won't you celebrate with me?
each world a page is finally here...
on june 21st from 6-9pm, i will be launching my book, each world a page. this project is a distillation of hundreds of portraits and images from 2017-2024. these images of Black men and masculine people of various experiences explore gender norms, expectations & life-giving alternatives.
please visit my site here: www.iyasymone.com to learn more about the project and rsvp for the free launch party.
build.
for over a year now i have been thinking, talking, and writing about masculinity.
when i began this journey, it was in response to the resentment i was feeling as i tried to navigate the world differently. the social conditions of the context we live in made it feel almost impossible to evolve. i felt the resentment, but i was devoted to staying curious about it and aligning with people who share my values, commitments, and beliefs to explore this feeling more deeply.
in my last letter in december, i talked a lot about this. i also talked about inspirations for a project i was working on (hehe).
it is divinely aligned that this conversation has continued organically in the communities around me. it has started to consume so much of my mind and heart space that i had no other choice than to make art about it.
Valerie Maynard. Artist Trying to Get It All Down. c. 1970. Linocut. 19 x 12 in. (48.3 x 30.5 cm) (image)
things coalesced quickly and it seemed like every time i would take a step forward, another step up would appear. somehow, seven months after beginning this journey, i have a photo book being published by strudelmedialive. despite multiple grant applications, this book was made possible through a single microgrant from brown boi project.
this 40-page, 5x7 book is called each world a page and it features 20 portraits and images of Black men and masculine people around the american south and east coast. these images from my archive span seven years of work and bring together many different types of people, as well as many different versions of my past selves.
juxtaposed next to the images are the liberatory masculinity guideposts. they are followed by a personal narrative from me, discussion activations, and, of course, acknowledgements.
starting last november, i got a scholarship for a class at strudelmedialive. that class taught me how to use indesign. it gave me the room to experiment and play. i remembered how much i loved this process of telling a story. i leaned all the way in and sorted through all my pictures from the better part of 10 years of work.
i started the design process and reached out to my community about supporting this project through critique and revision. i had people working with me on my design, image sequencing, writing (narrative and grant), sections, and editing. there is no part of this project that hasn’t been touched by many care-full hands.
it is no coincidence that both the publisher and funder of my book and launch party came through the strength of relationship. it was only at the end of the liberatory masculinity retreat and my photo class that i even knew the opportunity to get a microgrant or have my work published was something we could do.
as my Uncle Carl reminds me, i was being set up by God. i’m glad i listened.
this launch is the ultimate culmination of community, accomplices, and love love love. we’ll have soulful house musical curations by DJs Meesh and MUSE(O)FIRE with handcrafted and inspired menus by Chef Zion and Sips of Soul in a space adorned by hand dyed tobacco cloths from Suryah Studio.
we’ll be on the beautiful land of BLISS Meadows, a 10-acre land project in East Baltimore devoted to (re)connecting BIPOC with nature. i’m genuinely excited for all the people who are going to be part of this one of a kind event and hope that you will join us in fellowship!
medicine.
for this letter, aint no destroy.
last summer, i woke up on my birthday and knew i had to “lock in” (as the kids say). i set a high bar for myself and began working on truly moving several significant projects and initiatives forward, in addition to my own life administration.
i started to take training seriously and haven’t missed more than a week at the gym in a year. this discipline became the foundation for how i want to be able to navigate challenges and ups and downs throughout life. i started the long, slow process of changing my name. but im glad to say that it is done.
my name on a receipt at my favorite bar :’)
for two years, i’ve been working with a co-organizer on a project that has consumed so much time and energy. i’m proud to say that retreat will actually be happening this summer. i have been moving a work project forward for my duties at MDVLA, and while i can’t say too much (yet)--i am excited to share what we’ve been working on. i have been working on this book and this launch party and i can’t believe it’s actually going to come to life.
all this while still working a second job, being a student in a transformative justice fellowship, paying bills and being Black.
my 26th birthday is on the horizon and i can finally feel the tides calming. the pressure valve is releasing. so ain’t no destroy this time. just jubilee and a big fucking deep breath. i made it through these 10 months.
but there is always medicine.
recently, a return to Steve Lacy’s debut album Apollo XXI. my spotify “DJ” played N Side for me the other day and so many memories came rushing back. i remember this album being the soundtrack of my summer in 2019. a sweet reminder of who i was and where we are now. especially with the book so near.
Baltimore had a little tornado. i remember being little and so fearful of the storms, but it brought me comfort to have that little spring storm. i just sat quietly and listened to her. take a little listen:
& last but not least: Blue Heat by Alexis De Veaux was gifted to me by brown boi project. the director, Matice Moore, sent it to me after i shared with them about each world a page and my vision for it.
a couple of moments from the text that have been keeping me and encouraging me, even when i wanted to trash this project:
“And so if Blue Heat only reached the people who came into Alexis’s living room it was worth printing.” “This book is for the life in writing. The years framed in poems from 1979 to 1985. For how I feel now. Living on this planet. This book is for independent publishing…And for love. And for faith found…This book is for this book. And the sheer naked pleasure of rebellion. This book, this book is here: at last.”
until next time, y’all.
and i read each word! so happy for you iya! ✨✨