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The Worlds of Ntozake ShangeAND DIGITAL STORYTELLING

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Savannah’s Geography – Ntozake Archive Finds

by Zachery 0 Comments

Our class spent in the archives was without a doubt the most engaged I’ve ever been in a college class. The excitement and honor I felt to look through Ntozake’s personal collection of books, awards, jewelry, manuscripts, etc. was unmatched. Through it all, however, what stood out most to me were the photo albums.

The first photo album that I went through featured a range of photos of Ntozake with what appeared to be friends/family. There is something so personal about photo albums, the ways in which we select and organize which snapshots to hold dear, that made these albums feel personal even to me despite having no connection to the content.

The second photo album, after two visits to the archives, remains my favorite find. This album, unlike the others, was focused specifically on Ntozake’s daughter Savanah. The album was comprised largely of photos that appear to be taken by Ntozake which was truly a beautiful sight–– to see a young Savannah through Ntozake’s eyes . Ones that displayed Ntozake were alongside Savannah…reading a story book or posing for a casual portrait.

What stood out to me more than the photos, however, was a poem that Ntozake wrote to Savannah.

Savannah

brown sugar cookie

how I miss you….

 

The words of her letter lay on top of a river of stamped hearts. As always, Ntozake even in her expressions of love bends traditional form and language. “Guard mi corazon…” Inserting Spanish and coupling her writing with imagery, she seems encourage Savannah to navigate the world freely as she does solely in the form of the writing.

Funnily, my immediate response was to send the letter to my mother. On the phone later that same day, we raved about it together. Our phone call ended with my mom saying “We didn’t have classes like these when I was in college, I feel so blessed to experience them through you now.”

 

The Meaning Behind my Archive Find: Blogpost #7

by Charista 0 Comments

Cup coasters I found in the Shange Archives. I reflected on each word on every coaster and realized their relationship to Shange’s work.

 

I found these cup coasters in the Ntozake Shange Archives. The box I found them in said that they were found in Shange’s home when her belongings were collected. As soon as I saw them, many thoughts ran through my mind. The words on the coasters read: consciousness, nonviolence, homeland, realization, environment, women, the journey, values, fulfillment, obstacles, hope, and freedom. 

Each word is a theme that is shown in a plethora of her works and pieces. Perhaps she used these coasters as her inspiration when she wrote? The coasters were, in fact, found laying around her house. Maybe she used a different coaster for each piece she wrote and tried to work that word/theme into it? 

These coasters make me think about each word and how every word is a significant and powerful theme that is ever-present in Shange’s pieces. The more obvious themes, to me, are the words that are almost self-explanatory: environment, women, the journey, values, fulfillment, obstacles, hope, and freedom. 

For example, let’s look at “consciousness, “realization,” and “homeland.” Consciousness and realization can be interpreted as “awareness” — awareness/realization of one’s self, awareness/realization of one’s body, awareness/realization of one’s surroundings, and awareness/realization of one’s capabilities– something that Shange often explores in pieces like Nappy Edges and for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.

“Homeland” reminds me of Shange’s appreciation for black culture and tradition. A powerful underlying theme of Sassafrass, Cypress, and Indigo, and in many of her pieces in Lost in Language in Sound, is the significance of cultural tradition in the lives of contemporary black people. For example, my previous blogpost that talked about how Shange makes it evident that the portrayal and depiction of cultural heritage strongly affects the identity and character development of Sassafras, Cypress, and Indigo, partly because of their mother’s influence. As I continue to reflect on the words on these coasters, I will think of deeper meanings and ways these themes connect to Shange’s life, as well as my life, going forward in the semester.

 

TIP from Steven Fullwood: Fair Use

by Kim Hall 0 Comments

Our Schomburg partner has come through again with some advice on Fair Use in this very quick Power Point. This information is particularly important for those of you adding non-Schomburg content (like music) to your projects.


