(syntax) to Become:
an ongoing Reading exercise <> Collective Read #3
During our gathering on Friday, November 1st, we will read excerpts from Bloodchild and Other Stories (2005, expanded edition) and Kindred (1979) by Octavia Butler.
Amid our current present which is tainted by western regimes that propagate evil, senakirfa has chosen to gather around Octavia Butler’s work to (re-)center the past, present, and future, which Butler eloquently weaves into a realm of fiction, yet (becoming) a daunting real(ity). As we lean into Butler’s work, we are met by the various protagonists paving the world(s) we must face, the world(s) that Butler explicated and shared with precision, dedication, and care, where Butler poignantly directs us to the manifold ways the past remains prologue. — By reading carefully with Butler, not just merely through her, we further acknowledge the proximity we hold to the(se) world(s).
On Friday, November 1st, we will gather at Metro 54 to read excerpts of these texts out loud in turns. Starting from 7.15 pm until 9 pm, there will be copies of the books available.
Date: 01 November 2024
Time: 19:00
Location: Westerdoksdijk 597
Entrance: Free
Please rsvp by sending an email to: rsvp@metro54.nl
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Syntax:
~ the arrangement of words and phrases to create ‘well-formed’ sentences in a language.
~ the way in which linguistic elements (such as words) are put together to form constituents (such as phrases or clauses)
(syntax) to Become: an ongoing Reading exercise <> Collective Read are monthly reading exercises organized by senakirfa A., grounded in voices that usher Black feminist and decolonial poetics. The monthly reading exercise, welcomes and encourages you to Become akin to reading (((again))), and are held at Metro54 every month.
In a world dominated by oppressive measures that perpetuate the inaccessibility of reading, the collective practice and effort of reading among peoples that have been historically excluded hold agency.
The reading exercise calls on familiarizing ourselves (((again))) with the act of reading which informs a pathway to self-discovery and to our varied poetics that intersect.
During the 1,5h reading exercise we will read in the company of each other. Our moments together will vary from reading collectively out loud in turns, or coming together to read individually in silence in each other's company, this will be announced beforehand.
The texts we will read vary from fragments and chapters of prose, letters, science fiction, literary fiction, and poetry engaging in Black feminist visions. As all the reading will happen during our moments together, it’s not mandatory or needed to read beforehand. A digital or physical copy will be made available during the exercise.