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Boston, MA — We at The Boston Ujima Project are excited to share the words we’re working with, working towards, or working against.
Alongside our community-centered economic and cultural work, Ujima has for a long time been concerned with narrative: how do we frame what we do? And, perhaps more importantly, what narratives are arising from our membership and broader networks that describe what we see, experience, and make? What are our stories?
Narrative work allows us to explore not just our stories, but forms and modes of telling them. While we frequently publish essays and interviews, the opportunity to publish more creative works, and to call on oral traditions and imagination, presented itself this spring. Amidst a flurry of poems submitted to one of our digital publications, the Ujima WIRE, a patchwork of words emerged describing how we reckon with frustration, enemies, and regret. We aren’t yet where we want to be–this zine largely represents a capsule of tribulations. Yet a glimmer of hope emerges in the end, one path among the many we might take together to get free.
Special thanks to contributors Afra Ahmad, Yasmine Ameli, Shannon Cumberbatch, Gabriel Johnson, Jard Lerebours, Sophia Pinto Thomas, and Nnenna Loveth; and to our Ujima membership, whose support made this book possible.
All rights to the poetry in this book are retained by the original authors. © 2024 Ujima Press All rights reserved.
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