Photo: © Regine Romain
When the World Wounds
In this eagerly-awaited collection, Kiini Ibura Salaam continues her exploration of the dark, the sensual, and the mysterious with fiction that disturbs, delights, and dazzles. The five stories and one novella collected in When the World Wounds examine the tumultuous nature of the human condition through such wild imaginings as sensual encounters with deer, escapism… »
On the Push to Produce Work
Notes From the Trenches
Salaam’s “Notes from the Trenches” series explores the nitty, gritty of what it takes to sustain a writing career, taking an inside look at everything from the psychology of being a writer to the logistics of sustaining a writing practice to the business of writing. In this volume–On the Push to Produce Work–Salaam dissects the barriers… »
The Single Woman’s Manifesto
An affirmative look at approaching singlehood from a spiritual perspective, this small-format affirmation/meditation book offers a series of fun and fun principles designed to celebrate you and your life, no matter what relationships state you happen to be in.
About
Kiini
Ibura
Salaam
Kiini
Ibura
Salaam
Blog
Vol. 112, The Discipline of Surrender
Posted on 14 April 2020
In this season, we are—worldwide—being called to surrender. We have been forced to surrender the freedom to gather, the freedom to move around, and for some of us, the freedom to work. As the death toll continues to rise, and the stories of those who have lost their lives to this virus have been circulating,… »
Vol. 111, Like Water
Posted on 19 September 2019
I went to the Met for the unveiling of Wangechi Mutu’s sculptures, which are now sitting proudly installed in four alcoves across the Met’s façade. These sculptures were created as the inaugural Facade Commission. These newly established project will commission an artist to develop sculptures to be displayed outside of the museum for a year…. »
Vol. 110, Is This It?
Posted on 27 June 2019
Life is full of contradictions. Or, the way we view life is full of contradictions. We spend a lot of time labeling and deciding who we are and what we are going to achieve. However, the irony is that we rarely know exactly what those labels mean and what those achievements will require. When you… »
Kiini
Ibura
Salaam
Writings
Hemmie’s Calenture
“Come here.” Those two rustling words reverberated through Hemmie’s her dream, halting the cane leaves whipping in the wind over her and Nenah’s heads. She opened her eyes, shot up to sitting, and looked around the room. It was dark and empty. She fell back onto the mattress, threw a pillow over her face, and… »
Because of the Boneman
The rocks loved the touch of air on their sharp points. With the season of wet winds past and the mugginess swept away, the air was full of a delicious coolness that the rocks loved to bathe in. But a man—long and gangly—had draped himself over them, pressing his limbs into their gaps. They hated… »
Volcano Woman
He creeps up on me, quiet-like. A funky whisky scent invades me. “Hey, cutie.” He stands close. His scabs and scars make my skin crawl. When I take a step back, he scowls. “Why you actin scared, I jus wan talk to you. Maybe take you to a hotel.” One jittery look around shows me… »
Race: A discussion in 10 parts plus a few moments of unsubstantiated theory and one inarguable fact…
1. Race is bullshit. A meaningless line drawn in sand by men bent on world domination and oppression. It was introduced as a fixed notion, an unchangeable, undeniable fact of world order. Yet from the moment of race’s conception, the amazing diversity of body types, cultures, and traditions on the African continent alone complicated race’s… »
When Conception Equals Confusion: The Battle Between Mothers and Would-Be Fathers
It happens in silence. A man—young, tall, hooded—sits in a waiting room. All the chairs are taken except the one diagonally across from him. A woman comes in carrying a child. She sits in the only seat available and busies herself removing the child’s coat and hat. The man’s eyes cut to the corner checking… »
“There’s No Racism Here?” A Black Woman in the Dominican Republic
When I first returned home from studying abroad, everyone wanted to know, “How was the Dominican Republic?” I was reluctant to respond. Masking the truth behind “fine’s” and “good’s,” I skirted my real feelings. “Did you like it?” is such a loaded question that it can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” For… »
Kiini
Ibura
Salaam
Media
Speculative Fiction and the Current Moment
Posted on 13 June 2020
Ian Fraser and Hailey Kaas interviews Kiini Ibura Salaam at the Relampeio Festival. Introduction in Portuguese, interview in English
Word of the Week, Episode 8: Float
Posted on 16 April 2017
New podcast!!!
The word of the week is FLOAT. Listen to the podcast to find out what floating has to do with writing.
I mentioned “Achieving With Ease” in the podcast. Here’s the blog post I wrote when I was wrestling with writing and working to find a way for continue to work under difficult circumstances. You can read it here.
Be well. Be love[d].