October 6, 2014 - 21:04
This is the Mantrafesto by rosea and hummingbird – We wrote this by pulling on direct quotations from Pratt and Clare. We wanted to examine the ways Bryn Mawr has both shifted and remained the same regarding its community and exclusivity. The lines in which words are bracketed may be read both with and without the bracketed word. This is predominantly a found poem.
Past: we were women
women who were in a position of material advantage
advantage at the expense of others
other women --
women who did not have a degree
a degree of safety, comfort, community.
Community at odds with skin, blood, heart: identity
identities complex
complexified now, as always, by gender
gender reaching into disability;
disability wrapping around class;
class straining against abuse;
abuse snarling into sexuality;
sexuality folding on top of race.
Racing to prove
prove we embody diversity
diversity is not [always] acceptance
acceptance is not [always] present.
Present: we are [no longer] passing
passing by hiding parts of ourselves
selves who are searching
searching for a place of mutuality, companionship, curiosity,
curiosity in what new things might be making in the world.