Session 1:  A Knowing So Deep: An Underwater Writing Ceremony for Black Women and Femmes  August 15 6-8pm EST

“You had this canny ability to shape an untenable reality, mold it, sing it, reduce it to is manageable, transforming essence, which is a knowing so deep it’s like a secret.” – Toni Morrison, “A Knowing So Deep” Essence Magazine 15th Anniversary Issue 1985

When my mentor, now ancestor Cheryll Y. Greene compiled the special anniversary issue of Essence Magazine with the collaboration historian Paula Giddings, they asked Toni Morrison to offer the last word.  Morrison sent a letter to Black women that reads as a collective praise poem, a reckoning and an intergenerational clarification that includes herself, her sisters, her ancestors and those to come.  The depth of the poem and its oceanic rhythm was informed by the writing she was doing at the time, which would become the novel Beloved.  In this moment when we are reaching to honor the depth of Morrison’s impact and the imperative messages her legacy offers for our living, loving and creative action, I offer a writing ceremony specifically for Black women (trans and cis) and genderqueer Black femmes who see themselves in Morrison’s lineage and legacy.

Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-knowing-so-deep-a-writing-ceremony-in-honor-of-toni-morrison-for-black-women-and-femmes-tickets-68863684133

*This is a writing ceremony in honor of Toni Morrison facilitated by Sista Docta Alexis Pauline Gumbs.  Based on Alexis’s archival research and deep study of Morrison’s work, this sessions is an opportunity for people who want to honor the specificity and eternal impact of Toni Morrison’s body of writing.  The approach will be interactive and writing focused.  Participants can choose to participate via video, audio, chat or all three. The sessions will not be recorded to honor the confidentiality of the participants.

This session is specifically for Black women and femmes. There will be later sessions that are open to other folks who want to honor Morrison’s legacy. If you sign up and cannot attend your contribution will be considered a donation to the ongoing work of Brilliance Remastered and Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist Mind; there are no refunds.

To be notified about upcoming sessions join the Brilliance Remastered Email list at http://www.alexispauline.com/brillianceremastered/contact/