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Today I received the prize money from my @ThirdCoastFest award and I was able to give it to my aunt in the piece. The surprise on her face, the gold tooth smile, it made us both really happy. I wanna talk a little about why this moment is so important and how I got here. *Thread*
At some point last year I approached the folks @Transom_org with something that wasn't even a pitch. it was literally nothing but a few words like " I really want to tell this story, it's about my mom, I wrote a poem, I just want to figure something out."
@BrounSamantha was super supportive from the jump giving me notes on how to turn it into a formal pitch. Then @jay_allison looked it over and said yup, let's do it. Over the next few weeks, they supported me in every way imaginable to turn my ramblings into something beautiful.
They
-Gave me money to go to England to go visit my Aunt for the interview in the piece
- Reimbursed me the money I spent on the trip I took to Sierra Leone to go visit my mother's grave, a trip I took BEFORE I pitched the story to them.
- Put me up in a cabin on the cape
-Gave me money to go to England to go visit my Aunt for the interview in the piece
- Reimbursed me the money I spent on the trip I took to Sierra Leone to go visit my mother's grave, a trip I took BEFORE I pitched the story to them.
- Put me up in a cabin on the cape
- Fed me banging ass meals and an endless supply of seltzer water as I wrote for a week straight.
- Helped me structure the piece and edit the writing, as well as produced the session.
- Paid for an African Composer to make music that felt like home to me.
- Helped me structure the piece and edit the writing, as well as produced the session.
- Paid for an African Composer to make music that felt like home to me.
- Found a place for me to record my poems
- Etc.. etc.. etc..
They invested in me in every single way I could imagine. And the best part... They never asked for or expected ownership of anything I would make at the end of the process. They just wanted to see me succeed.
- Etc.. etc.. etc..
They invested in me in every single way I could imagine. And the best part... They never asked for or expected ownership of anything I would make at the end of the process. They just wanted to see me succeed.
I own every part of my @ThirdCoastFest award winning story. I can do anything I want with it. I don't have to hire lawyers. I don't have to "push," I don't have to feel like I'm advocating for what ultimately belongs to me, my life.
AND.. If I want to reproduce this work in any other way and by some magic I get to make more money from it, It can all go straight into my aunty's pockets. I can fulfill that thing that is so fucking elusive in this country: the immigrant dream.
At a time when seemingly every industry is hungry for black stories, when companies and corporations are racing to collect as many black voices, actors, creators, all like pieces in a collection... @transom chose to support and not own.
They chose to facilitate instead of hoarde. They chose to make space rather than take up more real estate. They did their thing and bounced and allowed me to provide for my family. And that's some real shit I will never forget.
Fin.
Fin.
