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The Worlds of Ntozake ShangeAND DIGITAL STORYTELLING

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Ntozake The Photographer | Archive Find #2 | Makeen

by Zachery 2 Comments

Ntozake Shange… the playwright, the poet, the author… AND the photographer!

In my last archive find post, I reveled about how captivated I was by Ntozake’s collection of photo albums more than anything else I explored in her collection. After many revisits, these photos continue to captivate me–-not solely because they are beautiful but also it truly feels like a privilege to see through Ntozake’s eyes.

 

This course is titled the Worlds of Ntozake Shange and Digital storytelling. We explore the worlds she creates through writing and performance, but what does it mean to consider the world that she lived in? What about this lived world of Ntozake Shange led her to create these, sometimes fictitious and other times not, worlds that we’ve had the joy of exploring through writing. To me, Ntozake’s photography provides a glimpse into Ntozake’s real world.

Photo at a Protest taken by Ntozake

Photo of an unidentified saxophonist, taken by Ntozake

 

Many of the photos present in the album feature a smiling Ntozake dolled up alongside other artists, at seemingly lavish galas/events. Some of them feature her alongside her family. The ones that are my favorite are ones that seem like snapshots of specific environments in which Ntozake found herself. Like the two above, these moments are not posed, it is not clear who they feature or where they were taken, but it feels as though we are able to see what Ntozake saw even if just a literal snapshot moment.

 

Photo of two unidentified people, taken by Ntozake

Photo of an unidentified woman taken by Ntozake

Some photos, like the last, are of people who are presumably friends of Ntozake–– some aware of being photographed or others just existing (like in the first photo here). Many like the baby photo featured here and those in my last archive find, are of Savannah throughout the years. Others are ones of Ntozake’s living room, or dining table–– of art on her walls, or plants in the corner. All of which, to different degrees, expose us to the world that for whatever reason encouraged Ntozake to birth worlds of her own.

photographs – archive find

by Elizabeth 1 Comment

Both times we’ve gone to the archives, I’ve been grabbed by some of the most mundane items. I initially expected to be excited by seeing things like her medals, awards, and accommodations. While these items are fascinating and only add to my respect for Shange as an artist and activist, I have been more intrigued with items related to her personal life.  I’ve enjoyed looking at the items that are more related to her personal life.

On Thursday, I spent a lot of time looking through her photo albums and letters. I was really intrigued with the photos of her daughter, Savannah. Some of them are clearly taken at big events like birthday celebrations, but some of them seem to be in very average, regular, every day moments.

my 5th birthday

 

I started to think about the function of pictures. They are often aesthetic and artistic, but they are also largely for memory and preservation. It makes me wonder what prompted someone to take these pictures and what makes a “Kodak moment.”

I’m not really sure I have a definite answer, but it has made me think back to the themes of ancestry and honoring what came before that is so present in Shange’s work. Considering the gaping holes in history resulting from colonization and imperialism, it is the mere act of taking photos of the every day can be a method of resistance. Taking pictures preserves these histories, and even says that our lives are worth remembering.

 

 

 

Works Cited:

Ntozake Shange Papers, 1966-2016; Box and Folder; Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library, Barnard College. http://collections.barnard.edu/public/repositories/2/resources/377 Accessed November 7, 2019.

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.”