post 3: cynthia's scrapbook #1

[originally published on Substack: Mar 19, 2024]

I’ve been thinking up ways to encourage more engagement with Loving Safoa (my vampire novella) while doing activities I enjoy. Collaging is a welcome distraction for me, so from time to time I’ll post a collage/moodboard of text and imagery that call back to Loving Safoa. I’ve posted the first page of “cynthia’s scrapbook” below, with a list of credits / attributions.

liza thee artisan

cynthia’s scrapbook #1

credits (left to right, then down):

1. untitled painting by Amanda Howell Whitehurst

2. frame from “A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’” (1991)

3. frame from “Bedstuy Brooklyn Block Party” (2021)

4. text from Fledgling by Octavia Butler (2005)

5. frame from “Got ‘til It’s Gone” music video, Janet Jackson ft. Q-Tip (1997)

6. text from Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali by D.T. Niane, translated by G.D. Pickett (1994)

7. frame from Ganja & Hess, ft. Ganja (Marlene Clark) (1973)

8. text from Darknesses by Lachelle Seville (2022)

9. photo of The Color Purple on Broadway, ft. Shug Avery (Heather Headley) and Celie Johnson (Cynthia Erivo) (2016)

10. text from “Tar Beach” by Audre Lorde (1995)