Mannequin Monday – Africa Rasta Hair Salon
Another mannequin waiting for someone to dress it. Words, sketches, clay, film, whatever media you choose.
This week features a short story by writer, dramaturge and activist Bibish Marie-Louise Mumbu. And a brief interview with photographer Mark Seliger, done for The Creative Process.
Lastly, a piece of my current writing.
This Week’s Reading and Discussion
On this Monday I’d like to share a story, Me and My Hair, by Bibish Marie-Louise Mumbu. The author, originally from Democratic Republic of Congo, now lives in Montreal. The narrator begins by walking the reader through her five hours in the Africa Rasta hair salon. Her thoughts run to the man who dumped her after three years together. She talks of “her anger in being scorned and her pride in her identity.” She muses on changing her hair style, shedding her dreadlocks for a lighter style. “I’m coming out of my dreds,” she says.
One of the truths expressed by the narrator: “Now I’ve been dumped, I’ve gotten used to the word, you know, it’s like I told you sometimes; we think we’re safe from some things, we trust time, words spoken, tender little words in writing, until the very same mouth that says I love you says something else, and you hurt so much that you want to hurt somebody else, but if it’s not your style, then what do you do?”
She finds her revenge. A new hair style. A hot outfit. A party. A new man.
Thanks to the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa for sharing the story with us.
This Week’s Podcast/Interview
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