · 5 years

Text

Why Don’t I Write More

It’s been too long since my last post. A lot has changed in my life, but at my core, I’m still the same. I want to be a great writer so I read. Some days I read a lot. Some days I read a little. But every day I read. If I can find one good quote, one good metaphor, one good simile or just one way to improve my writing, whatever I was reading was worth my time. Eventually I’ll write more, but for right now I focus on reading.

So what I’m I reading right now. Well, next to me on my bed I have 3 books. I have Ta-Nehisi Coates powerful new book “The Water Dancer,” Leo Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece “War and Peace,” and I have Frederick Douglass’ 3rd autobiography, “The Life and Times of Frederick Dougalss.”

It’ll be a long time before I really commit to writing because I feel like so much of writing is based on reading other writers and slowly but surely coming up with your own style.

There are so many writers that I want to read and break down and analyze that I just know that right now writing is on the back burner. I want to read Zora Neale Hurston and W.E.B. DuBois. I want to read Colson Whitehead and Imani Perry. I want to read Langston Hughe’s short stories and August Wilson’s plays. I’ve already read the vast majority of James Baldwin’s non-fiction but I want to read his novels. And that’s only talking about the Black writers.

From the 200 pages I’ve read of “War and Peace” I want to read, at the very least, Anna Karenina and Crime Punishment. I also want to read Oscar Wilde and some other British authors. Lastly, I definitely want to read the great American writers, so as you can see I have no shortage of authors to read. But in the meantime Ill write here and there. I might make a couple more posts in the next coming days because there are a couple burning issues that I want to write about.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to it (heck, I don’t even know if anyone reads this lol), but the two topics I want to write about are the different forms that love can take (as Americans our understanding of love is so limited but I read this paragraph from the NYTimes Modern Love section and it inspired me to write something...“I flunked Chem II, which was especially humiliating for the daughter of a renowned scientist. “I’m not worried about your grade,” my teacher said, smiling. “I know that someday I’m going to have your books on my shelf.” I was stunned by his gift of faith. I felt as if I were flunking life, but he had seen my writing in the school paper. Twenty years later, I sent him a copy of my first published book. “I used your book in my retirement talk,” he wrote back. “Then I went home and put it on my shelf.””) and patriotism.

I’ll leave you with a quote from James Baldwin and a powerful video that every American should watch. The quote is from “No Name in the Street” and it’s probably the most despairing line I’ve ever read from James,

“I don’t think that any black person can speak of Malcolm and Martin without wishing that they were here. It is not possible for me to speak of them without a sense of loss and grief and rage; and with the sense, furthermore, of having been forced to undergo an unforgivable indignity, both personal and vast. Our children need them, which is, indeed, the reason that they are not here: and now we, the blacks, must make certain that our children never forget them. For the American republic has always done everything in its power to destroy our children’s heroes, with the clear (and sometimes clearly stated) intention of destroying our children’s hope. This endeavor has doomed the American nation: mark my words.”

The video I leave you with is of MLK’s funeral. I decided to watch it after reading Baldwin’s description of both the service. This post is getting longer than I expected, but I also want to add in James Baldwin’s description of the funeral service.

The church was packed, of course, incredibly so. Far in the front, I saw Harry Belafonte sitting next to Coretta King. I had interviewed Coretta years ago, when I was doing a profile on her husband. We had got on very well; she had a nice, free laugh. Ralph David Abernathy sat in the pulpit. I remembered him from years ago, sitting in his shirtsleeves in the house in Montgomery, big, black, and cheerful, pouring some cool soft drink, and, later, getting me settled in a nearby hotel. In the pew directly before me sat Marlon Brando, Sammy Davis, Eartha Kitt—covered in black, looking like a lost ten-year-old girl—and Sidney Poitier, in the same pew, or nearby. Marlon saw me and nodded.

The atmosphere was black, with a tension indescribable—as though something, perhaps the heavens, perhaps the earth, might crack. Everyone sat very still. The actual service sort of washed over me, in waves. It wasn’t that it seemed unreal; it was the most real church service I’ve ever sat through in my life, or ever hope to sit through; but I have a childhood hangover thing about not weeping in public, and I was concentrating on holding myself together. I did not want to weep for Martin; tears seemed futile. But I may also have been afraid, and I could not have been the only one, that if I began to weep, I would not be able to stop. There was more than enough to weep for, if one was to weep—so many of us, cut down, so soon. Medgar, Malcolm, Martin: and their widows, and their children.

Reverend Ralph David Abernathy asked a certain sister to sing a song which Martin had loved—“once more,” said Ralph David, “for Martin and for me,” and he sat down. The long, dark sister, whose name I do not remember, rose, very beautiful in her robes, and in her covered grief, and began to sing. It was a song I knew: “My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me.” The song rang out as it might have over dark fields, long ago; she was singing of a covenant a people had made, long ago, with life, and with that larger life which ends in revelation and which moves in love.

She stood there, and she sang it. How she bore it, I do not know; I think I have never seen a face quite like that face that afternoon. She was singing it for Martin, and for us.

And surely, He Remembers me. My heavenly Father watches over me.

At last, we were standing, and filing out, to walk behind Martin, home. I found myself between Marlon and Sammy. I had not been aware of the people when I had been pressing past them to get to the church. But, now, as we came out, and I looked up the road, I saw them. They were all along the road, on either side, they were on all the roofs, on either side. Every inch of ground, as far as the eye could see, was black with black people, and they stood in silence. It was the silence that undid me. I started to cry, and I stumbled, and Sammy grabbed my arm. We started to walk.

Baldwin, James. No Name in the Street (Vintage International) (pp. 156-157). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?443156-1/martin-luther-king-jr-funeral-coverage-1968

For me, the most moving part was the march. All the despairing Black faces that lined the street from Ebenezer Baptist Church to Morehouse College was just haunting. The assassination of Dr. King is probably the most devastating event in the history of Black America. Yes Dr. King was just a man, but for many African-Americans he had come to be the physical manifestation of hope. When he died, for African-Americans, hope died and we’ve been trying to recover ever since.

