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

  The Waters of Memory is a short film done in collaboration with Konkav Studios, DK.  You can view it www.blackgirlonmars.com Decolonial Daughter: Letters from a Black Woman to her European Son by Lesley-Ann Brown (Repeater, 2018) Blackgirl on Mars: A Radical Memoir (Repeater, 2023)

Whatsup everybody there's a lot of traffic on this blog despite the fact I haven't uploaded in a while so i figured I'd touch base and let you know i got some exciting projects and collaborations coming up i'll soon fill you all in and i'll include some links of where else you can find me on the inter webs.  thanks for the love! 

ayahuasca vine illustration imt *content warning*  describes the use of nontraditional methods of treating trauma and the use of psychedelic substances. this article is meant to educate and not as a prescription. by Lesley-Ann Brown I’m not a sociologist, so I’m not fully equipped to interpret what it means when a person or thing becomes a punchline to a Chelsea Handler joke, but I am sure there are worse fates. Still, when I heard ayahuasca’s name come out of her mouth, I felt a need to speak up for it like you’d speak up to a bully picking on your best friend. Although, in all fairness to Handler, the joke was funny, this time.   I’m using Chelsea Handler as an example here – because I know how problematic she can be. And the fact that I’m engaging with this name, is a testimony to the power of ayahuasca.   Full disclosure: I’m one of those annoying folks who refer to ayahuasca as ‘Aya.’ But according to the South African Black Consciousness Scholar Simmi Dullay, ‘Aya’ ...

Finland is a country.... According to some conspiracy theorists (my son tells me), Finland is not real-- but here I am about to land. It's my second time here, and I can see the forests from up high, and this gives me comfort. The flight from Copenhagen to Helsinki is uneventful and short, two things I value. I take a cab from the airport to where I'll be staying for a week - I'm here to conduct a workshop at UniArts Helsinki/Theatre Academy in connection with the  M/other Becomings Symposium ; a two-day event where I was also invited to be among the host of keynote speakers and panels.  m/other becomings  is a collaboration between   Laboratory for Aesthetics and Ecology (DK) , The Association for Arts and Mental Health (DK),   Kultivator (SE) ,  Art Lab Gnesta (SE) , and Bioart Society (FI). Helsinki is green and sunny - the sun is out for the seven of the eight days that I'm there and wherever I walk the smell of lilacs and elderberry seem to follow. On...

  One of the markets that managed to fare well during the pandemic was houseplants - here in the west we invested lots of time and money on our plant relatives. And although it's a symptom of our general mass consumption, this one didn't annoy me as the usual transactional exchanges tend to. It made sense - we were stuck indoors. And because I took many walks during the first pandemic lockdown in New York, I witnessed the fact that spring happened, relatively unobserved by the human demographic. I saw buds emerge, patches of strawberries and flowers burst open relatively on their own.  I know why I went houseplant crazy.  I had recently returned to Denmark, and my friend gifted me with a pin-striped calathea - or prayer plant. With its deep green leaves and pink pin stripes, I was intrigued. As with all plants in my possession, I immediately read what I could about this plant: they grew on the floor of the Amazon, they needed moist soil and not too much direct s...

Gratitude  to friends  who kiss  your hand  and so  mend your  heart. 

  This was my view this morning.  So happy to hear the birds and see the burst of nature outside my window.  I've been thinking about this blog for quite some time now; wanting to get back into it. I've missed the platform and connecting with you.  When I started this blog back in 2005, I had always envisioned a book (& other forms of media!) - I'm delighted to report that my second book, aptly entitled, "Blackgirl on Mars" will be out in February 2023.  Well, so much has changed (as it should) since beginning this blog. I'm 50 now (I always thought I would die at 42, so what a surprise!); I'm managing to create a life (mostly) on my terms; I've been connecting and meeting incredible new people and most of all, I've got my health and energy back (mostly).  More later - I just wanted to officially report that I'm back.  