 

Also available in Courseworks and here for download
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zHpH0SbpsZL0W0qB5O38N3J8UOjp47mR4X-0LqKAmXs/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=10000

 

 

Archive Find 2: McIntyre’s Choreodrama

by Nicole 1 Comment

During my visit to the New York Public Library of Performing Arts, I looked at programs from the Sounds in Motion company. One of the more interesting programs was from an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.

FullSizeRender
CAPTION: “Program from May 1987 interpretation of Their Eyes Were Watching God with choreography by Dianne McIntyre: This program is important because it shows how dance and literature can be combined to create a unique experience for the audience. For this performance, McIntyre also collaborated with The Okra Orchestra. In this performance, McIntyre did not only honor Zora Neale Hurston’s literature but also Southern black culture through a celebration of the blues. This performance recognized an experience that was particular to black culture.”

feminine imagination

by Melissa 1 Comment

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Womanspirit is a feminist publication that is made up of collections of short-stories, poetry, manifestos, and essays written by women who were part of a creative and political community that centralized spirituality in anti-oppression work. Their statement of philosophy emphasizes the interconnectedness of social justice, spiritual empowerment, and self-determination. Each piece in the publication is concerned with spirituality as a crucial component of structural anti-oppression work and interpersonal healing and community building. Women offer up spells and rituals in their writing as a mode of imagining new possibilities for collective liberation and as a practice of healing and tending to intimate concerns around relationships between women — which include mother-daughter relationships, romantic partnerships, friendships etc.

 

In a poem titled “Full Moon Ritual”, the author explores the concept of self-making through nature. The moon serves as a symbol of feminine power and as a source of light and energy. Divinity, nature, and womanhood are linked in their life-giving force; a force that fosters utopic imaginings of liberation and collective joy. The moon, in its cyclical rhythms and “distinctive patterns”, parallels the cycle of menstruation, symbolically linking the life-giving cycles of womanhood and nature.

 

Our power is for creation and recreation of our

lives, of the world,

of life as we live it day to night, night to day

Nature, in its fecundity, is the source of (re)creation and constant rejuvenation. The feminine imagination offers similar possibilities of (re)creation in its life-giving force. “We have the power to create a rebirthing of our own”. I take this to mean that in activating the feminine impulse through creation, we can attain a state of renewal. For me, this feminine impulse and imagination is not one that is bound to corporeal conceptions of menstruation and reproduction, but that also extends to the imaginative realm of creation. Shange’s literature utilizes this feminine impulse to create narratives that gives voice to our memories and hopes. Literature that mobilizes this impulse offer us the opportunity to imagine and (re)create the world according to principles of collective liberation and empowerment.

Archive Task #2 – From okra to Greens LHT Bulletin

by Yemi 1 Comment

To complete this task I used the Barnard Archives. I didn’t walk in knowing exactly what item I needed or what letter, unfinished play, or poster would solidify my understanding of Zake: I walked in a little restless and slightly resentful of the fact that there were so many possibilities.

… I realized later that the beauty of the archive is that the possibilities are evidence that there is so much to the making of a life.

At first I considered looking through the journals (Series 3),  so I did. Then, I thought I should see the artwork collected by Shange (Series 8.2), so I did. And finally, I said to myself, “look at the photographs! You’re a person stimulated by visuals and perceptive to detail, so find something that catches your eye” — series 7. I rummaged through box number 7 and found a colored sketch of Josephine Baker which was striking, there were also postcards distinguished by pictures of Shange I had never seen before, and the suddenly, I found an 8 x 11.5 booklet of wonder. It was the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre (LHT) bulletin of From okra to greens/ a different kind of love story. In their 25th anniversary season the theatre choose to use this work to celebrate African-American History month.