0 notes

emmetohboy · 6 years

Text

Favorites ‘17

Listen: SZA: Cntrl Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: Chaos and Clothes King Krule: The OOZ Joan Shelley: Joan Shelley Lilly Hiatt: Different, I Guess Kendrck Lamar: Damn JD McPherson: On the Lips Kehlani: Honey Faye Webster: She Won’t Go Away Kota the Friend: Lawn Chair Josh Ritter: Feels Like Lightning Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Julie’s Place Sabrina Claudio: Confidently Lost The Secret Sisters: He’s Fine

My parents didn’t play the radio much in our house when I was growing up. But my grandparents always had it on in there place. A little Realistic brand radio sat in the corner of the kitchen. From its single speaker the voice of Paul Harvey mixed with the songs of Tom T. Hall, Johnny Paycheck and Sammi Smith. This is the wrinkle of my youth into which country music crawled. In college, amidst all of the “alternative" or “progressive” music I devoured I intertwined a healthy dose of Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and George Jones records. But to this day when asked the horrible question “What kind of music do you like?” I still answer. “Everything. Well everything but Country.”

In 2017 I wove a great deal of what other folks might call country into my listening. But I would venture to guess that none of the tracks, or maybe even the artist at all, found air play on whatever counts as country radio these days.

If Colter Wall wore a baseball hat he might find Country radio airplay. If he wore his T-shirts tight, pronounced “drink” and “drank” the same way and mocked people for “being green” he might be all over the CMA’s. Colter Wall is only 22 years old. The weathered gravel in his voice makes me believe that the water where he grew up in Swift Current, Saskatchewan runs flush with bourbon and smoke the way the water of my youth carried fluoride. "Motorcycle" is the song I sang along to the most this past year.

“Chaos and Clothes” is the most irresistible track on the newest offering by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. And it contains my favorite lyric of 2017. I straight up pilfered “Let’s name all the monsters you killed” as the title for this year’s Autumn compilation.

When Lilly Hiatt opens “Different, I Guess” with the admission "I had a plan to make me look tough.” you just know things did not go as planned. And when she concludes with the same line it closes the song like the cover of a hardback book. I’ve always been a sucker for songs that use the same-line-as-opener-and-closer technique. But I of course had no way of initially knowing how it would end. What so endeared me the first time through was how this little self-defeated line nestled so easily into the rhythm and meter of the verse. And how, by the time she carries us into the chorus, she is straining with both emotion and meter to fit in all she has to say - “I just love you more than anyone I ever have, I guess.” I don’t envy the siblings or offspring of famous creative talent. They are usually greeted with and extra dose of skepticism. Often its warranted. But here the daughter John Hiatt is well on her way to independent credibility.

Josh Ritter has made frequent appearances here on my lists. This year he returns with The Gathering. While not my favorite Ritter record (that would be The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter) it is his best in a few years. And when Mrs. OhBoy and I saw him and his Royal City Band play their last U.S. date of the current tour they were phenomenal. On “Feels Like Lightening” Ritter leans right into some classic Johnny Cash/Luther Perkins guitar chugging for my favorite number on the record.

The Secret Sisters would not have raised an eyebrow had their lovely and sorrowful “He’s Fine” poured from the little radio in Nick and Vera’s kitchen all those years back. Their harmonies and storytelling call out from a bygone era and would have settled in seamlessly between ditties from Dolly and Tammy.

An artist who would have made either of my grandparents lunge to turn the dial on a radio is King Krule. But I’ve been enamored since first hearing his 6 Feet Beneath the Moon in 2013.Then his shtick might have been best described as part crooner part bar-fight antagonizer. Since then any listener has been able to hear is maturation as he released a more introspective record under is real name Archy Marshall in 2015 and this past year dropped The OOZ again under the King Rule moniker. The raw, angular guitars now carry a jazzier nuance and his “What you lookin’ at?” vocal delivery of “6 Feet…” now carries a “just hear me out.” authenticity. And the overall instrumental landscapes on The OOZ vary widely creating one of the years most diverse musical accomplishments.

Regarding musical accomplishments, in 2015 I pondered that Kedrick Lamar's “To Pimp a Butterfly” may be just as noteworthy of an accomplishment as an instrumental record. He returns with a much different and straight forward “Damn” this year. There’s a reason Vince Staples calls Kendrick the greatest living rapper. And much more qualified music writers have poured countless words onto his latest effort, in both its original format and the newest “Damn. Collectors Edition” wherein the track list flows in the reverse, and intended order from the original.

Choosing my favorite record of the year is proving to be a bit of a struggle. And I may just have to flip a coin on this one. With absolute certainty the record I listened to most this year, annoyed close friends with energetic adoration for, and searched three Chicago record stores to buy on vinyl for my niece Hallie this Christmas is SZA’s “Ctrl.” The record worked itself into my life the way most of my favorites do. I read acclaim for the effort and downloaded it into my listening rotation. At first I was underwhelmed and didn’t give it much thought. Then one by one, starting with “Supermodel” (notice the here post from August) the tracks began resonating. Each track took its turn as my favorite and all have an honest narrative approach that sets the record apart from most anything in the genre. I’ve heard the notion that the album is dead. We live in a world of singles. And now the playlist has usurped the album. It may be true. I am as guilty as anyone of being a creature of the playlist. But when a collection of tracks likes “Cntrl” comes along it reinforces the unparalleled experience of one artist, in one work creating a complete musical experience. And it is worth a thousand playlists.