I had the honor of writing and presenting my grandmother's Eulogy at her funeral in Santa Cruz, Trinidad on Friday, March 1st. As you may already know if you're a long-time reader of my blog, my grandmother and I had a very close relationship. My name is Lesley-Ann and I am one of Hildred Balbirsingh’s 10 grandchildren.  Mummy Hildred transitioned on February 10 th , 2019.  She was the faithful wife of Ewart G. Gladstone for 50 years and survived him by 25 years. She is survived by her five children  Beryl, Bernice, Stephen, Beverly & Vincent. Her ten grandchildren: Shelley, Gerry, Tessa, Junior, Camille, Tami, Jason, Marvin, Dominic-Savio and myself.  She also is the great grandmother of Gerard Jr. , Renee, Maya, Talia, Kai, Kaii, Benjamin, Gabriel Savior, Geriah and Ryuta.  She is also the great great grandmother of Sidney Stinson.  Thank you all for coming to celebrate her life.  My grandmother was born here in Santa...

It's half-past twelve and the rest of the house is asleep while I work on my latest shawl. I can hear the frogs croaking outside and the breeze from the fan is cool on my otherwise hot skin. As I knit, I am reminded of the many evenings I have stayed awake in this house in Diamond Vale, while my grandparents were asleep, and I'd be up late studying for an exam I had to take at Providence Girls Catholic School or I would have been writing a story or something. Sometimes, I just stayed up late to watch television, and in those days, there were only two television stations! There is something about this house that holds me with so much love. Maybe it's the fact that I spent four years here, maybe it's because it's my grandparent's house, maybe it's because it's in the land of my ancestors - maybe it's a combination of all that and more, but I truly do feel at peace here. I was so sick when I was in Denmark. My job really stressed me out. My body felt...

Here's a smile at my grandmother's funeral in Santa Cruz, Trinidad.  photo credit coming soon.  It's supposed to be dry season in Trinidad and Tobago but it's been raining for the past hour. I'm sitting in what used to be my grandparent's house in Diamond Vale, which is in the town of Diego Martin. Diamond Vale is a valley and all the streets are named after precious stones. It's divided into two sections, the new vale and the old vale - my grandparent's house is in the old vale. When this neighborhood was first built, it was all the rage, but I can't help but wonder how much my grandparents and everyone else who moved here from the countryside must have felt to live in concrete houses that seemed designed to socialize them out of their country hospitality. There was a time when I knew almost everyone on this street, but so many have moved out, often abroad, and the street no longer has that coziness it once had when familiar faces greeted you ...

Getty Museum, LA  Getty Museum, LA Getty Museum, LA First stop: Los Angeles! Thank you for coming out & making my first North American stop a.m.a.z.i.n.g. It's been raining almost everyday since I arrived last Friday, but Venice is still beautiful.  It's been raining almost everyday since I arrived last Friday, but Venice is still beautiful.  It's been almost a week since I've arrived to Los Angeles. The last time I was in Los Angeles, like for real, for real, was in the late 90s when I came out to interview Coolio for OneWorld magazine. That seems like a lifetime ago, and like everything else in the U.S. Los Angeles is so big that it was impossible for me to see it in its entirety back then. This time however, I stayed in Echo Park which I loved and now I'm in Venice which is pretty gorgeous and has such a laid-back vibe. I would definitely visit again. My book event was awesome. Kelli Curry from The Electric Smoothie L...

Jason Smalls and I getting ready to walk into Mexico! photo: Jason Smalls  On the way home from Mexico - we walked and saw this breathtaking sunset photo: Jason Smalls We found the most amazing bookstore in Carlsbad, CA !  It's early Monday morning, and as I type this I can hear the rain outside my window which looks out into a cascade of various plants. I'm staying in Echo Park and although I've only been here about three days, can safely say that I love the vibe of this neighborhood.  First of all, the abundance of trees and plants that surround me, hold me in love.  A simple walk down the street to Sunset Blvd reveals so many plants - I am surrounded by a myriad of succulents, cacti and other tropical plants that remind me of the Caribbean and so, home. The rolling hills and surrounding mountains are also familiar to me, as I lived in a valley in Trinidad, called Diamond Vale. The local cafe has a sign that reads "Resist Hate." Sunset Blvd is ju...