delusional with a purpose
Introducing In The Style of Liberation and the Luminary Editorial Incubator for Black Feminist Writers
Mariah M. here, coming to you on the birthdays of two of the baddest women literaries to walk this earth, Audre Lorde and Toni Morrison. The lessons learned throughout their lives are plentiful, and their legacies goes beyond writing or publishing — they lived lives with community at their center. It is a praxis I deeply admire and strive to embody in my daily walk, and intend to do the same as SISTORIES’ Guest Curator of Cultural Programs for the year.
A bit about me not found in the bio:
I’m an astro girlie (colloquially, babes. the pronouns are they/them), meaning I use the cosmos to help me understand the ways of the world, internal and external. Being both an Aquarius and Capricorn stellium, I have a propensity to be delusional. On a microlevel, this can manifest like believing I can accomplish more than actually possible within 24 hours or spending my last $10 on boba because the money will return to me, and I deserve. On a macrolevel, I truly believe the collective can accomplish anything we can imagine. As it is a regular practice to undo the unhealthy and violent habits living under capitalism has conditioned into me and my people, I find my self studying dreams, delusions, and realities of those that strived to live the lives we all deserve. I look to the Black waymakers, womanists, cultureworkers and worldbuilders that existed as artists in tandem and embedded in their communities, just as I gaze into the night sky. If all the world’s a stage, I’m doing my damnest to carve out a catwalk for me and mines, and walk in the footsteps of the models that came before us.
In The Style of Liberation, 2025 SISTORIES’ Program Szn
So, if I may introduce In the Style of Liberation.
In The Style of Liberation (ITSOL) is a celebration of Black creative thought with intentions to honor and uplift the legacy & teachings of our Black feminist foreparents in the creative writing pantheon. When I think about liberation, I think of who are the people whose art/work I’ve absorbed that have made freedom tangible and practical to me. I think of creatives of the Black Artist Movement and Harlem Renaissance here on Turtle Island, where they introduced Black possibility to the literary, academic and stageplay mainstream arenas. Freedom could be found in writing the expansive and boundless dimensions that Black folk inherently have and exist in. How dare we believe we exist and can iterate beyond the bounds of the white imagination and westernization?
Offerings within In the Style of Liberation are held with the intention foster the study, ritual, iteration and excavation of Black feminist thought. Programs will run from April to November 2025 and will include virtual & in-person/hybrid events featuring contemporary thinkers and voices in Black queer feminism, womanism and beyond. To stay informed about what programs drop when, be sure to subscribe to this Substack, SIS EXPRESS, and to follow SISTORIES via Instagram & Facebook!
Call for Applications for the Luminary Editorial Incubator is now LIVE!
The learning process is something you can incite, literally incite, like a riot.
― Audre Lorde
Forgive me if this is too brash but have y’all seen outside? With the federal institutions deep in their fascism bag, actively sabotaging national infrastructure and revising history, it could not be a more pertinent time to invest in the study of text and sharing the ins and outs of the publishing process with the collective. Nestled within ITSOL program series is the Luminary Editorial Incubator for Black Feminist Writers (LEI).
The Luminary Editorial Incubator is a 16-week paid fellowship that will host up to six (6) young Black queer creatives, ranging from ages 22-28, who will focus on the life and work of contemporary Black feminist writers, and model the art/work made during the duration of the fellowship after, or in the style of, their works. Alongside the Black feminist learnings of the luminaries to be studied, LEI will be coupled with editorial mentorship from the brilliant SISTORIES staff editors. The LEI fellows will also be the co-editors, designers, and contributors to a special forthcoming edition of SISTORIES to be released at the conclusion of the program. We are excited to be able to offer $1500 of unrestricted funds to actualize as they require & desire. It has always been us, we Black marginalized folk, speaking truth to power and telling our own stories. This incubator is for creatives that desire to do some excavating of their own on the ways and whys of Black feminist artists before them, and believe they have a story to birthed or be revealed within the writing to be studied.
Tips for those applying: The application is a bit lengthy. Take the time and space you need to share with us your ideas. It’s okay if the application is an idea dump. Threads of ideas are fine. The tapestry’s to be made within the incubator. Dreams, delusions and yet-to-be researched theories are welcome and encouraged.
Further details about the program, what to expect can be found at the link above. We’ll also be holding an IG live info session on Wednesday, February 26th at 7pm EST.
Considering the times, finding freedom in our day-to-day walks is essential for not only our resilience but our ability to show up for our selves and our communities. I’d like to leave you with a quote from Queen Mutha in my lineages of knowledge, Toni Morrison, who said, the function of freedom is to free someone else. I invite you to lean into delusion. Believe in others ways outside of what we were told are possible, and I welcome you to join SISTORIES in accessing freedom via In the Style of Liberation and the Luminary Editorial Incubator.
THIS INCUBATOR SOUNDS INCREDIBLE! A friend sent it to me and I will be praying to the ancestors that if there’s a next round, it’ll be open to residents outside of NC! I cannot wait to see what comes of it 💗
I'm too old for the LEI 😭 but it sounds like a wonderful opportunity