All of my fondness for SZA (Solana Imani Rowe) and her fabulous debut were only reinforced by her performances with solo musical accompaniment. And by the fact that when she performed as musical guest on SNL, she didn’t rest on her success but rather re-imagined two of her hits and brought a live band and choir to perform them.

So its sounds pretty clear right? SZA. "Cntrl." But 2017 brought a record by a woman who has released three since 2014. And as much as SZA basks in all the freshness of Cntrl, it's well known how difficult it can be to follow up on a break out debut. I once heard an artist lament the pressure that comes after such success, "You have your entire life to make your first record. And one year to make the next.” Maybe the fact, that by no standards can Joan Shelley’s 2012 debut, “Ginko” be considered a success, allowed her to continue to grow into the artist who five years later released her best record. Maybe Joan herself also believes it to be her best record, the best reflection of herself as an artist, and that’s why she eponymously title this collection of eleven gorgeous tracks. I’ve included “The Push and Pull” on this playlist, but without exception I could have chosen any track on the record to prove my point. "Joan Shelley” was released in May of this year. I was immediately enthralled. But not in the way that makes you exclaim adoration to friends. Much more in a way that makes your wife look up from her reading on a Sunday morning and ask “What’s this?” And then twenty minutes later speak again “This is beautiful.”

Sitting here now, looking out the window into the snowy woods of Michigan and thinking about all that I have read and seen and heard this past year it is easy to understand how a quiet little record released back in May could have fallen off my radar. Thank you Nora O’Connor for just last week reminding me of all of the warmth and frailty and magic that is “Joan Shelley.”

Happy New Year.

I have to go flip a coin.

0 notes

limejuicer1862 · 4 years

Text

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.

The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

#gallery-0-6 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-6 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-6 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-6 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Juliette Sebock

is a Best of the Net-nominated poet and writer and the author of Mistakes Were Made, Micro, Boleyn, and How My Cat Saved My Life and Other Poems, with work forthcoming or appearing in a wide variety of publications. She is the founding editor of Nightingale & Sparrow, runs a lifestyle blog, For the Sake of Good Taste, and is a regular contributor with Marías at Sampaguitas, Royal Rose, Memoir Mixtapes, and The Poetry Question. When she isn’t writing (and sometimes when she is), she can be found with a cup of coffee and her cat, Fitz. Juliette can be reached on her website, juliettesebock.com, or across social media @juliettesebock.

The Interview

1. When and why did you start writing poetry?

I honestly don’t remember a time in which I wasn’t writing something—from stories in preschool to songs in middle school. I really started writing poetry, though, in high school and into college. It was solely a cathartic thing for me—a sort of therapeutic exercise to cope with, well, life. I’ve always found writing, in all its forms, to be a kind of restorative act. By the summer prior to my senior year of college, I knew I had to do something more with it, and my first chapbook was born!

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

Just like I can’t remember a time without writing, I really can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading. Shakespeare & Poe were early favourites (I was that weird kid who read way too much classic lit), so I was exposed to poetry in general rather early.

But, when it comes to my own poetry, I owe so much to my friend and fellow poet, Hugh Martin. Hugh was the first person who ever really talked to me seriously about poetry, and he encouraged my writing, too. He recommended one of the first poetry books I seriously read beyond the “greats,” and reading his work, as well, was especially inspiring. I’d already been writing, but I never really thought much about doing anything with it, and I’m so absurdly grateful to him for igniting that spark, so to speak!

3. How aware are and were you of the dominating presence of older poets traditional and contemporary?

When I first started writing, and even submitting, I had no idea of just how massive the poetry community, both currently and through time, really is. I’d been exposed to some of the biggest names (and even then, only a small portion of the canon), but little more. I found Button Poetry’s videos which, while hardly unknown, showed me a glimpse of the voices that are out there. From there, I dug up more and more small publications; along the way, I not only found more accessible opportunities, but I made connections with so many amazing poets I may never have found otherwise!

4. What is your daily writing routine?

I don’t really have one. Between health issues and work, it really is hard to find time to write…but that’s when I really need to “make” the time, so to speak.

For me, writing’s always been a sort of compulsion–at the risk of a poetic cliché, I need to write like I need to breathe. Most of my writing happens in a notetaking app on my phone when the urge strikes. I hope to have the room, in a scheduling sense, to have the sort of formal writing routine that you see the big-name authors share but, for now, this works for me!

Link! https://mysmallpresswritingday.blogspot.com/2019/09/my-small-press-writing-day-juliette.html

5. What motivates you to write?

For me, writing is frankly as necessary as breathing. There’s not really another option–if I’m not writing and haven’t for a while, everything feels off.

Publishing though, I’ve found is motivated in part by my experience in dealing with chronic illness. A lot of what I live with tends to be confusing to doctors, and I constantly have that deeply-rooted fear that there’s something bigger going on that will be missed. I’ve had a lot of people comment on the extent to which I submit & publish pieces, but so much of that is simply because I’m afraid I won’t always have the opportunity to do so.

6. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

Allusions are probably the most blatant case of that influence; I think almost every manuscript I’ve completed has at least one reference to something by Shakespeare. His work and Austen’s, in particular, played in a big part in my dream of living in the UK, which I was lucky enough to do for a while–an experience that’s been a huge factor in my writing as well.

6.1. Why “Austen’s, in particular”?

Shakespeare and Austen were some of the first writers I read seriously, and that’s stuck with me through the years. In fact, I learnt a lot about language from doing so, rather in the classroom–I’m still holding a grudge against an elementary school spelling test that took off points for my spelling it “grey” as opposed to “gray!” I’ve always loved the sort of romanticised version of Britain and books were a major portion of that. I’ve ended up with a sort of US/UK English myself as a result which, in my mind, sort of marks a piece as my own.

7. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

One of my favourite things about indie lit is that so many writers that I admire are those I’m lucky enough to call friends, or at least acquaintances (with a few exceptions in which I’m exclusively a fan [so far])…which also means I’m bound to forget a few along the way, so I’ll apologise for that upfront. But some of those writers include Lannie Stabile, Lynne Schmidt, Elfie, Imani Campbell, Jean-Marie Bub, Kat Giordano, Maddie Anthes, Kate Garrett, Megan Lucas, Nadia Gerassimenko, Marisa Craine, Janna C. Valente, Megan O’Keeffe, Juliette van der Molen, Kayt Christensen, Courtney LeBlanc, and so, so many more! All of these writers are so hardworking and talented and generally wonderful–it’d be hard not to admire them!

8. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

Quite simply, I’d tell them to write. It’s the only real “requirement” to call yourself a writer!

To answer the implicit question, though, of how to become a published writer, the answer is similar–submit. If you tell yourself that your work isn’t good enough to send to a publication, you’ll never have the chance to have someone say “Yes, we’d love to publish your piece!” There’s so, so much rejection to be had, but if you don’t push through that, you’ll never have the joy that comes with that first acceptance (and those that come after it!).

9. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

Right now, I’ve got two chapbooks lined up for 2020 publication and have a few more manuscripts out in the world and in progress. I’ve pulled away from submitting much over the past few months amidst some health & other issues, so one of my plans for the next few months is to get back into the swing of things there–and I’ve still got a few pending submissions from earlier in the year! Otherwise, we’ve got a lot of exciting things to come from Nightingale & Sparrow and I’m hoping to build my freelance writing & editing client base as well. Overall, I’m optimistic about some great opportunities on the horizon!

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Juliette Sebock Wombwell Rainbow Interviews I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me.

0 notes

beneath-our-masks · 5 years

Text

I’m In

Hi everyone, Mod Ten here! This was written by Mod Concerned for the most part and just edited by me so Imani (my character) was IC and for other general editing stuff. We decided not to post EVERYONE’S entry into this organization because most of them were just like “so and so received a letter and answered it with their parents.” But Riley never got a letter of their own merit, thus...a few other things were necessary. Hope you enjoy!

Taglist: @imaghostwriter @aconstantcrisis

Riley was never one to listen. They were also not one to follow the rules, or even the law. So when they hacked into a secret facility and found an interesting file, they had to act on it. Said file contained information about certain individuals and how they were selected to form a team of kid heroes. It was...interesting, to say the least. Yes, kid heroes existed. They could think of a few, but a team? Not really heard of. So when they did more digging and read up on each kid chosen, they decided to join.

It had been a week since they hacked in, found the ground plans and the file, and decided to finally go ahead with their plan and ‘break in.’ They’d show them what they can do, and become a member of the team. They stood across the street from the facility, watching Agents walk in and out, and looking past the glass panes into the actual building. It looked like a financial building, but they knew that there was a carefully sequestered area in the basement that constituted an entire secret facility. They saw a rather big desk, with a secretary. Make that two. Great, they had to distract two people. And they were probably armed. Taking in a breath, they started to cross the street. With each step, they could feel their nerves screaming at them to leave, but they continued to walk forward, getting a buzz off their adrenaline. As they made it closer to the door, a women walked out on the phone. Perfect, she was distracted. They didn’t need to enter the code to get into the building. Slipping through the door that was closing, they walked to the front desk and gave the secretaries a flashy smile.

“Good morning, I am here to see Agent Jefferson and Agent Schott,” they said smoothly. They had been practicing, and even took out their piercings and re-dye their hair back to it’s normal color. On top of that, they were wearing some of their finer clothes to look like a well put together young adult. “I got a letter,” they started, pulling it out of their satchel and laying it on the counter. They had found the template the organization used for the letters they sent out, and they used it to make their own. “I honestly wasn’t sure what to do, so I decided to come in.”

“Alright, let me call Agent Jefferson over,” a secretary said, looking a bit skeptical. Riley hesitated for a moment. They were hoping for Agent Schott, not Agent Jefferson, but they of course didn’t say anything to the secretary. Taking in a breath, they contemplated. Agent Jefferson...they had hacked in a couple more times to get files on the people they would be trying to persuade, and frankly, they didn’t like her much. She could neutralize abilities, and would probably neutralize his. They had to play this smart, rely on their smooth talking and not their power to persuade them. Sure enough, a few taps of the secretary’s phone and a small conversation later, a dark-skinned woman in a pantsuit walked up and extended a hand for Riley to shake. She was smiling.

“Hello there! You’re one of our new recruits. Here, come to my office, so we can verify that everything is in order and start the orientation.”

“You must be Agent Jefferson!” they exclaimed happily. “Pleasure to meet you. Happy the letter was real and I wasn’t being scammed,” they said, shaking her hand. “And of course, whatever you need.”

Jefferson smiled at him and led him into her office. “After you,” she said, holding the door for Riley. Then, she sat down at her desk. “Alright, first question. When you hacked into our information databases, did you compromise them in any way, shape, or form?” Her voice was calm, but her gaze could kill.

Sitting across from Agent Jefferson, Riley’s innocent smile turned into a wicked smirk, “Maybe your technicians are not that good, if they can’t even figure that out.” They looked around the room, not even fazed by her gaze, and took everything in. “Also, I know you are a therapist, but does your office have to resemble one so much?”

“Perfect,” Jefferson said, ignoring the previous comment. “That’s exactly the confirmation I needed. Well, now we’ve found our hacker definitively. I mean, we know the IP’s you’ve hacked from, but since you’re very likely using various remote IP’s, we knew that wouldn’t get us to many places. So, I had to take a little leap. Perfect. So, now that we have that confirmation, wanna give me one reason you shouldn’t be put in federal prison?”

