Status Updates From Black Women Writers at Work

Alexis De Veaux
We have to pass our own image and stories on, nobody else can do it the way we can
How do you manifest, construct, and see love?
We’ve been writing since phillis wheatley, truly, and ida b wells and everyone else in between.
To stimulate conversation between black women and black men
To stimulate change and collective conservation
Don’t swallow everything you’ve been fed

Notes from Gwendolyn Brooks:
My biggest take away from listening to this book is how writers can have a way with telling the truth, it’s not all about constructing a fable or fantasy. Sometimes it’s just telling your story for it to become apart of the collective of “our story” as black people.

I love that it wasn’t a competition for her or a popularity contest, her aim was to keep her and other black womens voice alive. She talked about how she did not like being compared to her colleagues because she saw them as a collective, as unique individuals with a similar ability and interest to craft words.

Notes from Toni Cade Bambara:

Chasing the feeling of becoming. Writing is keeping track of your own process of becoming.
Her chapter made me think about telling my own story/stories. I do that with my journaling but her words make the process feel so much more important.

She talked about writing plays to create opportunities for other black women as well and that is so beautiful to think about.

“I would be writing even if there weren’t presses and markets” it’s a way to monitor myself, a way to understand myself.

I also like that she mentioned other authors that impress her in modern day, Her chapter reminded me of the importance of building relationships through the creative process. Opening myself up to new connections and new people. I like how she spoke about her relationship with her editor.

Reading this work reminds me of my central “why” when it comes to my own writing. Hearing the explanation provided by Maya Angelou of her process is refreshing and reassuring, it serves as a reminder of developing my own process when it comes to my craft. Whether it’s a coffee shop, a hotel room, a library, or even a cubicle, there has to be a space where the work takes place.