Header Image - The Worlds of Ntozake Shange
The Worlds of Ntozake ShangeAND DIGITAL STORYTELLING

Daily Archives

3 Articles

Archive Find 1: “why i had to dance”

by Nicole 1 Comment
This program is from a theater production of Ntozake Shange’s essay “why i had to dance,” choreographed and directed by Dianne McIntyre. In Ntozake Shange’s essay “why i had to dance” she demonstrates the importance of dance not only to the preservation and exploration of black culture, but also to the creative process of writing. In a mix of poetry and prose she speaks to her experiences with dance and how it came to be an integral part of her writing process. This production of the piece took place at Oberlin College in 2012.

This program is from a theater production of Ntozake Shange’s essay “why i had to dance,” choreographed and directed by Dianne McIntyre. In Ntozake Shange’s essay “why i had to dance” she demonstrates the importance of dance not only to the preservation and exploration of black culture but also to the creative process of writing. In a mix of poetry and prose, she speaks to her experiences with dance and how it came to be an integral part of her writing process. This production of the piece took place at Oberlin College in 2012.

 

My plan was to go to the Shange archives to look specifically for a program from one of Dianne’s productions with Shange, but I was lucky that Professor Hall happened to bring such a program to class. I was able to scan this item in class and, therefore, was able to investigate the item more thoroughly on my own time.

Archive Find of the Week

by Kiani 2 Comments

A small green journal containing entries from early 2000s. Contains entries noting details about performances, to do lists, personal thoughts, and number lists. Telephone numbers of acquaintances and friends are scattered throughout pages. 

This object was of particular interest to me because of the nature of my project. I am interested in evoking the “archival body” as it appears in bodies of text. The journal is an obvious, yet appropriate, body of text. It evokes a fullness of a text while also alluding to bodies and spaces in the entries. In the pages of this journal, Ntozake Shange talks about spaces she’s inhabiting and other bodies that she’s interacting with. This object thus functions as an art object, a collection of memories, and a memorandum of physical activity.

I located this object in the Ntozake Shange papers at Barnard College and will be utilizing the permissions given to the Digital Worlds of Shange Class to use and publish choice sections and aspects of this journal.

I am not aware if there is any metadata associated with this item as I am almost certain I am the first to digitize the object.