When Weems received a 2013 MacArthur Genius Grant and a solo exhibit of her work opened at the Guggenheim in New York City in 2014, she was in her sixties. She has not had an orthodox career.
Tag: #BillieandPhyllis
Read excerpt of my next novel SPEAKING OF SUMMER in Intellectual Refuge Literary Journal…
In "Speaking of Summer," the Black women appear to have it all: great homes, men, careers, girlfriends, beauty. But there is a cost to keeping the realities of how they feel about their treatment in the world such a closed secret... I thank editor Christopher Schnieders for publishing this small piece of it and I look forward to finishing it, to share more to come!
Toni Morrison and Boy George Cover Billie Holiday
Morrison has proved to be the most thorough documentarian of African-American female existence in all its forms: in the womb, baby, child, girl, woman, senior, from the afterlife. The mantra of "God bless the child..." is actually her most consistent answer to black women. Enjoy Holiday's original version, as well as a neat cover by Boy George and Micah Paris.
Must-Hear Phyllis Hyman Interview
This 1988 oral history, recorded at the height of her popularity and fame, covers Phyllis Hyman's intense discipline and commitment to development as an artist.
What Billie and Phyllis Sang About
Read my story "What Billie and Phyllis Sang About", about an abandoned black woman left to survive alone in Harlem, in the new issue of Atticus Review. My favorite Billie Holiday and Phyllis Hyman music is on the story's companion soundtrack Here. #BillieandPhyllis
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