WATERCOLOR ART “Amethyst SkyWay” BY STEPHANIE TAYLOR
I am a student of storytelling. As I begin this blog I am just over halfway through an MFA in Creative Writing at California College of the Arts in San Francisco.
I make a point to give credit to those who have done the work before me, and as doors are opened in front of me, I do all I can to make sure those doors stay open for others.
In this spirit of being a Creator-Connector, much respect is given to those who have been doing this work and those who are actively paving the way for our futures.
My first inspiration for imagining futures was Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. Her storytelling planted a seed in my heart, mind, and spirit.
As an emerging writer and student of AfroFuturism, I asked “Who is currently doing the work?”
What follows is just the beginning of a list of Futurist Scholars and Storytellers:
- Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes. Their online course “Intro to AfroFuturism” has been a major inspiration.
- Dr. Lonny Brooks at California State University, East Bay is the Northern California venue host for the Black Speculative Arts Movement Festival.
- Nnedi Okorafor spoke at The Futures of AfroFuturism Symposium at University of Tennessee Knoxville on March 30-31, 2017.
Other speakers at that symposium included:
Please add a comment below to add names and URLs of those who inspire your work in imagining futures!
Audrey T. Williams 