(syntax) to Become:
an ongoing Reading exercise <> Collective Read
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.
The first 3 months we will kick off the reading exercise with 3 pieces of text brought in by senakirfa A.. After these months we will collectively think about what we would like to continue reading, and compile a list together.
Our first reading exercise will take place on april 23rd, and we will read from the first chapter of Audre Lorde: Dream of Europe, Selected Seminars and Interviews 1984-1992
Image: Octavia Butler's scrawled notes, literary passages and everyday to-do lists in a series of "commonplace books." This page of affirmations comes from a 1987 book collected among her papers at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
🔥Date: 23 April 2024
🔥Time: 19:00
🔥Location: Westerdoksdijk 597
🔥Entrance: Free
Please rsvp by sending an email to: rsvp@metro54.nl
Once you rsvp you will receive a copy of the text and some basic guidelines.