Ep 16: We Perfect Black with Crystal Wilkinson
Explicit content warning
09/03/21 • 55 min
Crystal Wilkinson, Kentucky’s Poet Laureate, is the award-winning author of Perfect Black, The Birds of Opulence , Water Street and Blackberries, Blackberries. She is the recipient of a 2021 O. Henry Prize, a 2020 USA Artists Fellowship, and a 2016 Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary Excellence. Nominated for the John Dos Passos Award, the Orange Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, she has received recognition from the Yaddo Foundation, Hedgebrook, The Vermont Studio Center for the Arts, Hedgebrook, and others. Her short stories, poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including most recently in The Kenyon Review, STORY, Agni Literary Journal, Emergence, Oxford American and Southern Cultures. Her fourth book Perfect Black was released from University Press of Kentucky in August 2021. She currently teaches at the University of Kentucky where she is Associate Professor of English in the MFA in Creative Writing Program.
This episode is sponsored by Moyo Mysteries. Moyo Mysteries offers spiritual consultations, pelvic steam plans, and full-spectrum birthwork services, from fertility and birth & labor to loss & bereavement and abortion work. Moyo Mysteries also offers a variety of educational projects and upcoming trainings. To learn more, you can visit www.moyomysteries.org.
Also, follow on Facebook and Instagram under the name, Moyo Mysteries
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EMAIL & SPONSOR INQUIRIES [email protected]
DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas
This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah.
Our music was created by Tasha, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.
Crystal Wilkinson, Kentucky’s Poet Laureate, is the award-winning author of Perfect Black, The Birds of Opulence , Water Street and Blackberries, Blackberries. She is the recipient of a 2021 O. Henry Prize, a 2020 USA Artists Fellowship, and a 2016 Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary Excellence. Nominated for the John Dos Passos Award, the Orange Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, she has received recognition from the Yaddo Foundation, Hedgebrook, The Vermont Studio Center for the Arts, Hedgebrook, and others. Her short stories, poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including most recently in The Kenyon Review, STORY, Agni Literary Journal, Emergence, Oxford American and Southern Cultures. Her fourth book Perfect Black was released from University Press of Kentucky in August 2021. She currently teaches at the University of Kentucky where she is Associate Professor of English in the MFA in Creative Writing Program.
This episode is sponsored by Moyo Mysteries. Moyo Mysteries offers spiritual consultations, pelvic steam plans, and full-spectrum birthwork services, from fertility and birth & labor to loss & bereavement and abortion work. Moyo Mysteries also offers a variety of educational projects and upcoming trainings. To learn more, you can visit www.moyomysteries.org.
Also, follow on Facebook and Instagram under the name, Moyo Mysteries
BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas
SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas
EMAIL & SPONSOR INQUIRIES [email protected]
DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas
This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah.
Our music was created by Tasha, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.
Previous Episode
Ep 15: Generational Grief with Julia Mallory
We cannot avoid our grief and be free. We talk with Julia Mallory about her latest book Survivor's Guilt and how to work through our generational grief.
Julia Mallory is the author of six books, including two children’s books. Her latest book Survivor's Guilt is an archive of survivorship that chronicles generational grief through photographs, poetry, and prose. In addition, she is the founder of the creative brand, Black Mermaids, serves as the Senior Poetry Editor for Raising Mothers, and hosts the Stop Shrinking Socialcast. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @thejuliamallory.
RESOURCES
- www.thejuliamallory.com
- www.blackmermaids.com
- Survivor's Guilt by Julia Mallory
- "The Concise Catalog of Deep Grief Objects" by Julia Mallory
- "Juneteenth Reflections: Grief Work is Freedom Work" Black Youth Project Contributors
- The Burial of Kojo
This episode is sponsored by Guided Cycles. Guided Cycles offers Death Transitioning services, End of Life Planning, Grief Facilitation work, and Bedside & Community Vigils. Guided Cycles also offers a variety of educational projects and upcoming trainings. To learn more, you can visit www.guidedcycles.org. Also, follow on Facebook and Instagram under the name, Guided Cycles.
BE A PATRON! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas
SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas
EMAIL & SPONSOR INQUIRIES [email protected]
DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas
This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah.
Our music was created by Tasha, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.
Next Episode
Ep 17: Writing in the Hoodoo Tradition with Hess Love
We're joined by Hoodoo and writer Hess Love to discuss writing, spiritual bypassing, unpacking religious beliefs, and finding a spiritual teacher.
Hess is a family advocate, co-found of the Chesapeake Conjure Society, and community-appointed Hoodoo Historian/Griot. They write about intimate politics, you can find their work on RaceBaitr, Black Youth Project, Wear Your Voice Mag, Brown Girls Out Loud, AfroPunk, Romper, and Medium. You can find them online “politicking” about Blackness, Hoodoo, History, Feminism, Motherhood, Queerness, Food, Books, Sex and Humor.
Resources
- Chesapeake Conjure Society
- Writing in the Hoodoo Tradition Workshop Series
- "raised to break" by Hess Love
- "crab cakes" by Hess Love
- Fatphobia Twitter thread
- Tina McElroy Ansa, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Langston Hughes, Angela Davis, and Ishmael Reed
- The Haunting of Hip Hop by Bertice Berry
- Conjuring Culture: Biblical Formations of Black America by Theophus H. Smith
- Big Mama Stories by Shay Youngblood
- The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
- Black Women Are Scary podcast
- The Moonlit Road podcast
WRITING PROMPT
Go to the cemetery. (Cover your head with a light or white fabric.) Find a gravestone you feel called to. Research the person's life and write a paragraph, story, or poem.
BE A PATRON Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hoodooplantmamas
SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @hoodooplants Instagram: @hoodooplantmamas
EMAIL & SPONSOR INQUIRIES [email protected]
DONATE Paypal: paypal.me/hoodooplantmamas Cashapp: cash.me/$hoodooplantmamas
This podcast was created, hosted, and produced by Dani & Leah.
Our music was created by Tasha, and our artwork was designed by Bianca.
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