On Mondays I volunteer for the Women's Press Collective. They're located at 12th Street and Second Ave in Brooklyn. You can call them at 718.222.0405 for more information, they don't have a website. Their organizing style is old school and personal. Today I came in to volunteer and they offered me an opportunity.
Lisa was driving to Fort Greene to pass out magazines to small business owners and managers to try to recruit sponsors. I was the one who was going to jump out of the car and give them to the employees to give to the manager/owners. Middle people, always makes me think of the children's game telephone - will the message arrive in tact, will it be wholly distorted or will it get disconnected? However, there was another incentive for me to be a part of this, to meet L., an elderly woman who lives in Fort Greene.
L. has lived a life. She was a gospel singer who had her esophagus taken out but still sang at the Brooklyn Tabernacle on a momentous night. She was a mother for the four months of her infant's life. Her husband was a merchant marine who was on water more than land. She was baptized by the Holy Ghost and visited the Brooklyn Hospital for over 30 years and prayed for thousands of people and witnessed miracles. She is a living miracle, she calls herself the bionic woman.
L. has a story to tell. And I am going to help her write it. Literally, because she doesn't type and can barely hold a pen to write. I cannot imagine being blessed with a more honorable task.
But that is not all that happened today. While I was sitting in her living room, crying at some of her stories, taking in the knickknacks acquired over a lifetime, and trying to figure out a good way to start the transcription I was inspired. Raw Fiction should incorporate the older generation.
It's not a new idea for me. When I worked for Green Guerrillas there was an emphasis on cross-generational learning and shared experiences. So when this idea of Raw Fiction came back to me in January it was still heavily set in three parts - writing, development and community -- and my launch event was going to include youth and elders sharing stories. However, the community took a back seat for a while. It looked like too much on paper. But if the summer component revolves around youth publishing the stories of community elders then that would be a truly beautiful thing. And I don't think I'm going to give an option. I think that is what I will do because it is the most valuable thing we can do, for ourselves and for our community.
Goodnight moon.
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