CONCERNING CHANGE

A writer friend asked me recently if I’ve been changed by my latest project: a novel about the trans-Atlantic slave trade, told in different black women’s voices. The change actually began before the story came: ten years ago, I entered a former slave dungeon in Ghana and allowed visions of the past to haunt me. After having experienced the myriad challenges of my 20s, during which this novel grew inside me, I can say that my characters have taught me to have a less romantic but also a less cynical outlook on relationships. These women, who come from opposing social and economic backgrounds, grow to love and trust each other after initially despising one another. In essence, I hope to do the same as a writer: to invite readers worldwide to vicariously embody lives seemingly unlike their own, especially from cultures they have learned to mistrust or devalue. Change isn’t always an avalanche or a volcano eruption. It can begin even when we open ourselves to new sights, tastes, smells, and feelings. I dare you to stow away your stereotypes and enter the worlds I create, to witness how humanity—our similar emotional reactions to injustice, love, and the like—can unite us.

CONTRIBUTING TO CHANGE

Read an excerpt from Kim’s novel-in-progress, Elmina.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST

Kim will be reading on Thursday, Nov. 5, 8pm at:
kiva cafe ~ rediscover your senses
139 reade st (2/3/A/C/E to chambers st.)
nyc, ny 10013
212-587-1198
www.kivacafe.com