February 2, 2023

Mizna 23.2: Black SWANA Takeover

by Lamia Abukhadra | in Literary

Mizna: Black SWANA Takeover, guest-edited by acclaimed poet Safia Elhillo and produced by an all-Black takeover team, was released February 2023 in celebration of Black History Month. The highly anticipated issue explores the infinitely varied and kaleidoscopic nature of the Black SWANA experience through a collection of poetry, prose, critical essays, research, and art, as well as a book review by an all-Black list of contributors. The issue is available now.

More about the issue
Special Events
Programming

More about the issue

The paintings of Kamala Ibrahim Ishag, a key figure in many Sudanese modernist art movements, perhaps most famously the Crystalist movement, will grace the pages of Mizna: Black SWANA Takeover. Through a series of images consisting of 18th and 19th century daguerreotypes of Sudanese women as well as self-portraits, Ladin Awad researches subjecthood, personhood, and gaze in the archive. Additionally, poet Charif Shanahan sits down with guest editor Safia Elhillo to discuss developing a poetic language around his experience of Blackness in an interview.

Mizna: Black SWANA Takeover features contributions by Fahad Al-Amoudi, Salma Ali, Shams Alkamil, Ladin Awad, Lameese Badr, Romaissaa Benzizoune, Dina El Dessouky, Atheel Elmalik, k. eltinaé, Samah Fadil, Shawn Frazier, Myronn Hardy, Fatma Hassan, Asmaa Jama, Marlin M. Jenkins, Abigail Mengesha, Suzannah Mirghani, Umniya Najaer, Sihle Ntuli, Nihal Osama, Abu Bakr Sadiq, Sagirah Shahid, Charif Shanahan, Najma Sharif, Faatimah Solomon, Vanessa Taylor, Qutouf Yahia, Thawrah Yousif.

This issue was produced by Safia Elhillo (Guest Editor), Ruba El Melik (Literary Programs Manager), Romaissaa Benzizoune (Associate Editor), Atheel Elmalik (Curator of Visual Arts), Samah Fadil (Content Editor), Ladin Awad (Programming Director), Ahlam Hassan (Assistant Editor), Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda (Creative Coordinator), and Ahmed Akasha (Designer).

Special Events

Mizna AWP Offsite

Mizna launched its special themed issue Mizna: Black SWANA Takeover during an AWP offsite event in Seattle on March 9, 2023. This reading featured guest editor Safia Elhillo as well as Romaissaa Benzizoune, Samah Fadil, and Umniya Najaer, with MCing by Ruba Elmelik. Learn more about Mizna at AWP 2023 here.

Programming

Programming, curated by the Black SWANA Takeover’s Program Director Ladin Awad, invites guest contributors to share pieces that serve as points of inquiry or curiosity around any topics concerning Black SWANA. Titled Departure Points, the series will offer a range of multi-form pieces from issue contributors and guest contributors alike, engaging the multidimensionality of the Black SWANA experience. This series will launch in April, offering an expansion on the ideas of the issue. Stay tuned for more info!

Supporters

This issue of Mizna and its Twin Cities and Seattle launch events are made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the City of St. Paul’s Cultural STAR Program. General operating support is provided to Mizna by the McKnight Foundation and by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.