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

Rayner Ramirez's latest documentary 'The Heroin Trail'  takes us into America's "War on Drugs" - we return to a Vermont town devastated by drugs a few years back.  Ramirez and his team finds out how a town recovers from a devastating meeting with illicit drugs. Following the story of one father and the trail of drugs that lead back to Columbia and Mexico - this film shows that hopefully a new approach will be used in dealing with drug abuse in this country.

The Poets of the Evening On Friday 11th of December a group of global poets were invited to share the state at World's Culture House in Nørrebro. The event was hosted by  VAVAC with this being the first installment of a series entitled  MUND-til-MUND no. 1,    ”Portraying the personal interpretations of the cultural hybridity experience.” According to Vis-a-Vis Art Collective, MUND til MUND is a series of spoken word sessions which creates a  platform from which the right to SELF define and SELF-liberate will flourish. Consciously targeting minority positions in Denmark by highlighting the African diaspora. Their aim is to create a space for expression rather than explanation. They see Spoken Word as a socially engaging art form, which can expand the self-liberation to a collective liberation. Poets captured by Heather Spears I first met Heather Spears , the writer and artist, many years ago through the American Women's Club writers grou...

One day back in 2010 my friend Karen Good and I decided to walk through Brooklyn. I took another similar walk with my friend Debbie Cowell - and I'll be posting those pictures soon as well. I've been going through my hard disc and have found so much material - audio recordings, pictures, video - I'm going to start presenting them here as a sort of record of what I've been up to during the last few years. These were taken with a disposable camera and capture accurately the diversity and openness of Brooklyn folks. Enjoy! All your needs in 1 store We walked into a local bar and was welcomed  We met a group of Georgians Who were very happy to meet us a Chinese Laundry - Newkirk Avenue I believe So many different cultures Brooklyn A Puerto-Rican family- Newark Avenue Our Georgian friends  Karen drinking a beer Local man posting for us Karen and her present husband before they were married. sidewalk ...

First time my son visits Trinidad & he's already half my size 

me searching for okra Vesterbro, Copenhagen photo courtesy of Intisar Abioto Okra is one of those fruits (yes, it's a fruit because it has seeds!) that you either love or hate. From the moment I first discovered the plant in my grandmother's garden on Emerald Drive in Diamond Vale Trinidad, I was hooked. It's a relative to the hibiscus plant and legend has it that it first came to the so-called New World as seeds hidden in a a female slave's hair. Okra, lady fingers, bindi - can be found all over the world, much like the African diaspora. I don't know what it is about this plant that speaks to my soul so - maybe because the word itself means soul in the Asanti spiritual system or not- but one of the best ways for me to smooth my longing for home i.e. at my grandmother's side, is by cooking okra. To be honest, I feel like this plant is in my DNA.  One of my earliest memories besides discovering this beautiful plant in my grandmother's garden is co...

chilling with Toshi Williamsburg, Brooklyn slightly after it went to hell 2010. 

Yesterday I attended an event hosted by Freedom of Movements which describes itself and the event as: "Freedom of Movements is an emerging political group based in Copenhagen composed of immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, as well as non­migrants. We are a diverse group of people. Different legal statuses, political rights, economic and social situations, as well as cultural backgrounds. Our efforts go to identifying what are the most crucial problems different groups of migrants face and creating collective strategies to respond to these problems together." The event consisted of workshops facilitated by asylum seekers, refugees as well as activists involved in "minority" struggles here in Denmark, among them the African Empowerment Center. It was the first time I came face to face with asylum seekers and refugees in Denmark, and was able to hear their stories up close and personal.  As you may already know Europe is facing a crisis. The crisis is a result o...

