Curating Resistant Writing is an effort to expand the limited budget of North High’s library and curate a special collection of resistant literature that both challenges systems of oppression as well as expands the imagination around other possible futures.

As the co founder of Ancestry Books, one of my fundamental objectives has been to take serious the existing and potential for literary excellence in North Minneapolis. I believe that often geographies like North Minneapolis, with a density of low-income and working class black, and brown, and immigrant communities, are foreclosed as sites of creative excellence from which the Toni Morrisons, and June Jordans, and Octavia Butlers emerge.

But they do emerge from these geographies, and they are already here and in need of those who will set the expectations high along with the support and opportunity.

So Curating Resistant Writing is about creating a site for the opportunity for the students at North High to see a selection of poetry and fiction, memoir and essays that is selected, organized, and activated with an immense amount of care.

A part of this activation would be transportation to take North High Students to an off school campus Twin Cities literary event to engage work both on and off the page.

As an artist in residence at North High through The Loft Literary Center’s Artist Residency Program I am well poised to facilitate this project with the partnership of North High’s Media Center and the financial contribution of the Awesome Foundation.