non sequiturs & miscellany

But what if it’s not? Well, that’s the question that I raised upon finishing Thylias Moss’ narrative in verse: Slave Moth. It’s a quick read with issues. It’s the narrative of a young adult named after a horse, Varl. Her other name, given by her mother, is Free, but clearly that doesn’t fly on the plantation. She dreams of herself as a moth; a moth that spends its life searching for love (remember, a moth’s life is approximately short).

The usual paradox for a slave of the times emerges: she loves another slave, her master loves her, and she knows how to read and write. Oh wait, literacy wasn’t the usual. Oh, and instead of writing on paper products, she would stitch her stories into her dresses as a protective cocoon. She’s rather privileged on the small plantation; her mother is with her and protects her, she’s a house negro and the master likes her (a lot: he names he town after her. I’m sure Varlton is a delightful place to Summer). What’s at play in this book is the struggle for freedom under a “benevolent” master. There’s no such thing as a benevolent master; a slave master can’t be good within a slave society! Can Varl be (F)ree to love?! Can Varl be (F)ree to write her story?! Why, oh, Why does her master like the chase?!

It brings to mind other women of color of our times who can’t be free to write their stories, although they’re already in positions of relative creative power; namely, Alicia Keys. I’ve long been an advocate of the freeing of her sexuality. Even The Game agrees with me, and I quote: “I fuck black bitches, fuck white bitches, nigga I like bitches/them half and half Alicia Keys dyke bitches” (The Game, No More Fun and Games, The Documentary, 2005). What I’m trying to say is, just as Varl was confused about her master and what it meant to be loved as opposed to what it meant to be a commodity, Alicia Keys is confused about her master (society) and what it means to be loved (by women) as opposed to what it means to be a commodity (society). Clearly her mother plays a role in her dykedom. Read the formula for becoming gay, because Alicia’s got it all: tumultuous childhood as a result of lower economic status, over-involved mother, BIRACIAL. Obviously if you have one “bi-” you’re automatically given room to get others. Imagine the headlines: Alicia Keys: Songs in Gay Minor, Ladies, Alicia Keys Wants to Rock With You.

Slave books aren’t as exclamatory as Reconstruction books, that’s why I don’t specialize in them. But Varl’s whimsical pseudo-reality drew me in, bugger! Reading Slave Moth demonstrated to me that we, too, can find parallels in our lives to the rough and tumble lives of Southern slaves. Common themes of struggle, oppression, labor, sunburn, freak side-sh). What can we learn? Freedom is just an expression, it’s the doing that makes the self free; that’s why Varl needed to sew words into her dressed, that’s why Natalie Portman needed to be falsely imprisoned in V for Vendetta, that’s why the “Radical” communities we see in our day-to-day rides their bikes, and that’s why Alicia needs to come out. Freedom, freedom, freedom!

-Kemi A