I’ve previously confessed to Claire Light that I do not write profiles of women artists; I do write about their work and my responses to their written work, performance, exhibition. This seems in line with what Claire has just posted on the Hyphen blog, as a part of her series of API women’s profiles for Women’s History Month, in which she has graciously taken my suggestion and profiled Oakland-based Afro-Pinay blues singer Ms. Sugar Pie DeSanto.
I think DeSanto is less of a “hero” than a “role model”, i.e. less a person who has done something almost superhuman, and more of someone who shares traits with us, and has made a go of an admirable life. She’s a singer — not merely someone who sings, but a singer throughout life, someone who has never abandoned performance despite her lack of the kind of superstardom that most people consider the only measure of success. She’s a great role model for artists of all kinds, who must learn to quickly put away ideas of superheated stardom and acclimate quickly (especially in this economy) to aspire to master your art form, the ability to make a living at what you love, and the love and respect of your peers and fans.
Claire’s requested links to profiles, but again since I don’t profiles, here is a list of links to women and women of color artists and issues such as mentorship:
- Fay Chiang, Zero Capital at Eth-noh-Tec.
- Dereca Blackmon and Susie Lundy at the USF Hip-Hop Conference.
- M. Evelina Galang, One Tribe.
- Marianne Villanueva, Mayor of the Roses.
- Linda Hogan, Dwellings.
- Merlinda Bobis, Banana Heart Summer #1 | #2.
- Suheir Hammad, Breaking Poems.
- Nikki Giovanni, Hip-Hop Speaks to Children.
- Audre Lorde, The Cancer Journals.
- Karen An-Hwei Lee, Ardor.
- Julia de Burgos, “To Julia de Burgos”: #1 | #2.
- Linda Hogan, Book of Medicines.
- Yoko Ono, Grapefruit.
- Rachelle Cruz at Litquake’s Litcrawl.
- Carla Catalina, Choppy Oshiro, Jenifer K. Wofford, Mail Order Brides, Nancy Hom: Art Exhibit at Manilatown.
- Arlene Biala, Continental Drift.
- Harryette Mullen, Recyclopedia (from the old blog).
And then here:
- Pinayism.
- Pinay Narrative.
- Mentorship: #1 | #2.
- Woman Body Mother Question.
- Meat: More Questions on Woman Body, with visual art by local Pinay artist and poet Niki Escobar.
- Women of Color and Nationalism.
- Question: On Colored Girls* Owning Our Vocation.
- On Feminism, Women of Color, Poetics, and Reticence: Some Considerations (from the old blog)
- women and blogging (from the old blog)
So these are just a few links to a few posts to get some Women’s History Month dialogue started. I would love to hear from you.
