My New Essay on Afrofuturism for South Writ Large

Posted by: Michele Tracy Berger on: March 8, 2020

• In: African American women | black feminism | black feminists | creative writing | creativity | speculative fiction | women and creativity | women's creativity | writing
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I’m grateful for the opportunity to explore my feelings and relationship to the term ‘Afrofuturism’ in this recent essay for the online quarterly magazine South Write Large: Stories, Arts and Ideas for the Global South. Is this a term that you have heard a lot about? How do you engage with Afrofuturism?

My Unlikely Path to Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism is everywhere these days. From the staggering success of Black Panther to the revival of Octavia Butler’s works, especially the prescient Parable of the Sower written in 1993, to the award-winning novels by N. K. Jemisin, these books have ushered in a new moment. We’re not just talking about literature or film, but music, fashion design, visual arts, and social activism as well. What often gets lost or flattened, however, when a phenomenon enters the mainstream, is the nuance, history, and multiple viewpoints on said phenomenon. Read the rest of the essay here.

Tags: African American women, Afrofuturism, Black Panther, black women, creative, creative writing, creativity, diverse books, diverse voices, fantasy and science fiction, fiction, fiction writing, inspiration, NK Jeminsen, Nussia, Octavia Butler, own voices, people of color, productivity, science fiction, science fiction and fantasy, South Writ Large, speculative fiction, the writing life, women and creativity, women writers, writers, writing