“Sending a kid to prison, honestly I didn’t think you would make that threat.” Riley shrugged, “Though that threat doesn’t scare me, especially since I’m about to make an offer.” They opened up their satchel and pulled out a small laptop, then opened it up to face Jefferson. It showed a countdown timer. 1:36:03, 1:36:02...and it kept counting down. “I have this much time to convince you to let me join the team of kid heroes, before all the secrets I found are revealed to the world.” They smiled innocently once again, “And don’t bother with your technicians, only I can stop this timer.”

“Alright,” Jefferson said with a nod as she fiddled with one of her plugs. “Well, convincing isn’t particularly necessary. I have a few forms here for you, but we figured if you showed up, it would be better for you to be here where we can keep an eye on you than somewhere else, where you could potentially hack in again and compromise us. It’s a directive from my supervisor that I quite frankly don’t agree with, but Agent Schott is for it. So. Mind stopping the timer?” She slid a file across her desk that was clearly intended for onboarding.

Leaning forward in his seat, they skimmed the paper she passed their way. “This is too easy.” they mused, sitting back in their seat. “I get you want to keep an eye on me, but it would be so much easier to lock me up, instead of making me a member of the team.” Riley flipped their laptop around, and started typing something. “If this is a joke, I’ll send out the information right now. Does that sound good, Agent Jefferson?

Agent Jefferson let out a sigh, massaging her temples. “Trust me, I wish that it wasn’t this easy. I do not believe in rewarding you for compromising the security of nine children that are in a very dangerous position due to their status or powers by keeping you in a position where you can compromise their security. If it was up to me, we’d be figuring out an ethical way to keep you out of our hair that didn’t involve you being around the very people whose identities you almost compromised. But, as I’m sure you know, there are plenty of people higher up than I am. Consider it them giving you this opportunity. If you’d like their confirmation, I can get them here.”

“I did not compromise anyone,” Riley snipped, rather annoyed that Agent Jefferson even thought that. “I can normally leave no trace, but I wanted you guys to know you were hacked. I left breadcrumbs for you to find.” Riley continued to type away at their laptop. “I made myself look like an amateur so you didn’t think much of me when I showed up. Also,” they began, closing their laptop and putting it away, “I never planned to reveal anything. I already destroyed the hard drive all your information was on.”

“Anyone who can get into our system is not an amateur. Besides, I’m sure you know that we’re doing this largely for the safety of many of these kids. Someone like you could have condemned them to a fate worse than death, hence my disagreement with this situation.” Agent Jefferson let out a long-suffering sigh. “Now, if you don’t mind filling out the forms, we can get you slotted in and continue to redo our security so that we don’t have any more sensitive information getting into the hands of those who could at least pretend to use it as blackmail.”

“Well, one of your technicians could…” Riley began, rambling about all the technical measures the organization could implement.

“You’ll need parental consent as well, especially since you’re under eighteen,” Agent Jefferson interrupted, partway through the rant.

Riley stopped rambling and looked up at Jefferson, another wicked grin appearing on their face. “Already done,” they said smugly, going back to their satchel and searching through it for a piece of paper. He tossed it on the desk in front of her. “I showed my parents the letter I fabricated, and they loved the idea. Better than me doing shit alone, they said.”

“Fabulous,” Jefferson replied, not trying particularly hard to not sound sarcastic. “Alright. I’m going to take you to a common area and have you wait there until everyone else gets there. Is there anything else I should know?”

“I want to be partnered with Dakota,” was all they said as they went back to filling out the paperwork. Riley had totally forgot to ask for that. Hopefully she’d agree. From what he’d seen from Agent Jefferson, probably not, but they could hope.

“So my answer is going to be no since I don’t negotiate with people who could have put the information of vulnerable children at risk, but luckily for you it isn’t my call. It’s me, Schott, and some others. I’m at least going to have to know why you want to partner with him.”

“He seems...interesting.” Riley wasn’t lying; they were curious about the boy. Someone ripped from his family and tested on his whole childhood...certainly interesting. “Out of the nine, he’s the most...appealing to me. Granted uh...Ace? Or Bayleigh seem pretty interesting as well. Though I’m not going to lie when I say Dakota is hot.” Now that was a lie, for the most part. But hopefully it’d work.

Agent Jefferson sighed again. “Don’t bother lying. I’ve spent plenty of my life working with hormonal teenagers and right now, I can at least tell that isn’t your primary reason. Well, at least you also know the risk that someone like you partnering with him causes. You seem to enjoy pushing people’s buttons. It could get you killed if you do it with Dakota.”

Riley shrugged. “Let’s just hope I can calm him down before he punches me,” they said, leaning forward in their chair. “Though, if he did manage to kill me, only three people would care. And I’ve left them with quite a bit of memories about me, so it's not like…” Riley trailed off, not liking to think about how their little sister would take their death. They shook their head and looked back at Agent Jefferson. “I don’t care about the risks, I want to be paired with Dakota.”

Agent Jefferson nodded. “I’ll talk to the higher-ups. We’ll see.”

“Thank you, Agent Jefferson!” Their cocky demeanor was back, and they jumped up from their seat, satchel slung over their shoulder. “Now then, take me to the others.”

#imani #agent jefferson #riley #mod concerned writes #writing #oc's #writblr #writeblr #ocs #short story

0 notes

newyorktheater · 5 years

Text

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover sent an agent to see the out-of-town tryout of “A Raisin in the Sun” to determine if the play had Communist content. The FBI did not do this with every show that was planning to open on Broadway in 1959, but the author of this one was Lorraine Hansberry.

Hansberry is generally remembered nowadays (if at all) as the first African-American woman playwright on Broadway, the author of one of the most popular, influential and moving plays in the history of American theater. But, at the time, the FBI knew her only as a Communist. She had been under surveillance for years.

