Stuttering, Blackness, and Music with JJJJJerome Ellis, Part 1

JJJJJerome Ellis talks with Maya and Cynthia about the intersections of being a black person who stutters and a musician, how his views of his disability evolved since childhood, and why it was so important for him to connect his stutter to his ancestral history of slavery in his work. He also highlights how the stage is a safe space for stuttering and music is a source of healing the pain he experienced as a child.

“Growing up I felt so much of the pain and also the beauty of the stutter. Over time I’ve come to feel the stutter alters time, and music is another way that we can alter time. Part of what I was trying to do with The Clearing is to try to undo some of the things that have been told to me about stuttering and to transform the stuttering narrative through poetry, music, history, and philosophy.”

Other topics include:

• Stuttering easily with animals
• Intersectionality
• Pain in not being able to connect with people
• The stage as a safe space
• Comparing stuttering to being frozen in time
• Music as a source of healing
• Being at odds with language
• Poetry allows for so much freedom to explore language
• Getting through interviews with a stutter

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:

Jerome’s album The Clearing

Jerome’s accompanying book to The Clearing

The Guardian article, Artist and stutterer JJJJJerome Ellis: ‘So much pain comes from not feeling fully human’

More about the collaboration between James Harrison Monaco and Jerome Ellis

Performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art

Brittany Cooper’s Racial Politics of Time TED Talk

Joshua St. Pierre, Canada Research Chair in Critical Disability Studies

Jerome's upcoming live performances:

April 10, 2022: Rewire Festival in The Hague, Netherlands

May 7, 2022: XJAZZ! Festival in Berlin, Germany

July 2022: Performances at Haus Der Kunst in Munich, Germany

BE PART OF THE SHOW:

Rate this pod: https://ratethispodcast.com/proudstutter

Have a question or comment - Leave a voicemail for Maya & Cynthia at (415) 964-0140 - this is a voicemail-only line, so we promise you won't have to talk to someone in person!

Be a guest on the show - we would love to talk with you! Send us an email at: [email protected]

FOLLOW PROUD STUTTER & ITS CREATORS:

Maya’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mayasharona

Maya’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/MayaSharona

Cynthia’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cynthsta

Podcast website - www.proudstutter.com

Support us:

Donate: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/proudstutter

Buy cute merch: https://www.proudstutter.com/shop

Share Proud Stutter with your friends: https://pod.link/1588336626

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/proud-stutter/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy