When deconstructing a well-structured life narrative such as How to Say Babylon, by Saifya Sinclair, it is important to take all facets of the work into account, not just the ones the author left intentionally for us to see. Sinclair’s memoir is lyrical, evocative, and deeply poetic, immersing the reader into her upbringing in a […]
Archive | How to Say Babylon
Space, Time, and Matter Matters
The understandings of the universe are engrained with evidence of physical characteristics measured through time, space, and matter. Although incorporating Einstein’s theory of relativity is a stretch beyond Safiya Sinclair’s memoir, How to Say Babylon, her journey evokes how space, distance, and identity shape who she is. She navigates both physical and […]
The Tethers Cut From Me
Safiya Sinclair’s How to Say Babylon is a triumph in memoirs exploring themes of identity and how to make something of oneself under a tyrannical father. Sinclair’s ability to tease out the dark, uncomfortable moments of her life and serve her readers something to dissect and pick apart to their heart’s content is admirable. Laying out […]
The Rewards and Repercussions of Writing About Trauma
The dynamic between writing and trauma is complex. We could argue that writing about trauma is therapeutic for victims, but at the same time we could argue that writing can cause more harm than good. The act of reliving traumatic events all over again– as authors carefully craft stories about the darkest moments of their […]
Traumatized Morning
Roland Barthes once wrote, “Subjectivity is a wound”. In other words, to be an “I” is inevitably tied to vulnerability and damage. It seems nonsensical, but our selfhoods depend upon the injuries we sustain: Had we been “uninjured”, we would have no interesting perspective to operate from, no history. In some sense, the “I” (…. the […]
Smiles in the Frame, Pain Beneath: A Reflection on My First Year at Syracuse
There’s something uniquely powerful about photos. At first glance, they seem to capture only moments—smiles, laughter, the spark of excitement as we stand in front of something new. But when I look back at the pictures from my first year at Syracuse University, I’m not just reminded of those smiles; I’m taken back to the […]