Hansberry was just 28 years old when “A Raisin in the Sun” opened on Broadway — 60 years ago next month – and lived only six more years, dying of cancer at the age of 34. Yet her short life was extraordinarily full and varied. She was the privileged daughter of an affluent, politically active Chicago family whose father’s anti-segregation lawsuit was resolved in his favor by the United States Supreme Court. She was a radical activist and anti-colonialist who gave speeches on Harlem street corners. Her mentors included the great performer and activist Paul Robeson; Robeson founded the newspaper Freedom, where Hansberry worked as a journalist. She was an intellectual who studied with the legendary scholar and activist W.E.B. DuBois and debated with novelist Richard Wright; a bohemian who lived in Greenwich Village in an interracial marriage; a closeted but active lesbian who wrote short stories about lesbian life under a pseudonym; a celebrity who formed close friendships with both writer James Baldwin and singer Nina Simone. Her play made her so famous that the FBI backed off, according to her FBI file, “since the possibility exists that the Bureau could be placed in an embarrassing position if it became known to the press that the Bureau was investigating the subject and/or the play.” Shortly afterwards, the State Department and JFK and RFK were inviting her to meetings in Africa and in the White House, as a representative of America or of her race. At one such meeting, she confronted Attorney General Robert Kennedy about the inaction of the U.S. government in the face of white violence in Birmingham, and urged him to make a “moral commitment” to civil rights. Less than a month later, President John F. Kennedy gave his speech characterizing civil rights as a moral issue, and proposing what eventually became the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Lorraine Hansberry was a remarkable woman “who has had far too little written about her, about her other work, about her life…She sparked and she sparkled,” writes Imani Perry, a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, in Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry

“Looking for Lorraine” is not a conventional biography, which the author acknowledges, telling us it’s “less a biography than a genre yet to be named,” and then suggesting that the book could be categorized a “third person memoir.”

Whatever else that description is supposed to mean, the book is occasionally tinted with autobiography; it could almost be entitled “Looking for Imani via Lorraine.” The author explains her feeling of personal kinship with her subject, referring to her as Lorraine rather than Hansberry throughout, and threading the narrative with parallels to her own life, including some odd coincidences: Perry’s father, who idolized the playwright, happened to have the same birthday as Hansberry.

Why this approach matters is because the book’s focus seems to reflect the interests of its author….and Perry doesn’t seem all that interested in the theater. Fewer than 15 percent of the book’s 204 pages are devoted to “Raisin” and Hansberry’s other plays, “The Sign in Sydney Brustein’s Window,” “Les Blancs,” and “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” (which her ex-husband put together posthumously from her writings.) We get just scrimpy or scattered recaps of the plots, usually recounted not for the pleasure of their stories but as illustration of some larger analysis of Hansberry’s life or beliefs, and we learn little about how they were written and next to nothing about how they were staged.

The book offers what feel like perfunctory versions of the dramatic moments that theatergoers have come to expect in a biography of a theater artist. Ok, these moments may all be clichés – landing on the inspiration, struggling with the script, putting together the creative team, scrounging for financing, the anxiety of opening night, the standing ovation, the rave reviews, the portrait at Sardis(?) — but what theater lover can resist them? And they are especially savory in “A Raisin in the Sun,” given what seemed initially as the insurmountable challenge of mounting on Broadway an unprecedented serious dramatic play about black life by the first-ever black female writer, a black director, and 10 out of 11 black cast members. We get the fuller flavor of these theatrical moments in “Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart,”a 2017 documentary (currently available on Kanopy, a streaming service that is free to anybody with a public library card.) Ironically, Imani Perry is one of the talking heads in that documentary.

Perry would surely maintain that Hansberry was more than just a playwright, and that the rest of her life and work has been ignored. That may be why, for example, Perry seems to communicate more enthusiasm for Hansberry’s unknown essays and short stories on lesbian themes and characters. But Hansberry’s plays were certainly a part of her life; indeed, it shouldn’t be controversial to argue they were a central part.

Still, though they’re not emphasized, there are enough passages in “Looking for Lorraine” to piece together a portrait of the artist as a young playwright. She was seven years old when her family moved into a house in a white neighborhood, which led to attacks by an angry white mob; one thug threw a chunk of cement through the window that barely missed Lorraine’s head; it was thrown with such force that it lodged in the living room wall. Hansberry wrote about this moment numerous times in fictional form, and it seems obvious it helped inspire her first play. As a student at the (nearly all white) University of Wisconsin at Madison, she read and performed in plays (such as Federico Garcia Lorca’s Yerma) and was especially taken with Sean O’Casey’s “Juno and the Paycock,” noting (as Perry puts it) that playwright’s “poetry in everyday expression.” She early on wanted to be a visual artist – she took painting classes at a summer art program after her sophomore year in the “bohemian enclave” of Ajijic, Mexico — and her stage directions are “works of art” that “beg to be painted, hence the magnificent stills that remain from the Broadway production.”

Hansberry felt it a fault in “A Raisin in the Sun” that it has no central character (Perry disagrees: “Master of the ensemble form was perhaps her greatest gift.”) But the playwright made an interesting comparison between her character Walter Lee Younger and Arthur Miller’s character Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman.” Perry cites an essay that Hansberry wrote, “Willie [sic] Loman, Walter Younger and He Who Must Live.” Perry says that the appeared in the New York Times. This is not only a mistake — it was actually published in the Village Voice, on August 12, 1959 – it’s a missed opportunity to offer one more aspect of Hansberry’s personality, given the back story of the essay, as recounted by Raisin’s producer Philip Rose in his 2001 memoir “You can’t do that on Broadway! : A raisin in the sun and other theatrical improbabilities

The New York Times requested an essay on any subject from Hansberry, but after she handed it in, the Times main critic Brooks Atkinson edited it in a way that incensed her, and she refused to allow the paper to publish it. The Voice found out about the story, and offered to print the original version in its entirety.

It is an exquisitely insightful essay, which, among other things, points out why it is that only one critic saw the connection between Willy Loman and Walter Younger – too many still see any black man as an exotic.

