Posts

Showing posts from December, 2015

The Heroin Trail

Image
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.

A Night of Expression

Image
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...

A Walk in Brooklyn -2010 (A tour in pictures)

Image
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 ...

Breathing the air of your ancestors

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

The magical nature of Okra

Image
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...

Update from Mars

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