Expanding My Horizons

Many years ago I spent an extended period of time only reading works and listening to music by women. The male voice is overwhelmingly dominant in our society. Surrounding myself exclusively with women’s voices and perspectives was soothing, inspiring, and very clarifying. I have decided that I needed to reset my perspective and do the same with race. The white experience is overwhelmingly dominant in our society. It doesn’t help that I am and my world is overwhelmingly white. It’s time to expand my perspective and immerse myself in the voices of people of color.

Last week, upon completing my choir concerts (featuring the works of Dvorak and Fauré, white dudes both), I started my immersion.

Books

I am almost done with Kali: The Feminine Force by Ajit Mookerjee. I’ve skimmed this book in libraries over years. I finally purchased it, as it is one of those books that is in every bibliography of every book about Kali – and for good reason.

My plan for books is to read all the books on my shelves by people of color – an embarrassingly small amount, I confess. Once I’ve exhausted the books I have on my shelves and in my nook reader, I’ll branch out at the library.

Blogs

Turns out that my blog roll is also pretty white. Currently I have Crystal Blanton, Daughters of Eve, Heathen Chinese, Bitches Gotta Eat, Black Girl Dangerous, and Afroculinaria on my feed. If you know of any other great blogs by people of color, please let me know!

Music

I don’t listen to a lot of music. Odd, since I’m a trained singer. As I’ve gotten older I feel more overwhelmed with all the noises around me – as well as the noise in my head. Now that I have children, adding music to the cacophony seems like a silly idea. That said, I’ve been trying to make more space for music, especially now that it is spring and the kids are playing outside more. Here are a few artists that I’ve known about for a while, but haven’t listened to until now.

There is, of course, plenty of Kanye* in our house. This particular song and video seem especially á propos.

As you can see this immersion isn’t limited to only Pagan, Polytheist, or spiritual voices. I’m open to all, though I definitely have a preference for the views of those engaged in similar pursuits. I’ll be posting about this immersion from to time, letting you know what I’m finding and how it’s affecting me.

Here’s to being the change I hope to see in the world!

*Please no hating on Kanye. I know he’s insufferably arrogant, but he’s a genius and I love his work.