A Four Queens Interview Series: Regarding Beauty…with Gabrielle Civil
Welcome to this special 5-part series on beauty. Why beauty?
I’ve been working on a collection of essays that takes the dump as its central image—a place not typically celebrated for its beauty. The essays cover difficult material (suicide, addiction, sexual assault, erasure…) but what I noticed upon re-reading my current draft is that every essay is saying something about beauty, and this is what, in fact, may most strongly connect all the essays to one another.
Excuse me, but what?! This is not what I was expecting to discover in my read-through! So, I’m keen to know what brilliant minds make of beauty—and at this particular moment.
I’m delighted to continue the conversation with Gabrielle Civil. Be sure to check our her links below (you’ll want to!)
One thing I learned quickly during these interviews: beauty’s path is often the errant path. I hope you enjoy and thanks for traveling down this path with me. — x Selah
Gabrielle’s NEW BOOK! In and Out of Place: Mexico / Performance / Writing
Experiments in Joy: A Reading, The Poetry Project. Check out Experiments in Joy HERE
The Déjà Vu: Black Dreams & Black Time: A Reading & Discussion with Gabrielle Civil
And…per our conversation, may we present… The Sugar-Plum Tree:
B I O
GABRIELLE CIVIL is a black feminist performance artist, poet, and writer, originally from Detroit, MI. She has premiered over fifty performance art works around the world, including as a Fulbright Fellow in Mexico. Her performance memoirs include Swallow the Fish (2017), Experiments in Joy (2019), ( ghost gestures ) (2021), and the déjà vu (2022). Her writing has also appeared in New Daughters of Africa, Teaching Black, Kitchen Table Translation, and Experiments in Joy: a Workbook. The aim of her work is to open up space.
Hi friends—a new year and a new cycle are just around the corner. I’m excited to bring back this popular offering for what I very strongly suspect to be a fascinating 2025. Session availability is limited.—x Selah
