“Words in Action” celebrates artistic activism

Triple-threat author-artist-activists who actually pay the bills with creative endeavors? Yes, they most certainly exist. And they are ready to share their trade secrets (and passion for social justice) with the New College community.

During the three-day festival “Words in Action: Storytelling, Social Justice & The Tarot,” (held virtually from March 17 to 19), a five-part series of panels, workshops, salons and campus conversations will empower attendees to think practically about pursuing arts-based careers. There will be discussions about identity, inclusivity, self-expression and the fascinating world of Tarot cards.

The inaugural event is the brainchild of Emily Carr, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of creative writing at New College. Funding is provided by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Gender Studies Program at New College is also one of the financial sponsors (helping provide funds for the artist honoraria).

“The idea is that we’ll have this annual festival at New College that we look forward to every spring, and the emphasis will be on practitioners who have a social justice component to their work,” Carr said. “The featured speakers are people who have also curated professional artistic lives outside of the academy, and they’ll talk about how they’ve figured out how to make their living by being creative.”

This year’s festival artists are Michelle Tea, a postpunk performance poet who explores class, queer identity and feminism in her writing; and Cristy C.Road, a Cuban-American artist who expresses herself through illustration, storytelling and punk rock. Both speakers will incorporate the Tarot (something Carr uses regularly in her work and teaching) into their events—using it as a creative tool to further communication and inspiration.

“These artists are activists and artmakers I’ve been inspired by, and also people I think will be interesting to New College students,” Carr said. “For example, Cristy is a native Floridian and Ringling graduate who really struggled, as a young Brown woman in Miami and Sarasota, to find her place as an artist. She’s a great example of following your passion and making savvy choices that have allowed her to survive outside mainstream artistic traditions.”

So is Tea, and she has spent decades illuminating cultural issues through her work.

“Michelle is very famous in literary circles for being part of the queer scene in the bay area in the ’80s and ’90s, carving out a space where young writers could talk about their experiences,” Carr said. “She talks about being a young queer artist, and I often use her work as an example in my classes. Students get very excited to see this perspective.”

Carr is excited to widely share this perspective and others. Overall, she envisions “Words in Action” as a way to help students rethink the role of the arts in society by introducing them to professionals in writing-adjacent fields (musicians, publishers, librarians, booksellers, arts administrators, etc.) who work at the intersection of art-making and activism.

The event also loops in the community. For example, there will be a collaborative “I Scream Social” in which New College and local Booker Middle School students share their writing with each other. This will build on the Independent Study Project, “Extraordinary Correspondences: A Multimedia Letter-Writing Workshop,” that Carr held at New College in January (it encouraged students from both schools to participate in “pen pal” exercises together). In fact, the literary exchange process between New College and Booker is ongoing, and it exemplifies the community-based approach Carr is hoping to foster with “Words in Action.”

Most of the festival’s events are open to the public, and Carr looks forward to welcoming attendees outside of New College for what will ultimately be an inclusive yearly gathering.

As Carr put it, “Our ambition is to radically revision creative writing beyond its disciplinary bounds and situate it within a larger social context of work, writing and literacy in action.”

The events include:

“Storytelling, Social Justice & The Tarot” panel with Tea and C.Road
5 to 6 p.m. Wed. March 7 (RSVP here)
This will be a conversation about using the Tarot as a tool for antiracist, anti-patriarchal, anti-sexist, and anti-colonial conversations and growth. Tea and C.Road will talk about how they have fronted systemic oppression and crafted visions of a more equitable future via their artistic endeavors (both on and off the page). They will also share some pro tips and tricks for curating professional lives outside the apparatus of the academy and the mainstream publishing industry.

“Queer Memoir Writing Workshop” with Tea
6 to 7 p.m. Wed. March 17 (RSVP here)
Drawing inspiration from existing queer memoirs and memoirists, attendees will work together to generate story leads and new material. The workshop will offer craft tips and troubleshoot issues unique to the queer memoir. Tea will answer questions and share her experience in queer memoir—from beginning a project to promoting a published work. Limited to 25 participants.

“Queering the Tarot” with C.Road
6 to 7 p.m. Wed. March 17 (RSVP here)
C.Road is the author and illustrator of the Next World Tarot—a deck designed to demystify traditional norms associated with the Tarot, both visually and historically. Often seen through images of European nobility, class structure, patriarchy and white supremacy, the Tarot remains a tool that existed long before colonization. Workshop attendees will dive into a nontraditional history of the Tarot and deconstruct the red tape that lines the Tarot as a practice. As the goal of the Next World Tarot was to be a battle cry of the unheard, this workshop will shine light on the unheard powers of the Tarot. Limited to 25 participants.

Campus Conversations: “You are Not Alone: An I Scream Social”
6 to 7:30 p.m. Thurs. March 18 (RSVP here)
This inaugural event is designed to empower student writers, encourage literary culture and channel real-world experiences into meaningful literary performances. It will feature a collaboration with Booker Middle School teacher and Dragonfly Poetry Café founder Joanna Fox. New College and Booker students have embarked on an extraordinary correspondence in which they create characters, are assigned each other’s characters as pen pals, and exchange letters from their characters’ points of view. Learn more about how students are using their creativity as a catalyst for connection in disconnecting times. The event will feature a conversation with Carr and Fox, as well as short readings by New College students and a discussion about the new Creative Writing area of concentration at New College.

“Feminist Misfits: A Celebratory Salon with Dr. Emily Carr”
Noon to 1 p.m. Fri. March 19 (RSVP here)
Join Carr in celebrating the feminist misfit—an artist/thinker/maker who has been forgotten, misremembered and/or silenced by history, and who exemplifies the true independence of mind. This event is a salon in the spirit of Gertrude Stein’s Saturday Evening Salons. Attendees will amuse each other, exchange ideas and increase knowledge through conversation. Everyone is encouraged to bring their favorite excerpts by misfits and come prepared to share.

For more information, visit ncf.edu/about/events-and-conferences/words-in-action.

Abby Weingarten is the senior editor in the Office of Communications & Marketing.