You can't keep a good woman down! Bandit Queen Press is back, in time for your holiday shopping! Why not get the poetry lover in your life an original, handmade & numbered collection of poetry from Copenhagen, Denmark by Brooklyn writer Lesley-Ann Brown? The Organist's Daughter : A collection of poetry about growing up in Brooklyn to Trinidadian parents. Bureau 39: A zine to end all zines. Contains the work of Mark Valley, Elisa Donovan, Suheir Hammed, Tony Medina, Willie Perdomo among others Blackgirl on Mars: Notes on a Life in Copenhagen : A poetic reflection of living in a foreign country & becoming a mother. Each book is UNIQUE, numbered & handmade. email me at blackgirlonmars@gmail.com for more details! farvel, the lab

Kendrick Lamar & Tupac interview on a scroll.  Time travels of ancestor rappers, scrolls and revolution. Copenhagen University's Prof. of American Literature at Astrid Noack's Studio  ”Vi elsker juletræer, dannelsesrejser, Eckersberg og Guldalderen, men vi lider samtidigt af et kolonialt hukommelsestab. Mit værk sætter fokus på og fremhæver de dybe kulturelle relationer vores nation har til det afrikanske og det amerikanske kontinent, som fodrer denne økonomiske opblomstringsperiode. Det ligger i vores nationale identitets DNA – selvom vi helst ikke vil erkende det. At det sågar er at finde i noget af det aller dyrebareste vi har, H.C. Andersens skrifter, er et godt eksempel på den hvidvaskning af historien, som kendetegner vores kultur. ” --Jeannette Ehlers "We love Christmas trees, culture travel, Eckersberg and the Golden age, but we suffer simultaneously of a colonial amnesia. My work puts focus on and emphasizes the deep cultura...

Here is the footage of the Women are Powerful and Dangerous Panel that took place here in Copenhagen last month. farvel, the lab

blackgirl on mars: notes on a life in copenhagen (or how my alienation brings me closer to people).: She Is Gone Now... : She is gone now. The sight of flour on skin, age spots form an archipelago across her arms. a clutter of dusty pictures and ...

from the day we walked to brooklyn, 2011 Last Thursday I had dinner with a former student at Copenhagen International School -- the school I worked in when I was headhunted to teach at Copenhagen City School.  When I started at CIS I started as a private tutor and substitute teacher. I was hired by a few parents to support their kids with their homework and I was finally hired to offer a child full-time classroom support. His name was Brendan and that  year I became very good friends with my Sarah from Wiggan, who was the classroom teacher. Sarah and I are friends to this day and we both worked really well together. Brendan was an amazing, round-faced, freckled boy whose family was also pretty amazing. I had to implement a reading programme with him, something that was supposed to help him read better as he was dyslexic. Brendan, like ALL other children I have met who have been diagnosed as having "special needs" was an amazingly talented young man. This experience ma...

This evening I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion for David Thorpe's film Do I Sound Gay? about Voice and Identity for  MIX Copenhagen Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans Film Festival at Cinemateket. The film - which is highly recommended- is a personal journey that filmmaker David Thorpe takes into the world of voice and identity. Joining us on the panel was educator and identity formation specialist Yanaba Rymark Sankoh, Anna K. Jørgensen (linguist and activist), Karin Sjogren (speech and language therapist) and the director himself, David Thorpe.

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Aisha Fukushima for DK.DOX on International Peace Day. Aisha Fukushima is a RAPtivist, combining Hip Hop with social activism around the world. I first met Fukushima a few years ago, when we shared an evening of performance at Kimia - a cafe/performance space in Copenhagen's Nørrebro district. 

On Friday September 4, 2015 I received the distinct privilege of moderating a panel of 9 women of color  at Spillestedet Stendgade to discuss Race, gender and class. Organised by Spillestedet Stendgade and the African Empowerment Center - this panel discussion received an enthusiastic response - with over 700 people wanting to come but room for only 130 - we barely managed to cover all of the issues on the agenda. This was but a taste of things to come. picture courtesy of David Morrow picture courtesy of David Morrow picture courtesy of David Morrow picture courtesy of David Morrow picture courtesy of David Morrow I was invited to moderate this event along with Iman Mohamed from the African Empowerment Center and the panelists were truly global with their presence and experiences in Denmark providing the common thread. We managed to speak on Identity, Intersectionality, "The double burden" and Feminism and its relationship to women of colo...