Monica A. Coleman's Blog, page 4
November 25, 2020
How Octavia Butler’s Religion Predicted 2020 Chaos
Religion Unplugged did an article about the prophetic gift that Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower is. And there’s a shout out to the webinar series that Tananarive Due and I lead called “Octavia Tried to Tell Us.”
Part of the novel’s current appeal is how eerily predictive it is. Set in a dystopian Los Angeles in the 2020s, the economy has collapsed, corporations enslave consumers, police are not to be trusted and S...
Turning to Octavia Butler’s Apocalypse Fiction
Apocalypse anyone? Totally! So it’s a good time for Apocalypse fiction like Octavia Butler’s. Another shout out to the “Octavia Tried to Tell Us” Webinar Series that Tananarive Due and I are hosting. Check out this insightful article on Slate.
Earlier this month, Octavia Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower made it onto the New York Times’ bestseller lists 27 years after its original publication. The book, one of two in a planned trilogy that was never completed, follows Lauren Oya Olamina, a...
Octavia Butler’s ‘Parable of the Sower’ makes a comeback
Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower is on the bestseller list! Nearly 30 years after it was published – and for good reason. I got to talk with Religion News Service about the theology in Parable.
(RNS) — Nearly 30 years after it was published and more than a dozen after its author’s death, Octavia Butler’s dystopian novel “Parable of the Sower” popped up on The New York Times bestseller list in early September. Like other resurrected titles, such as George Orwell’s “1984” and Albert Camus’ ...
August 23, 2020
Womanist Theology with Tripp Fuller and Adam Clark
Friends Dr. Adam Clark and Dr. Tripp Fuller joined together to offer an 8-week reading group on Black Theology: I Can’t Breathe: Black Theology: Disrupting and Revitalizing the World. They had a couple guest lecturers: Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry and yours truly. We had an absolutely wonderful time talking about womanist theology and my process theological spin on it. Catch the replay here:
August 17, 2020
Talking Process Theology with Seminary for the Rest of Us
Had so much fun talking with Sabrina Reyes-Peters about process theology. Sabrina Reyes-Peters runs this wonderful podcast talking about all the things we do in graduate theological education. We had a lively conversation and you can catch it on her podcast “Seminary for the Rest of Us” here.
August 14, 2020
Talking Bipolar Faith on New Books Podcast
Had so much fun talking with Elizabeth Cronin about my book BIPOLAR FAITH. Dr. Elizabeth Cronin is a clinical psychologist based in Massachusetts who has a podcast about books on mental health and well-being. We had a lively conversation and you can catch it on her podcast “New Books in Spiritual Practice and Mindfulness” here.
July 22, 2020
BLM + Mental Health + Memoir
July is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month. In 2008, mental health communities began recognizing July as Bebe Moore Campbell Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Campbell was an African American novelist and a fierce advocate for mental health awareness and treatment. She wrote the wonderful children’s book Sometimes Mommy Gets Angry and the novel 72 Hour Hold. Most mental health advocacy organizations are now using the term BIPOC to indicate the distinct ways that black, indigenous and o...
July 2, 2020
Cup of Tea Spiritual Practice
Spiritual Practices don’t have to be as “holy” as we sometimes think. Here I talk about a great spiritual practice for busy people. Grab a cup of tea.
To learn more about the ideas that support my spiritual practices, click here
5 Favorite Religion Books I Teach
Choosing favorite books in one’s field is like asking who your favorite friends are. Good books change my perspective and – at times – transform my soul. Still, I’ve put together a short list of books I like to teach over and over again.
Sisters in the Wilderness by Delores S. Williams
This classic in womanist theology is still my favorite. Williams offers a fresh reading of the Sarah, Abraham and Hagar story and explains why survival matters as much as liberation.
June 13, 2020
Saving Ourselves: Shaping Change Workshop
No one is coming to save us! We have to save ourselves. Tananarive Due and I are talking about strategies for surviving and thriving during this hectic times. Inspired by the work of Afrofuturist Octavia E. Butler, we talk about our seven step process for shaping change.
Join us in the workshop! For more information, click here.
