Ytasha L. Womack's Blog, page 5

MoonDance Video Posted

Moondance

The historic MoonDance event featured the best in Afrofuturist beat composition with dance, a lively panel discussion and more! Performances included Hank Schocklee, HPrizm, spoken word artist, Ursula Rucker,and Ras G to name a few. Ytasha Womack author of Afrofuturism moderated an afrofuturism discussion along with Dr. Alondra Nelson, Columbia  University professor, Ursula Rucker, King Britt, and Hank Shocklee.

Here’s a link to some video from the event: http://moondancevent.tumblr.com/

Rayla 2212 now available on Amazon!

RAYLA 2212 by Ytasha L. Womack launches at Chicago Comic Con, April 25. Art by Keron Grant

Rayla 2212 follows Rayla Illmatic’s journey through inner/outerspace. Ride the cosmic wave in this Afrofuturist treat written by Ytasha L. Womack. Paperback edition now available.

http://www.amazon.com/Rayla-2212-Ytasha-L-Womack/dp/1499340699

Afrofuturism Nominated for a 2014 Locus Award

Great news sci fi lovers and book readers-Afrofuturism: The World of Black SciFi and Fantasy Culture  is listed as one of the 2014 Locus Award Finalists.  Ytasha L. Womack’s book is listed among the other finalists in the nonfiction category. The winners will be announced during the Locus Awards Weekend in Seattle WA, June 27-29, 2014. Check out the 2014 Locus Awards Finalists here:  http://www.locusmag.com/News/2014/05/2014-locus-awards-finalists/

Afrofuturism nominated for a 2014 Locus Award

Great news sci fi lovers and book readers-Afrofuturism: The World of Black SciFi and Fantasy Culture  is listed as one of the 2014 Locus Award Finalists.  Ytasha L. Womack’s book is listed among the other finalists in the nonfiction category. The winners will be announced during the Locus Awards Weekend in Seattle WA, June 27-29, 2014. Check out the 2014 Locus Awards Finalists here:  http://www.locusmag.com/News/2014/05/...

Spawn On Me Interviews Afrofuturism author

Did you miss the Spawn On Me interview with  Ytasha Womack, author of Afrofutuirsm: The World of Black Sci Fi and Fantasy Culture and Rayla 2212?  Recently, Spawn On Me did a segment dedicated to the C2E2 event in Chicago and highlighted  some of the authors and artist on their radar. Other interviews also included Keron Grant, comic book artist; Khary Randolph, comic book artist; and Emilio Lopez, professional artist.

Listen to the show here: http://thespawnpointblog.com/spawn-ep...

Afrofuturism author at C2E2

The Chicago Comic Con was phenomenal. The event took place at McCormick Place in Chicago 2301 S. Lake Shore Dr. All of the debut copies of Rayla 2212 sold out on the first day! Ytasha Womack author of Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi and Fantasy Culture participated in a hip hop and comic panel along Khary Randolph, comic book artist; Tyrue ‘SLANG’ Jones “Father Of Chicago Graffiti”; Thunderbolt Jones, comic aficionado; and Rhymefest, Grammy Award-winning MC and community activist.

Here’s a link: http://www.depthoffieldmagazine.com/2014/04/30/hip-hop-comics-cultures-combining-at-c2e2-2014-photos-and-audio/

Afrofuturism Author at C2E2

The Chicago Comic Con was phenomenal. The event took place at McCormick Place in Chicago 2301 S. Lake Shore Dr. All of the debut copies of Rayla 2212 sold out on the first day! Ytasha L. Womack author of Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi and Fantasy Culture participated in a hip hop and comic panel along with Khary Randolph,  Thunderbolt Jones, RHYMEFEST, and Tyrue Jones.

Stylus: Sun Ra Cosmic Vibrations

Stylus is an  experimental documentary series about sound, music and listening.  Recently, they did a profile on Afrofuturist and jazz musician Herman Poole Blunt who was better know as Sun Ra. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the late musician who was considered one of the most influential and innovative musicians and artists of the 20th century due to his contributions to jazz and his pioneering use of electronic  instruments. This tribute includes interviews with: Ytasha Womack, filmmaker and author of Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi and Fantasy Culture and Rayla 2212; Hank Shocklee, music producer and co-founder of the hip-hop group Public Enemy; Craig Harris, trombonist and composer who performed with Sun Ra from 1976 to 1979; and John Szwed, professor of music at Columbia University and author of Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra.

 

You can listen to the profile here:

RAYLA 2212

RAYLA 2212 by Ytasha L. Womack debuts at Chicago Comic Con, April 25. Rayla Illmati’s saga continues. Cover art by Keron Grant

The Uhura Project Panel at Columbia Geek Gala Tackles Gender & Race in SF

The Uhura Project panel (l-r) Adrian Nelson, Ytasha L. Womack, Greg Baldino

I had a blast chatting about race and gender in science fiction (SF) at Columbia College Chicago’s first Columbia Geek Gala. The panel took place on Saturday, April 19 and the conversation was pretty riveting. Greg Baldino, created the Uhura Project panel and asked myself and Adrian Nelson and SF expert to join him for a quaint discussion on the matter. Greg had stumbled across Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi & Fantasy and loved it. He shared the book with Adrian and when they realized I was in Chicago, they asked if I would join the panel, too.

The panel was an ode to Captain Uhura of Star Trek fame, played by Nichelle Nichols and the impact she had as a symbol of womanhood and ethnic diversity in the future. But our conversation went beyond Nichol’s iconic status and explored the larger ramifications of race and diversity in the SF genre. Greg noted that robots in science fiction are typically depicted as slaves or a permanent work force for the ruling humans in most sci fi. I noted that aliens typify “otherness.” Whether we’re talking about undocumented workers today who are frequently called illegal aliens or looking at the parallels between people of African descent in North and South America as being akin to the alien metaphor (Transatlantic Slave Trade as Alien Abduction, etc); SF mirrors our society’s preoccupation with negotiating power among those who are stereotyped as “other.” However, Adriane added that the perspectives in SF were typically derived from a white, westernized, cis male viewpoint. She also added that many SF creators just default into their own world hangups and perspectives rather than create new worlds with completely different sociatal views.

However, the most compelling information that we shared was centered around the idea that race is a technology, a creation that falsely divides people around color and imposes power dynamics. Race as a technology is a tenant of Afrofuturism. But our discussion of race as a technology on the panel lead to another poignant question. Is gender a technology as well? I did a talk for the University of New Mexico a few months ago where this issue came up, too and at the time, outside of gender roles,  I had not thought about gender as a societal creation. However, on the panel this weekend, Greg, Adrian and I had an opportunity to explore the idea. I noted that while there are physical differences between men and women, the concept of what we describe as masculine  and feminine in the metaphysical sense can express differently in each person. The charge, I said was to be authentic to whatever that balance of masculine and feminine was within the individual themselves. Adrian added that many things we now consider to be feminine were once masculine. Lace, stockings, wigs, heels are signs of the aristocrats of Renaissance era Europe. Ancient Egyptian female rulers often wore beards.

In essence, the three of us acknowledged that once you start reevaluating race and gender as cornerstones of our societal structure, the process eradicates the so called norms we associate with our culture and compels us to look at more holistic ways of living in shared communities. – Ytasha L. Womack