joys of the personal collection (pt. 1)

Building a foundation for a lifelong practice of black artkeeping. This entry focuses on the personal library.

Jan 24, 2025

After twenty-seven years of engaging with books, my personal library tells all my business if you look closely. There are womanist texts, childhood favorites, self-helps, Christian books sitting next to juju manuals, a Toni Morrison collection with custom covers, and my prized stack of bell hooks titles that I keep stacked with a little vase of fresh flowers on top.

I have no issues saying what I think. Still, my personal collection elicits reactions that rival my best spoken musings. There’s a tiny light that turns on for guests who peruse my library. So you’re a feminist… do you hate men? An ex asked, which prompted a short lesson.

I grew up with access to two kinds of thought about reading. On one side, I was taught to read widely and voraciously, starting with classics like Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston in Fahima Ife’s eighth grade class. With most of my caretakers there were no parental controls on what I could read. At least she’s reading. I remember sometime around ten years old I read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, my uncle’s tattered high school copy. I was still a playground-and-babydoll kid. I remember feeling my understanding of the world come undone and having no idea what to do with this new perspective, beyond feeling deep wonder. This feeling follows me throughout my literary journey. I’ll read a sentence that stirs my heart’s choir, a sound of resonance vibrating under my skin.

a stack purchased from my favorite bookstore, yes please bookshop + carespace in Scottdale, Georgia

I continued to read widely into my teenage years. I especially loved my Bible. When I tried to discuss it, a trusted family member told me that’s nice but be careful, you like to read too deep into things. Similar attitudes at my first office job where I was questioned about any book on my desk with a tone of suspicion (yes, in 2022). These positive and negative experiences rate my books as my most valuable possessions. I have read my way out of every dilemma and into so many personal wins. I read myself free.

Share with me in the comments a book that guides you, and savor these resources for your curatorial pleasure. <3