Lorraine Hansbury Theatre (LHT) bulletin of From okra to greens/ a different kind of love story

Lorraine Hansbury Theatre (LHT) bulletin of From okra to greens/ a different kind of love story

This packet of paper was beautifully designed. The cover had a woman/ okra that made me consider my own femininity. The features, though under lit, were delicate. The minimal use of color and decision to focus on the layout/ geography of the text, the woman, and the okra was captivating. I am also curious about the three words that follow Shange’s name: love, culture / politics. Shange was present during the rehearsals and completion of this work, so I wonder if she made a special request to have that included.

In addition, the entire item was very meta. It recognized Shange’s work, but also it’s role in fulfilling that work: “The LHT is proud to be a West coast home theatre for Shange.” There was also “a Shange glossary” of words specific to the production that, to me, depicts a responsive and active awareness.

Lorraine Hansbury Theatre (LHT) bulletin: "A Shange Glossary"

Lorraine Hansbury Theatre (LHT) bulletin: “A Shange Glossary”

Initially, this task was challenging… to have a whole lot to look through and not to know where to start. However, in letting my gut guide me and my internal, emotional reaction aid my decision making, I became at ease. Funny enough, finding this item helped me solidify some of the ideas for my research project. The consistency of diasporic/ alter(native)-continental words featured in the glossary led me to question artists calling upon and relation to their places of origin, known and unknown.

Archive Task #2

by Sophia 0 Comments
I went to the Schomburg to find the January 1979 copy of Ms. featuring Michele Wallace on the cover that inspired my project. I found it in box 6 (call number MG 739) of the Michele Wallace papers.
I wanted to revisit the document because I had only really glanced at it during our first class visit, and wanted to 1) capture images of the feature article on Black Macho, and 2) peruse the issue for any and all other mention of black women. It was absolutely as interesting as I’d hoped, as it included a review of a poetry collection by Audre Lorde, a national list of black female groups/alliances, and a small list of black women who had suffered as a result of the cutoff of federal funds for abortion. The work was fairly visually compelling to me from the perspective of editorial design, but I really would’ve liked to see some ads featuring black women, which were not included in the issue. The employees at the Schomburg and I had a slight difficulty accessing the finding aid for Michele Wallace’s papers, and then the boxes were mislabeled, but otherwise the process was fairly easy. However, I did spend quite a while searching for her letters about the Ms. coverage and didn’t find anything, and it’s frustrating to not know if I somehow missed something, or if they’re in some other box somewhere.

On to the Schomburg! #BlackArchives

by Kim Hall 0 Comments

I hope everyone is having a bit of a breather this long weekend.   Our next class meets at the Schomburg Center for African-American Culture to introduce you to the wealth of resources at the Schomburg and continue the discussion of archival practice Shannon started with us during Ntozake’s visit.  I’d like us to follow the plan for the original visit, which was to read around in the “Black Sexism” special issue of The Black Scholar.  You don’t have to read it from cover to cover, but certainly look at enough to get a sense of the nature of the controversy in its time. Tiana wrote a blogpost on the Black Sexism debate when we were supposed to have visited the Schomburg in October. You can find both a link and full PDF on Courseworks.

We are extremely fortunate to have Steven G. Fullwood, Assistant Curator for the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, as our collaborator and archival guide.  Steven has vast experience in acquiring, managing and promoting the use of archives from groups whose lives can escape the radar of traditional archival practice. Under his stewardship, the Schomburg has developed a robust “In the Life Archive” which acquires and preserves historical materials created by and about queer life of people of African descent.  He is most recently co-editor of the anthology, Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call, which is a finalist for a Lambda literary award. You can read an interview with Steven here.  Steve suggests looking at a 1989 episode of the Phil Donohue show on Black Women Writers featuring Ntozake, Maya Angelou, Angela Davis and Alice Walker– a rare moment of mainstream media attention to Black women intellectuals that shows how visceral the debate was years after for colored girls . . .

Obviously, Ntozake Shange’s main archive is here at Barnard (yeay!), but Steven will introduce us to other collections related to topics/people we have covered in class, such as the Michelle Wallace,  Larry Neal and Umbra collections.