“We have grown accustomed to the dynamics of ‘Negro’ personality as expressed by white authors. Thus de Emperor, de Lawd and of course Porgy still haunt our frame of reference when a new character emerges,” referring to The Emperor Jones, The Green Pastures, and Porgy and Bess. America, she continues, “long ago fell in love with the image of the simple, lovable and glandular ‘Negro.” We all know that Catfish Row was never intended to slander anyone; it was intended as a mental haven for readers and audiences who could bask in the unleashed passions of those ‘lucky ones’ for whom abandonment was apparently permissible…Nobody really finds oppression and/or poverty tolerable. If we ever destroy the image of the black people who do supposedly find those things tolerable in America, then that much-touted ‘guilt’ which allegedly haunts most middle class white Americans with regard to the Negro question would become unendurable. It would also mean the death of a dubious literary tradition, but it would undoubtedly and more significantly help toward the more rapid transformation of the status of a people who have never found their imposed misery very charming.”

These elegant, erudite, well-reasoned and angry sentences – none of which are quoted in “Looking for Lorraine” — demonstrate Hansberry’s equally masterful command of the history of American theater and of American racial attitudes, and why her activism and her intellect and sexuality and her playwriting are all together, inseparable, in this one woman who made such a difference.

Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover sent an agent to see the out-of-town tryout of “A Raisin in the Sun” to determine if the play had Communist content.

0 notes

fashiontrendin-blog · 6 years

Text

Man Repeller and Negative Made the Nap-Wear of Your Dreams (Literally)

http://fashion-trendin.com/man-repeller-and-negative-made-the-nap-wear-of-your-dreams-literally/

Man Repeller and Negative Made the Nap-Wear of Your Dreams (Literally)

In partnership with Negative Underwear.

I talk about napping all the time. All the time!

After I eat food: “God I’d love a nap right now.”

After I do chores: “I think I need a nap.”

After I see a baby napping: “That baby doesn’t even know how good it is has it, napping all the time.”

After I see a cat or dog napping: “That cat/dog doesn’t even know how good it is has it, napping all the time.”

Before I’m about to go out (to dinner, to a party, just anywhere outside my room, really): “I should probably take a nap first.”

23 PHOTOS click for more

The list goes on but I never do it. I never nap unless I’m on the fourth day of vacation at the height of relaxation and someone leaves me alone while I’m horizontal for at least 10 minutes. Otherwise, I am either awake or bed-time sleeping. What I’ve always suspected I needed is an incentive beyond the short snooze itself. (Sleep is great and all, but I’m a weird one who somehow talks myself into doing other things instead of sleeping, sometimes for no reason, often because of, again, food.)

In that case, I’d like to thank my sleepy stars that we, Man Repeller, teamed up with Negative Underwear to make a limited edition kit (there are only 250 not to raise your blood pressure or anything!!!) that’ll make even the most nap-resistant human excited for just a nod of shut-eye.

Now, I’m a Negative Underwear fan. Love their bras, love their briefs. BUT I HAVE NEVER FELT SOMETHING SO INSANELY SOFT, SAVE FOR THE UNDERPART OF A KITTEN’S CHIN, AS THEIR WHIPPED SLEEP SET, WHICH YOU CAN FULLY WEAR WHILE AWAKE BY THE WAY.

Gah. Sorry for shouting. That probably woke you up from the nap you were day-dreaming about. I got excited because we made our OWN Man Repeller x Negative Underwear whipped set, and it’s inside this kit!

What else is inside? So glad you asked:

– A custom Negative x Man Repeller Whipped A-Top + High-Waist Brief lounge set with brightly-colored stitch trim (know I just said that, but I didn’t tell you about the trim, did I?) – A silk pillowcase that Negative and Man Repeller dreamed up together (it features an embroidered butt!) – A colorful pair of crew socks that we designed together to keep your toes cozy and happy. – A Lake & Skye rollerball fragrance of 11 11 (make a wish!) – A silk eye mask with embroidered heart-shaped sunglasses – A box of CAP Beauty Matcha Sticks for an after-nap pick-me-up – And a double cherry hair clip, the literal cherry on top

I’m so excited about this launch that I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep a wink until I know who’s joining me, so click here to get your own (and one more time for those nappers in the back: we only made 250 kits!), and then tell me in the comments who’s ready for nap time!

Photographed by Edith Young; Styled by Harling Ross; Modeled by Imani, Mikayla, Sophia and Ariana.</em

0 notes

richincolor · 7 years

Photo

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women edited by Lisa Charleyboy and MaryBeth Leatherdale is an incredible collection we highly recommend and we're excited to be discussing it here today.

Summary: Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous girls and women across North America resound in this book. In the same visual style as the bestselling Dreaming in Indian, #NotYourPrincess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, intergenerational trauma, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women demanding change and realizing their dreams. Sometimes outraged, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have had their history hidden and whose modern lives have been virtually invisible.

Crystal's Review

Debbie Reese’s Review

Crystal: #NotYourPrincess is visually stunning. I love the attention to detail throughout the book like the use of borders and the pairings of text and artwork. The essay "The Invisible Indians" by Shelby Lisk (Mohawk) was accompanied by photos that illustrated how the stereotypes people have in their head render the actual people in front of them invisible. It made the text so powerful to have both parts. Do you all have any favorite visual pieces?

Audrey: I agree--this collection did a wonderful job of pairing beautiful artwork with powerful words. When I read, I typically don’t find myself backtracking, but I did more than once with #NotYourPrincess so I could go back and forth between the text and the art it had been paired with. My absolute favorite set is the poem “When I Have a Daughter” by Ntawnis Piapot (Piapot Cree Nation) with the piece Memories by Aura Last (Oneida).

