#kyla marshell

“Her books—Saga of a Black Man (1968), A Mirror: A Soul (1969), and the seven-volume, self-published masterwork Rainbow Signs (1973) among them—are out of print, available only through rare book sites at extraordinary prices, if at all. Fabio is referenced in a number of seminal anthologies and texts prior to SOS, including But Some of Us Are Brave (1981) and The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature (2001), but her poems are not included in these texts. By many accounts, her work as a scholar, champion of black poetry, performance poet, and recording artist is an important link between the black art trends of the 1970s and today, yet history has obscured the woman who deserves the credit for these innovations.” 

"What forms can compel us to slow down, to be careful, to take stock, to both trust our gut instincts and also not be beholden to them? How do we train each other to be better readers, to be interested in the mess?"

By Kyla Marshell

like everyone, I love children,

their fat leg rolls, their mussed hair,

their little sneakers lighting up the summer.

once, I was small like that, a curious wandering eye,

a bell or pinwheel turning my head,

the gap between my mother’s teeth

beckoning me back.

somewhere swimming inside me is a question

I don’t want to answer. it’s not my name I hear,

but something else, drowning in its own fluid.

a girl on the ferry smiles at me. I smile back—

Devonté Hynes, Kinfolk issue 42, Words by Kyla Marshell. Photography by Katie Mccurdy. Full Article:

Listen to Kyla Marshell’s Playlist 

1. Emily King - Distance 

2. Otis Brown III - You're Still the One 

3. Hiatus Kaiyote - Borderline with My Atoms

4. Stevie Wonder - All I Do

5. Van Hunt - Priest or Police

6. Thelonious Monk - Monk’s Mood

7. Parliament - Funkentelechy

8. Phony Ppl - Why iii Love The Moon

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Sometimes, dear Capricorn, you can get pinned as the Eeyore of the zodiac: glum, humdrum, serious, and cynical. You’ve probably been told your whole life: Lighten up! But not everyone can see the lightness you do have: the whimsy, the humor, the hope. The thing about you, oh precious Seagoat, is that you have the patience to keep polishing, buffing, and buffering, loading up on the goods that make you great. All those kids who once teased you for being over-serious will now stand back in awe of what you’ve become.