a note from freddie, on radio silence & what’s to come

Dear friends & followers of this project,

I fell off the map without explanation since publishing the previous interview in August 2018 and for that I’m sorry! There’s not a ton of explanation to share other than the dust from my Saturn return settling and life staying busy.

I’ve had one more interview slated for publication for months, with several lovely folks from the TransGenerational Theatre Project in New York. I am sorry it’s been so long but their work and their words are as relevant as ever in 2019. This interview will be published next Thursday, March 6th.

As for what comes next, I have to be realistic with myself that my current paid and unpaid work have shifted my energy and capacity away from this project. I am not making plans for future World We Want interviews for the time being. That said, for me, facilitating this project continues to be a gift — I frequently think of interviewees’ wisdom and perspective in my day-to-day life and ongoing spiritual and emotional processes. And while I received positive feedback about each and every interview, I believe there are many more people who would benefit from reading the interviews who haven’t yet done so. Personally, I’m much more likely to enjoy reading something I can hold in my hands versus having to scroll on a screen. So, I intend to memorialize this project in zine form! 

I was initially interested in trying to get this project some outside funding for a slightly fancier publication, but I recently published my first ever zine and appreciate the autonomy and room for creativity that the process lends itself to. (If you’re interested in checking out my zine, it’s called grief: holding on & letting go, and you can order a copy here.)

I intend to get started with the editing and formatting process soon, with the goal of getting something printed and ready for distribution by the end of May. (Which sounds far away as the rains pour down on me here in occupied Coastal Miwok territory, but I suspect will be upon us sooner than I realize…) I suspect I will print in black and white to keep costs down. If you or anyone you know has a printing hook up you’re willing to share, please shoot me an email at cheersfreddie at gmail.

Thanks again for the support in this project, for your patience with my lack of consistency, and for being a part of building the world you want to live in.

xo freddie

image: me at the ocean on the sonoma coast with my N-95 mask around the back of my head, in november 2018 during the most recent disastrous northern california wildfires. photo by my friend carbo. 

Apologies for the radio silence. More to come!

Hello dear friends and others in community,

I just wanted to write a brief note to say that while I am no longer publishing interviews with any regularity, I am still committed to and excited about this project. This week I will be talking with several people who are some conglomeration of parents, herbalists, musicians, poets, and activists — all such crucial roles to play in building the world we want to live in.

I also just wanted to share some people and works and things that have been supporting me recently in taking heart, making connections, and accepting power amidst the rise of fascism and other systems of violence:

• Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown. Several interviewees in this project name this book as a source of energy, ideas, and hope. I experience it similarly and am so grateful for it as a political and personal resource.
• Salt by Nayyirah Waheed. Beautiful, poignant, mostly short poems. If you’re not ready to buy the book she is a great follow on instagram @nayyirahwaheed.
• How to Survive the End of the World, a podcast by sisters (!) adrienne maree brown and Autumn Brown. ‘Completion Matters’ was my favorite episode.
• Rose quartz. This magical stone returned to my consciousness after reading my friend Kemi’s (an upcoming interviewee) poignant instagram post about the TSA digging theirs out of their bag.
• Introducing tarot to my self-care routine and spiritual life. I’ve been using the Wild Unknown deck — I don’t love the accompanying book and prefer my own and loved ones’ interpretations, but the cards are totally beautiful and striking.
• Several of my friends’ music, poetry, and work, including but not limited to the poetry and music of Jessica White, the music of Erica Russo, and other witchy magical friends who tend to prefer their privacy…

Thank you so much for reading and supporting this project. Stay tuned.

xo freddie

reflections from the first round of interviews

grove of the old trees, sonoma county, california

Dear friends,

In lieu of a new interview, today I will share some reflections and appreciations from this project so far.

It’s such a privilege to have conversations about labor, creativity, oppression, and revolution with inspiring people from various communities. Each interview has been special in its own way and helped to highlight different aspects of what makes creative and generative work important. Each interview helps me believe and feel the power and necessity of this work to build the world we want to live in — in spite of all the internalized messages that tells me that the feminized, invisibilized, and creative labor that I and so many people from my communities engage in are frivolous contributions without any real impact.

On a small scale, my hope for the impact of this project is that it lifts peoples’ spirits, that reading these interviews is much-needed antidote to all the terrible news about the rise of repression that many of us are directly impacted by, and many others of us consume obsessively to the point of feeling helpless. On a loftier, more visionary scale, my hope for the impact of this project is that it empowers people to entertain the possibilities for resistance and regeneration in their own lives, even if their work and time does not feel overtly political or connected to liberation. As someone who struggles to dream big for fear of disappointing myself and others, I challenge all of us to bring to life the realm of possibilities that only require us to see them and to act on them.

In case you are reading this and have not yet caught up on all the interviews that have already been posted, I wanted to share some connections that linger with me:

• Iman mentioning how meaningful it is to come home from a protest to find a friend has been cooking a nourishing meal to share, and Keely talking about being the one to grow and cook food to nourish her friends throwing down at demos.
• Jonah and Iman each referring to medicinal plant communities as allies and models of resilience in the face of capitalism
• Keely and Lindsey talking about the double edged sword of social media — how the “endless scrolling” can be exhausting and destructive, but connecting to others with similar work and values feels nourishing and important
• Adrienne and Jonah talking about the importance of being creative and visionary when thinking about the world we want to live in, in spite of the constraints capitalism puts on our imaginations
• Nearly all the interviewees describing a desire for a deeper sense of collective connection to land and earth’s natural resources
• Several to-be-published interviews all naming adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Stategy as a force that shapes and directs their work

On a personal level it’s also been energizing and nourishing to more intentionally connect with the people and resources in my life I have access to, and integrating these interviews so holistically into my life — last night to mark the first night of Hanukah, I burned Narrow Bridge Candles, and felt more connected to the ritual in knowing they were crafted by Jonah with such care and intention. Last week I attended the showcase of The Red Shades, Adrienne’s trans superhero rock opera in progress — I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so politically energized by theater, and I’m so confident this work could inspire well beyond our community of Bay Area queer and transfolk. It’s so healing and moving to remember the incredible people I am in community with, even when I feel isolated and hopeless.

Please reach out if you feel open to sharing any reflections or feedback about what you’ve read so far, and please also reach out if you or someone you know might be a good interviewee in the project. I have been humbled and grateful for the folks who’ve taken the time to do this so far.

I hope to be back on track with publishing new interviews starting next week — upcoming interviews include Devi & Lexi of QTPOC arts organization Peacock Rebellion, bodyworker Dusty, and more TBA.

With love, humility, and hope,

xo freddie