A Little Introduction :)
Joining Substack is my experiment in being a writer more publicly. I’ve been writing my entire life, mostly for myself. In the past decade my writing has been mostly academic, with a few publicly published pieces in the last few years (some articles for ByBlacks.com, a creative non-fiction piece in Room Magazine’s Utopia issue, and a discussion guide for the book Making Love with the Land). I’m currently working on a book that I hope will propel me towards a more established public writing career. In the meantime, I’m planning to share some of my ramblings and thoughts over here. I believe in radical vulnerability – the kind that balances boundaries with connection – and I aim to share through experimentation, to connect through imperfection, as a way to push myself out of the perfectionism this society imposes on us, especially as a Black woman.
So, in the spirit of radically vulnerable connection, here are 5 facts about me, in no particular order, that I hope you’ll receive with openness and care:
I love flowers. Catch me wearing florals every day of every season. Most of my artistic hobbies revolve around flowers. I love flower photography and it’s been a hobby of mine for over a decade. I’ve also been sculpting clay flowers since 2023. I’m happiest walking around gardens.
Dancing is my spirituality. It’s when I feel the most me; connected to my body, to my sensuality, to my culture and history, to my complexity.
I’m not a big spender – except when it comes to books. They’re my guilty pleasure, my go-to in a ‘treat yo self’ moment. I can’t walk by a bookstore without buying something. Needless to say, my TBR list is looong!
My mother tongue is French, I speak a bit of Spanish and I’m learning Kreyol with the aim of connecting with my ancestors and undoing the colonial legacies of erasure and repression surrounding the language, especially as a diasporic Haitian.
I’m a cat lady through and through. I think cats are exceptional at teaching us boundaries, consensual relationships, and anti-capitalism. They stay true to their needs regardless of external pressures, prioritize rest, and lean on interdependence (they literally domesticated themselves because they realized it would be mutually beneficial – get rid of rodents in exchange for subsistence & companionship!).
Thank you for choosing to take the time to engage with my words, which are an extension of my soul. Writing to me is a relationship (with readers, with myself, with the world around us, with the spirits that guide us), one that I don’t take lightly. I look forward to sharing more, practicing radical vulnerability, and building communal and collective care & love on this platform!
Geneviève
(Bonus fact: My account name, ‘words water love’, came to me on a whim. There’s nowhere I feel more grounded than when I’m by the water, and there’s nothing that waters my own need for connection more than good conversation. Care & love are the backbone of all I do. Words water love was birthed through all those connections <3)
That's a very interesting introduction. 😊. Honest. Authentic.