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During today’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae talk with Ayokunle Falomo, author of the poetry collection Autobiomythography Of. Join them as they discuss the intertwining of mythology, time, and history, as well as the responsibilities of parenthood, keeping secrets, and navigating the multiplicity of the self.
Until Next Time:Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Lucille Clifton - Lucille Clifton, The Killing of the TreesJames Baldwin- Where To Start With James Baldwin | The New York Public LibraryAṣa - Aṣa - Good Thing (Official Video)Ai Ogawa - Ai | The Poetry FoundationWriting Prompt:Write a contrapuntal with two different origin stories for yourself or someone else.
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During today’s interview, Brittany and Ajanae sit down with Sarah Ghazal Ali. Listen in as they discuss writing as a spiritual practice, honoring matrilineage, the importance of disbelief, the failed project of purity, and the generative force of fixed forms.
Note: this episode was originally recorded in fall of 2024.
Until Next Time:Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Mary Szybist: Mary Szybist Accepts the 2013 National Book AwardAGHA SHAHID ALI: Remembering Agha Shahid AliFarida Khanum: Farida Khanum in concert : Malika-e-Ghazal in IndiaWriting Prompt:Write a litany of doubts or disbeliefs.
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Manglende episoder?
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In today’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae have the pleasure of talking to poets and artists Tank (from Tank and the Bangas) and Jamila Woods. Tank and Jamila take time before their tour to talk with our VS hosts about their entryways into poetry, how place influences their sound, the questions they hold in their minds while creating, and of course, how poetry intersects with the rest of their creative practice.
Until Next Time:Here’s a writing prompt to accompany your experience of the episode to tide you over until we meet again!
Writing prompt:Revisit one of the earliest poems of yours that you can find. Write a poem in response to it.
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During this episode of VS, Brittany and Ajanae are joined by poet and advocate Daad Sharfi. In this episode, they discuss the reconstruction of memory, boundary setting, real and imagined borders, and the absurdity of the legal system.
Until Next Time:Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Family whatsapp: Types of People on Family WhatsApp Groups | MostlySaneJune Jordan: June Jordan -- "Poem about My Rights"The work of her friends: You Can't Create Alone: On Fostering Literary Community - The MillionsTo All My Friends by May Yang - Poems | Academy of American PoetsWriting prompt:For this poem, choose a memory. Assign it a color. How does this color tint or shift the memory? Make it more or less true?
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During this episode of VS, poet and multidisciplinary artist Farah Chamma joins Brittany and Ajanae. Listen in as they discuss the importance of trusting your intuition, the nuances of language, suffering and passion, as well as the necessity of defining oneself as an artist and a person.
Until Next Time:Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Hussein Barghouthi: POETRY IN DIALOGUE THE POET HUSSEIN BARGHOUTHI part 1Hanane Hajj Ali: AMERICAN THEATRE | Hanane Hajj Ali, ‘Jogging’ for Survival in BeirutEl Rass: My BattleBerimbau: The Berimbau: Musical Instrument Or Icon Of Resistance Against Oppression?Writing prompt:Write a contrapuntal evaluating a habit or activity in your life by the ways it contributes to and relieves suffering.
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On today’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae spend time in conversation with Bettina Judd, who is an amazing poet, scholar, and Professor of African American Studies at Emory University. Join them as they discuss the validity of symbols, living out the tarot, how interior concerns shape research and experimentation, and the importance of Black, queer women seeing themselves reflected in theoretical practices.
Until Next TimeHere are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Lucille Clifton: Lucille Clifton: A Poet's Life and LegacyBeverly Guy-Sheftall: Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist ThoughtClark Sisters: Karen Clark Sheard - Finally Karen Live (Full DVD)Writing Prompt:Write a research question for a part of speech. Conduct your experiment for this question through a series of poems.
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During this episode of VS, Brittany and Ajanae interview poet and novelist Phillip B. Williams. Join them as they talk about the process of writing an epic novel, embracing character’s autonomy, Morrisonian poems, and the responsibility of freedom.
Until Next Time: Nina Simone: To Be FreeGabriel García Márquez: What To Know About The Master Of Magical Realism & Nobel Prize Winner | TIMELove Song by Henry Dumas | Poetry FoundationWhat does it mean to be human? | Sonia Sanchez | TEDxPhiladelphiaWriting Prompt:Who is your favorite writer? Write 3 rules that seem to guide their writing. Write a poem following those rules.
