Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Myth in Brown Girl Brownstones

Last week I read Caribbean-American Paule Marshall’s novel, Brown Girl Brownstones, and to put it simply, I was blown away. It definitely on par with The Invisible Man. It is a coming of age story that follows a Bajan (Barbados)- American girl, Selina Boyce, who is finding her own path amidst the destruction of her […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: My Poetry

For Black Poetry Day, I will celebrate by doing the first post of my own poetry. Here is a poem I wrote for my friend who has to deal with the deaths of a a friend and a family member this year: Turn, Turn, Turn Death visits us all But for some it comes Sooner, […]

Otherwordly Videos: Women of Power

The film is Y: The Last Man Rising [Fan Film], starring Kent King and Travis Quentin Young. It is based on a critically-acclaimed comic of the same name about a plague that has wiped out all the men on the earth except one, Yorick (Young). Special Agent 355’s (King) job is to protect his life […]

“Naming Evil in the World: Hip-Hop’s Blues Footprints”

From the Blues and the Spirit symposium, Mark Anthony Neal discusses the secular and sacred aspects of hip-hop and Black music in general. He speaks about their visionary and prophetic tradition, their practice of naming evil in the world, the subtlety of the musical forms, the musical technology used, and concepts of escape, freedom, fugitivity, […]

The My-Stery: Bacchanal!!!!

Destra Garcia – “Bacchanal” While doing research to write one of my poems, I learned about the Greek god Dionysus/Roman god Bacchus and Bacchanalia festivals. When I heard the word Bacchanalia, I thought of how often Bacchanal is said in Caribbean Calypso and Soca music, and I wanted to know the connections between Caribbean carnival […]

Otherworldy Videos: Two Perspectives on Akan Spirituality

A few days a go, I watched these two documentaries on the religions of the West African Akan ethic group. “Return to the Land of Souls” Watch the entire film here This is the description of the film: In the 21st century, many ancestral beliefs are struggling to survive in a hostile, fast-changing world. In […]

The My-Stery: Enter the Dragon Ladies

A few weeks ago, I read an article about the oldest known spiritual ritual in the world — a 70,000 year old python ritual of the San people in Botswana. In another article, the author discusses the history of snake or serpent worship. In many religions, mythologies and rituals all over the world, serpents (snakes, […]

Otherwordly Videos: Deluge

Via Liberator Magazine “Nijla Mu’min’s “Deluge” / Magical Realism, post-BP oil spill New Orleans, and Black Mermaids” By Kameelah Rasheed Nijla Baseema Mu’min is a writer and filmmaker from the San Francisco Bay Area. A 2007 graduate of UC Berkeley, she is now pursuing a dual MFA degree in Film Directing and Writing at Calarts. […]

The My-Stery: Now Put Some Vodou On It

As I study more about myth and religion, I am starting to understand the art of different artists more. For example, Janelle Monae. The first time I heard Monae was in her video for “Many Moons.” Actually, the first time I saw her was in Big Boi’s “Morris Brown,” but I didn’t know it was […]

Otherworldy Videos: Cosmosis

From Miatta Kawinzi Created during my iaab artist residency in Basel, Switzerland, Cosmosis reflects on dualities of alienation and belonging, inner and outer space, and human-shaped and natural environments. The title references osmosis, the process of absorption, as it applies to navigating an unfamiliar environment, and as it applies to the cosmos as the realm […]