Jessica: It’s so hard to choose a favorite -- they were all incredible in their own way. Two stood out to me in particular. The first was A Conversation with a Massage Therapist by Francine Cunningham -- I saw the picture first and didn’t realize the context until I read the conversation beneath it that portrayed a massage therapist casually throwing around harmful stereotypes during a massage session. The second one was Real NDNZ Re-Take Hollywood by Pamela J. Peters, which recreated classic Hollywood portraits with Native American actors. Both demonstrated how harmful stereotypes were in the different ways they manifested themselves, whether through media and Hollywood, or through everyday conversations.

K. Imani: This collection, the mix of artwork with the amazing poetry, was absolutely beautiful. For me, I can’t choose between the two poems of “The Things We Taught Our Daughters” and “Honor Song”. I found both to be extremely moving as both talked about reclamation of the feminine and and the power that women have inside of them.

Crystal: In “Reclaiming Indigenous Women’s Rights” Nahanni Fontaine (Anishinaabe) writes, “Patriarchy is quite simply the systematic oppression and regulation of women’s bodies, minds, and spirits. Patriarchy sets the markers and outlines the box of what we can and cannot do; say or cannot say; think or cannot think; express or cannot express; live or cannot live.” Fontaine has clearly delineated patriarchy and the colonial legacy. Her essay along with many other pieces here not only explains how we got to where we are, but also marks out oa path for the future. I think this is such a powerful text and I’m excited that young women, and specifically young indigenous women, could have this book available to them.

Audrey: I think that path for the future is one of the most important themes in #NotYourPrincess. The women in these pages are resilient, and several times they address past (and current) violence, pain, and other trials. Yet the collection always circles back to the triumph of survival and hope for the future. Fontaine’s essay really cuts to the heart of #NotYourPrincess. So does the opening text of the book, from Leanne Simpson (Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg): “I am always trying to escape—from dangerous situations, from racist stereotypes, from environmental destruction in my territory, and from the assault on my freedom as an individual and as part of the Nishnaabeg nation. As an Indigenous person, I have to escape in order to survive, but I don’t just escape. I hold this beautiful, rich Indigenous decolonial space inside and around me. I am escaping into Indigenous freedom. I am escaping into Indigenous land and my Indigenous body.”

Jessica: I loved how everything was connected together in the book. Patriarchy and colonialism and oppression were all tied together, and then a goal was laid out of not just escape, but escape to a space of freedom and equality. And all this is possible through the strength of generations of women. I’m glad I read #NotYourPrincess all in one go, since it allowed me to see all these themes and works of art flowing together.

K. Imani: The theme of fighting the Patriarchy and colonialism throughout the book made me want to stand up and clap for all of these artists. These are women recognizing their power and owning it. Jessica Deer’s essay, “We Are Not A Costume” was so poignant specifically when she simply states “While someone may think they look supercute as an “Indian Princess” or as “Reservation Royalty” for a fun and harmless evening, they have the privilege of removing that costume at the end of the night. Indigenous women and girls do not. We have to deal with ongoing marginalization and the lingering effects of colonization, like a culture that normalizes violence against us.” I can imagine many young girls reading this passage, find their voice, and speak out against in justice towards marginalized peoples.

Crystal: This book shares so many examples of female role models. There are mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins and more. I couldn’t help but start to think about the women in my life who taught me what it meant to move through the world as a woman. The book invites such wonderings and offers some awesome role models. I’m eager to see the responses from young indigenous women reading this. I think it could be extremely encouraging.

Audrey: I agree! “What’s There to Take Back?” by Tiffany Midge (Hunkpapa Lakota) was all about her role models of Indigenous womanhood--real role models, not terrible stereotypes like Tiger Lily. Many of the pieces in #NotYourPrincess are about connection with past and future generations and learning from others. I also really enjoyed the piece “Living Their Dreams” with the photo spread of athletes Shoni Schimmel (Umatilla), September Big Crow (Tsuu T’ina Nation), Ashton Locklear (Lumbee), and Brigitte Lacquette (Ojibwe). It’s not often that I see professional athletes held up as role models for young women, so I loved seeing all of them in powerful, confident poses, representing four different sports, and talking about their experiences.

K. Imani: I agree with both of you. “What’s There to Take Back?” was another one of my favorites as well because the examples that Midge gave for true role models were all kick-butt women. I can see so many young girls being inspired by learning about Indigenous women who are out there fighting the good fight and are being awesome. I especially enjoyed the passage titled “Good Medicine” which was an interview with Janet Smylie. I found her story to be inspiring and a wonderful message for young girls who are struggling to know that they can overcome their challenges and achieve.

Crystal: In “Dear Past Self,” Isabella Fillspipe (Oglala Lakota) wrote, “If you have something to say Say it. Life is too short to sit in silence. And stop trying to please other people.” I really wish teen me had heard such things enough times to believe them. This is a message many young women could benefit from.

Audrey: There are so many wonderful lines in #NotYourPrincess, and I hope that this book makes its way into the hands of many girls and women, especially Indigenous girls and women.

Jessica: Yeah, the focus on different generations -- past, present, and future -- Indigenous women was incredible.

Audrey: One of the quotes that stayed with me after I finished was by Tanaya Winder (Duckwater Shosone): “As Indigenous women writers and artists we are continually trying to exist, live, and love in a world that doesn't always show its love for us. This means, part of the artist's call is to turn past traumas on their heads, upside down, inside out, lift it up then put it back down as something changed and transformed so that others can find something beautiful or hopeful in it. For that beauty and hope to exist we as Native American women must dive headfirst into the muck, ugliness, stark darkness of that wreckage. This is what we do--we recast wounds in unending light. And so, light, love, and courage are circles we keep coming back to.” It’s a powerful message, and I find that a lot of creators from other marginalized groups have embraced similar philosophies when writing about their own communities.

#NotYourPrincess #YALit

29 notes · View notes