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For this episode, Ajanae and Brittany interview poet Jubi Arriola-Headley; join them as they discuss the role of humor and play in their poetics, the straightforwardness of erotic writing and kink, and navigating their tensions with masculinity.
Until Next Time:Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Prince: FLASHBACK: Prince Talks About the Meaning of Life in Rare '97 InterviewBlack gay writers of 70’s/80’s: Our Black Gay Creatives of the 1980s | MediumJames Baldwin: I Am Not Your Negro | James Baldwin on the Dick Cavett Show | NetflixWriting Prompt:Write a hermit crab poem that functions as a schedule. Make everything on this schedule an appointment for a kind of pleasure.
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Season 8 kicks off with Brittany and Ajanae talking with Sarah Lubala, Congolese poet, and author of A History of Disappearance. In this interview, the trio discuss navigating political history and conflict, the role of matriarchal figures in her work, hope as an exercise, and writing about love without leaning into sentimentality.
Edit: In our conversation, Safia Elhillo was said to be Somali; Safia Elhillo is Sudanese- American.
Until Next Time:Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Toni Morrison's 'Good' Ghosts : NPR The Fight & The Fiddle: Safia Elhillo on Language Warsan Shire’s Portraits of Somalis in Exile | The New Yorker Writing Prompt: Write a portrait poem, imagining a place as a matriarch. -
A short statement from Brittany and Ajanaé regarding current events.
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In today’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae have the pleasure of interviewing Safiya Sinclair. Join them as they discuss the craft of switching to memoir, maintaining self-confidence while navigating academia, what their teenage selves would think of them, and the influence Jamaica has on Safiya’s writing.
Until Next Time:
Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Audre Lorde: AUDRE LORDE | Poetry is Not a Luxury
Frida Kahlo: Frida Kahlo: The woman behind the legend - Iseult Gillespie
Derek Walcott: Derek Walcott discusses his painting and poetryWriting Prompt: Who are you writing for? Who is coming after you that you hope your work makes a difference for? Write them a letter.
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On today’s episode of VS, Brittany and Ajanae interview Courtney Faye Taylor about their award winning collection Concentrate. Listen in as they discuss writing with an ethic of care, studying oneself as a writer, the nuances of Black girlhood, and the construction of Concentrate.
Until Next Time:
Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!Toni Cade Bombara: Toni Cade Bambara
Black women’s dialogue: For Our Girls: A Conversation with Black Women | The Conversation Remix
A24 Movies: Moonlight | Official Trailer HD | A24Writing Prompt: What research is vital to the art you are making? Add journal entries to research documents you are collecting.
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Today Brittany and Ajanae interview Willie Lee Kinard III, author of Orders of Service. During this episode, they discuss Willie’s history with music, doublespeak as maximalism, queerness as a foundation for craft choices, and developing a love for the land.
Until Next Time:
Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!Lynn Harris: E. Lynn Harris's Biography
Mariah Carey: It’s Mariah Carey Season, Darling
Kirk Franklin: How Kirk Franklin Revolutionized Gospel And Made Hip-Hop A More Spiritual Place | The FADER
Andre 3000: Andre 3000 Says He NEEDS To Create In Rare InterviewWriting Prompt: Make a playlist of music that scores your poems. Listen to it while revising a poem.
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For this episode, Brittany and Ajanae interview Samiya Bashir. During this conversation, they discuss Samiya’s role as Executive Director of Lambda Literary, Black opera, opening the door for queer writers, and writing the poem that unlocks the project.
Until Next Time:
Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Torkwase Dyson: Desert X | Torkwase Dyson
David Bowie: david bowie interview 1973
June Jordan : June Jordan -- “Poem about My Rights”
Cornelius Eady: Poet Cornelius Eady on exploring the everyday lives of Black people in AmericaWriting Prompt: Write a poem only in dialogue. Title it with the name of a theory or theoretical framework.
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On today’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae speak with 2023 Ruth Lily fellow and author of Black Pastoral, Ariana Benson. Join them for this episode as they discuss nature, artistic influences, sensuality, and soap operas.
