Description
“This is for black women who made and broke narrative.”Spill is straight-up transcendent. It’s only 150 pages and yet Alexis Pauline Gumbs interweaves poetry and feminist theory to unpack the multitudinous ways that Black women experience racism, gendered violence, and of course, fugitivity. Gumbs has described herself as a “feminist love evangelist” and I’ve described her as “my favorite writer” and “mind-bogglingly genius.”So here’s the deal with Spill: it’s a collection of narratives that makes for a fast read, but you won’t be able to stop after only reading it once. In fact I insist you reread it, then do it again. Gumbs is subtle, your focus will be rewarded with the key to whole new realms of thought. It’s time to engage with “the literary archive of freedom-seeking Black women.”-Terry
In Spill, self-described queer Black troublemaker and Black feminist love evangelist Alexis Pauline Gumbs presents a commanding collection of scenes depicting fugitive Black women and girls seeking freedom from gendered violence and racism. In this poetic work inspired by Hortense Spillers, Gumbs offers an alternative approach to Black feminist literary criticism, historiography, and the interactive practice of relating to the words of Black feminist thinkers. Gumbs not only speaks to the spiritual, bodily, and otherworldly experience of Black women but also allows readers to imagine new possibilities for poetry as a portal for understanding and deepening feminist theory.
Spill by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
