The power of music for protest and change
Writing, Genres, Politics, Poetry, Music Kristina M Makansi Writing, Genres, Politics, Poetry, Music Kristina M Makansi

The power of music for protest and change

Growing up, my church-going, United Methodist parents listened to what I'd call Americana music, churchy hymns and gospel, and some country music. My maternal grandmother played piano by ear and played in Grandpa’s churches where he preached. My mom was a natural alto who could harmonize with any tune, and my dad had a fine voice and for a while sang in a barber shop quartet. When they were young, they both had music in their homes—my mom played the flute and piccolo and my dad played the trumpet and coronet. My brother still has my dad’s coronet.

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Sunday Morning Rant: Rage, rage against the dying of the light
Writing, Genres, Politics, Poetry Kristina M Makansi Writing, Genres, Politics, Poetry Kristina M Makansi

Sunday Morning Rant: Rage, rage against the dying of the light

In the poem, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,  Dylan Thomas writes about the dying light of old age. This morning, I read it as the dying light of democracy.

And I am channeling my rage against the dying of the light into my fiction.

History rhymes but for some reason, humans too often forget the basic structure of the story. While what we’re going through today is horrifying, throughout history, powerful men have abused women, children, and less powerful men. That’s why we talk about conquest in terms of raping and pillaging. 

Because men actually raped and pillaged. And they’re still doing it today. On battlefields, in city streets or behind the walls of concentration camps, in corporate boardrooms, and in the home.

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