Until Next Time:
Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Gwendolyn Brooks: We Real Cool / Gwendolyn Brooks at 100 by The Editors | Poetry Foundation
Bob Ross: Why Is Bob Ross Still So Popular
2 Chainz: 2 Chainz Interview - Get Inspired and Go Inside His Nail Salon and RestaurantWriting Prompt:
In honor of Ariana Benson’s “Theodicy” series, take any non-human thing and explore what it might believe about God it it could talk. -
For their second episode of season 7, Brittany and Ajanae interview Victoria Chang. During this conversation, they discuss following your imagination and creative impulses, trusting your reader to fill in the gaps in a collection, and hidden talents!
Until Next Time:
Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
Claudia Rankine: Using poetry to uncover the moments that lead to racism
Virginia Woolf: Virginia Woolf Was More Than Just a Women’s Writer | The National Endowment for the Humanities
Agnes Martin: Documentary "Between the Lines" about the painter Agnes Martin (trailer)
Sharon Olds :Sex, Death, Family: Sharon Olds Is Still Shockingly IntimateWriting Prompt: This week, when you sit down to write, close your eyes and listen for the first line of the poem. Anytime you get stuck, close your eyes and listen again.
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For this first episode of Season 7, Brittany and Ajanae decided to answer audience questions generated via social media. Join them as they tackle hot topics, their writing process, how they navigate friendship and business, and much more!
Until Next Time:
Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode, and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!
The City Girls: City Girls Talk Work Ethic, Chemistry & Loyalty Before The Glow Up...PERIOD | Home Grown Radio
The Clark Sisters Transcendent in its Reach Christine Swenson and Aunjanue Ellis on the Clark Sisters
Toni Morrison: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I AmWriting Prompt: Reflect and set some intentions with us. List 5 things you are proud of. List 3 things you want to do. Write an affirmation and say it everyday for the next two weeks.
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Ladan Osman steps into the studio with a knowledge of her journey and a commitment to share. The poet and filmmaker talks about how she has traversed the complex and scarring world of the poetry industry, the ways that she pushed herself toward making different media, what she hopes for the poets emerging in her wake, and much more. Plus, some quality shoutouts to the bees and important postcolonial board game critiques.
NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review!
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To close out season six, Brittany and Ajanae record LIVE in Detroit with guests Aricka Foreman and Tommye Blount. Join them as they discuss the history of the Detroit School of poets, building authentic community, knowing when a project is done, and creating alternate spaces for Black Queer folks to thrive.
Until Next Time
Here’s some content for you to engage with and 2 writing prompts to keep you entertained until next time!Tommye Blount:
Bridget Pegeen Kelly - Remembering Brigit Pegeen Kelly
Bill T. Jones - How Bill T. Jones’ ‘Deep Blue Sea' explores the collective ‘we’ of the American people
Carl Phillips - Carl Phillips: Poetry of the IrreconcilableAricka Foreman
Lorna Simpson - Lorna Simpson – ‘Everything I Do Comes from the Same Desire’ | TateShots
Toni Morrison - Toni Morrison Discusses Freedom of Expression and the Writer's Role
Alice Coltrane - Alice Coltrane 16mm doc. 1970 (Black Journal) rareWriting Prompts
Choose the work of 3 peers to study. Identify one craft decision that each executes well and attempt to write a poem that achieves each of them.
Journal towards this: What does being a literarycitizen mean to you? Set a list of intentions for how you’d like to support writers in your community. -
Tune in this week as Brittany and Ajanaé interview Jacqui Germain about her debut collection, Bittering the Wound. In this episode, they discuss cartoons as a space of enjoyment, St. Louis as a persona, the intimacy of specificity, and the necessary role of contradictions in everyday life.
Until Next Time:
Here’s some content for you to engage with and a writing prompt to keep you entertained until next time!
Joy James: The Revolution Cannot Be Institutionalized
Toni Morrison: Toni Morrison on capturing a mother’s ‘compulsion’ to nurture in ‘Beloved’
Gene from Bob’s Burgers: ‘Bob’s Burgers’ Voice of Gene, Eugene Mirman, Reflects on 200 EpisodesWriting prompt: Document a location or a city that is important to you as a character. What is their voice? Aesthetic? Do they have quirks? A favorite food?
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