Remember when I went on a book tour in 2016 and then I was like, “whew, that was cool, but I’m not doing that again,” and then I kind of did it some more, in 2017… and then, in 2018, I somehow put myself on the road… again? On the road again!
Just got back from Rutgers where the Global Africa, Literature, Migration, and the Arts symposium was a hit! Ousseina Alidou & Renée Larrier were brilliant convenors, and I felt so welcomed among these African & Diaspora scholars. I got to present alongside some wonderful thinkers doing quality work on multilingual hip-hop, performance poetry, film and video (Manthia Diawara screened his latest, An Opera of the World), visual art (oh my god Adérónké Adésolá Adésànyà and Tosin Adésànyà-Olaleye are mother/daughter genius), and all manner of writing. I got to meet author Sisonke Msimang in person (book, signed)! I presented on Black Panther as a nexus of Diasporic Black and African reception cultures.
Check out the photo gallery & recap.
In a couple weeks’ time, I’ll be at the third biennial Queers & Comics conference at SVA (School of Visual Arts) in New York City! I’ll be presenting alongside Joan Hilty, Finn Enke, Diana Green, Andrew Spieldenner, Jeremy Stoll, and Valentino Zullo on Queer Comics in Higher Ed + moderating the Queer Comics Characters of Color panel with Anne Ishii, Rupert Kinnard, Shanté Smalls, Ivan Velez, Jr.! Can you even?!
Here’s a link to register for the conference, and here’s a link where you can donate, thanks to our fiscal sponsor Geeks Out! Donations are tax-deductible. It’s for a good cause: fundraising is what makes it possible for artists who couldn’t afford to otherwise to get to and from the conference, which allows us to put on an event where cartoonists aren’t hustling 100% of the time, and it helps compensate the organizers who do so much hard work on a volunteer basis to make it happen. The occasion to stop and think is what sets this event apart from conventions, and it reminds me that we can use universities’ resources for knowledge in the public interest. Plus, comics.
And then, and then, I’ll be at Escape Velocity 2019!
I’m gonna meet Dominique Tipper from The Expanse! I will be presenting on (not one but) two panels: Early African American Science Fiction + Fan Culture: Shipping, OTPs, and Fan Fiction! Get into it! There will be actual astronauts and robots and stuff, too.
