By Beronda Montgomery The human need for affirmation is real. We see it from the very early stages of human development when one of the most common phrases parents hear from young ones seems to be “look at me.” The request is as much a plea for well-placed affirmation for a “job well done” as an expressed need for a spectator. Even in the very last stages of my time on the planet, I imagine…
By Michelle Boyd So my brother and I are hanging out with his 2-year old goddaughter a few weeks ago. She’s the kind of kid who, as he points out, smiles not just with her face, but with her whole body. At the moment, her smile is trained on a plush, kid-sized, easy chair. Which, she has just discovered, can be tipped upside down into a little triangle, so that it doubles as a soft-sided…
By Riyad A. Shahjahan “To be able to face our fears, we must remember how to perform ritual. To remember how to perform ritual, we must slow down” (Malidoma Somé) Given the everyday distractions of social media, feelings of inadequacy/unworthiness, and/or world wide events, how can I as a scholar/writer write? How can I write in the midst of privilege and oppression? How can I focus on my “work” for today? In my numerous conversations…
