blackgirl on mars: notes on a life in copenhagen (or how my alienation brings me closer to people).

the rhode island writer's colony is the brainchild of writer brook stephenson I'm happy to report that I've been awarded a residency at Rhode Island Writers Colony - 10 days to work on my book in an environment with other writers. The other writers include Brook Stephenson , whom you should have met by now and Jason Reynolds   Here's a little about Brook: Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, I began people watching at an early age. First my parents showed me who they were, next the extended family, friends and on to my peers. One geographc place, one set of observations. Time to leave the small town/big city. Architecture and design were my interests not necessarily fine art nor creative writing. Matriculating at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia I made new observations, gained new friends, interacted with more family and discovered as much as I enjoy photography, filmmaking and visual art, writing is where my main focus lies. I found a passion and pur...

garon and i talked all things spiritual & cultural.  Garon is one of my guardian angels. I met him years, years ago when I used to work with Danny Simmons, the visual artist, on OneWorld magazine.  Garon's an artist, among many other talents, and I knew our friendship was sealed when on my first trip to Amsterdam, who do I bump into there, all the way from Brooklyn? Yup, Mr. Garon. And it only gets better - he goes on to give me and my friend free passes to that year's Cannibus Cup.  I'll never forget having the opportunity to hear & see Rita Marley in the flesh, and that year's winner's speech, "I would like to thank all of you who smoke pot and work!" Anyway, that was ages and lifetimes ago, but when I was heading to New York on this last trip, I knew without an iota of a doubt that I wanted to see Garon- he's good people and always inspires the best from me. Luckily for me, I got to spend some quality time with Garon, where we were...

little house on the hill One of the many highlights I experienced while in New York was being able to visit my old friend Rene' - who now owns the Juicy Lucy Juice bar, of which the Village Voice blog on  May 20, 2013,   had this to say:  Juicy Lucy A longtime East Village stalwart with tiny shops -- more like shacks -- in two locations, Juicy Lucy offers drinks that are equal parts tropical and free love. Usher in spring with a fresh-pressed greens blend or pick up a bottle of "Basic C," a reddish-hued mix containing carrot, orange, and "a ray of sunshine." Chase it with a shot of wheatgrass and lament the loss of the neighborhood's authentic charms.  85 Ave. A 212-777-5829. Besides being an entrepreneur, Rene' made a move out to the countryside, not too far from the city but far enough- where she has guinea hens, the forest right outside her door and trickling creaks in the backyard. I spent time in this oasis - & last night,...

sakskøbing, 2014 Laika the cat, 2014 Luckily for me when I need to get out of the city, I get to go to a beautiful organic farm a couple of hours outside of Copenhagen. Recently I took such a trip and had the blessing of eating freshly dug carrots, freshly picked squash, onions and so much other stuff it makes me happy to just type about it.    While there, I saw Laika, the cat. Laika used to belong to my friend Ida, but her brother was extremely allergic to cats. I asked the folks down at the farm if they wanted a cat, and without an ounce of hesitancy Hanne gushed a yes! It's been about 8 months since we dropped her off there, and I haven't seen her since. I had the fortune of spending time with Laika, so I knew that she would enjoy every acre of that farm with its ducks, Hungarian pigs and chickens.  I was right. I was told that she rarely ever enters the house - but that on the day of my arrival, she was around a bit more than usual. As if she was expect...

audience listening intently at BE:BOP 2014: Spiritual Revolutions and the Scramble for Africa in Copehagen, Denmark this summer.  Once when my child was very young, he asked me, "Mommy, why do Black people smile at each other?" It was a fitting enough observation: Whenever he took a walk with me and we came upon another Black person, a smile would/is most often exchanged.  Intuitively, I knew the smiles were of recognition, not only of our presence here which, especially back then, was few and far between. When you look into the annals of history - when you seek further than the textbooks and narratives insisted upon by the status quo - you learn a lot about your own history. You learn that your history has been buried so that another history could grow up from it, flower from it and in the end, take all the credit (or sun, if we are to continue with this analogy). Founder and curator of BE.BOP. BLACK EUROPE BODY POLITICS, Alanna Lockward & Robbie Shilliam, co...

the dutchess & DK in Copenhagen, DK One of the things that I enjoyed a lot this summer was the close proximity in which I live to Christiania. Christiania, as I've written before, is a "free state" within the state of Denmark, and has been so since around 72 or 73. Anyway, it's an old military base that was taken over and squatted, and now offers a stunning array of houses and nature right in the middle of the city. Christiania attracts all sorts of people and many come for the free hash market. Not that the smoke is free, but since Christiania is a "free state" the sell of hash has been tolerated there for quite some time. This doesn't mean that the place is immune to the periodical police raid, or that Christianshavn, the neighborhood Christiania happens to be located in, is not a stop and search zone. But again, it continues to attract all sorts of tourists, and boasts a few pretty good restaurants, concert halls and bars. The other day ...

my pleasure to bring you: Brook's Bistro View this email in your browser  The Baldwin Effect It’s been an interesting life since last post. A full circle of things occurred, James Baldwin Place’s street naming ceremony coincided with the author/ activist/ intercontinentalist’s birthday this year. I felt like it was a James Baldwin trifecta happening. My next door neighbor freshman year at Morehouse College is Baldwin’s nephew. Staying in touch and relating the trials and tribulations of being a black man in America always keeps us close. But being part of a legacy like that adds up to more in my eyes. That extra layer of responsibility is a beast that sometimes can be a burden. Watching my brother rising to the occasion just makes me a proud friend.   The celebration included more than a street naming as there was a reading of  The Fire Next Time  by friends and creatives of the man. The stories they told. One sister talke...