LOUDSPEAKER:: a look inside gossypiin by Ra Malika Imhotep

Writing

Apr 5

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Let’s talk about gossyp. Ra Malika Imhotep’s poetry collection gossypiin is a powerful testimony to the power of black lives and history of language, its ability to create a space to reimagine our stories. Oral tradition turned into lyric gives a new point of entry to make sense of the events and lives that brought us into this present moment.

The title of the collection is a reference to Gossypium herbaceum which was used to induce abortions in Negro slaves as well as a reference to gossip, the passing of information, subjective or factual, true or not, from one person to another. This conflation of ideas makes perfect sense for this work, a mixture of recounting the experiences of the feminine body and reporting of information. Ra tasks themselves with taking the past and allowing us to not only understand the facts behind it, but feel it, showing how history can be turned into verse, facts into empathy and compassion.

The blend of historical record and emotional language is not easy, but Ra writes boldly into the form, flexing their archival prowess, offering resources and references to feed the curious mind beyond these pages. It is this academic approach to poetry that appeals to both the intellectual and poetic sensibilities of the reader. This is also where Ra finds space for their own narrative, making sense of personal history through the context of a collective one. Ra is sure-footed among the complex terrain of language they’ve laid out. Our ability to witness these stories is voyeuristic at times, being let in on family business. But within this cracking open of history is our potential for healing and wisdom, the true gift of this book.

gossypiin is available for pre-order HERE.

Lil Cotton Flower sings/ them self a song
I play with myself
like a doll. I love being
this thing that come
from out they hands.
I am more imagination
than blood. Prayed into,
prayed over – conjured
on an embattled bridge
between clay and cloth.
I was never baby, only doll.
Pulled out of hands
that don’t fit together
except for in the making
of this offering.
I play with myself
to keep the seams
from breaking.
I prey to all
real things.
Their hands
reach toward Me
but I feel for
some thing
else.

Ra Malika Imhotep (Ra/They) is a Black feminist writer and performance artist from Atlanta, Georgia currently completing a PhD in African Diaspora Studies and New Media Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. As a scholar and cultural worker, Ra is invested in exploring relationships between queer Black femininities, Black vernacular cultures, and the performance of labor. As a steward of Black Studies and Black feminist thought, Ra dreams, organizes, and facilitates spaces of critical reflection and embodied spiritual-political education. Ra is co-author of The Black Feminist Study Theory Atlas and their debut poetry collection gossypiin is being published by Red Hen Press, April 2022. ramalikaimhotep.com

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