The Schomburg is on Malcolm X at 135th street (across from Harlem Hospital)

515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10037.  The closest transportation is 2/3 and M7 bus. From campus, you can also take the M60 to Malcolm X and walk uptown,

I know it’s off the beaten path for switching classes, but please do everything you can to get there on time.  I am going early, but if there is a group going together, the College will have a metrocard for you to share, so let me know.

For some reason, images aren’t uploading, so I will update later.

A Living Archive: Meeting Zake

by Nia 1 Comment

This post is late.

It took two days, three naps, several sessions of frenzied storytelling, and cataloguing, reviewing, and obsessing over my footage for me to properly reflect on and come to conclusions about Thursday and Friday’s encounters with Ntozake Shange. Last year when Professor Hall gave me Shange’s address so I could write to her and I spent all summer not knowing how I could possibly put into words all the things Shange is for me, I could not imagine meeting and interacting with her.

“provenance:” the beginning, the origin point of an archive; even if two subjects interact, they do not mix

What is an archive? It is and is not a collection of texts that signify a subject: a time, a place, a genre, a person. Objects which illuminate aspects of the subject to which they are attached. This definition, as flimsy and as finite as it is, is constantly under duress. There are politics around what subjects academia deems worthy of an archive (they didn’t collect Basquiat’s journals until the yt gaze on his art had already killed him). There are politics around what can be deemed an archive. An attic full of family heirlooms, a childhood bedroom undisturbed, a quilt of old clothing, can be studied to reveal what they signify, but are they an “Archive.” Capital letters Full Stop. There are even politics around what is kept long enough to signify anything. As Shange pointed out, ” the day they freed the slaves in Brazil they [the government, the slaveowners] were commanded to destroy all the documents about slavery.” Wh(o,y,at) is history? Who has access?

“original order:” trying to maintain text in the order in which it is received. 

The internet is an archive. One to which everyone (but not everyone) and anyone (but not anyone) can contribute. It is an open and radical space in which laymen’s can contribute their presence to history, can disrupt the canonical/dominant definitions of text, art, knowledge, history, existence; the list is an ever-expanding infinite. Yet, this classification/validation of the capital I “Internet” is often resisted by those who classify. There are divisive politics about what academia, journalism, and other spheres held holy by ytmen and held captive from all others save a few about what can be considered a text. Wh(o,at) is worth study? Collective recognition is what deems a text important, what creates its value. This is why we value autographs and object once owned, worn, touched, and eaten by celebrities and historical figures. How does agency, voice, and access factor into the process? For every text validated as worthy of research and study, there is one used for surveillance and marketing. A text is, as Shannon, the Shange archivist noted, “a piece that we allow to speak.” What we do with its words is up to us?

I drew pumpkins and pineapples and apples and seagulls on the page. I processed.

I napped for three hours after the open session on Friday and my subsequent interview with Shange. I discovered through it not only thing which validated and expanded my own views about womanhood, Black womanhood, love, sex, my body, my aethestic, and many other things which is would take more words than I have to express, but I also discovered that I have more in common with my classmates than I previously thought. Even with some distance, I have only movements and sounds to name the experience I had meeting Shange. Gentle hums in my throat, behind my ears, in the pit of stomach; the wrinkle I surely gave myself from darting my eyes, unable to meet her gaze. The ineffable sadness I felt that I did not hug her to say goodbye. So I offer only my notes from that day for now, my interview with her for later. Provenance of my own archive.

Movement + Lit

“the joy of breathlessness…readies the body for literature” – Zake

“approach language from a state of excitement” – Zake

Begin interviews with an excessive movement/running, dancing, drop swings

“My writing come from a pit, from deep inside of me instead of from my skin” – Zake

“slashes indicate a change in intonation…intent or voice” – Zake

“I wanted to read somebody so I decided I had to read myself” – Zake

poh-ten-see