Sinister Myth

Spoken word poet Catherine Maynard talks about how audiences to spoken word poetry react to sharing stories sexual violence. She talks about her decision to share poems about sexual assault, and she reads her poem, ‘Smile.’

Content warning: mention of violence against women and sexual violence.

In a strong worded discussion of heteronormative pressure, psychology student Sydney Williams explains what bi-erasure means, and how assumptions about bisexuality can have real impacts in the world.

Content warning: use of strong language.

Please note that these recent podcasts were recorded under pandemic conditions, and so we were not able to record them in the studio.

Why are LGBTQ suicide rates high and what can we do to change that? Medical anthropology student Adalie Schmidt interviews expert Dr. Alexandra VanBergen of University of Rochester about her research into suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the US. Alexandra VanBergen discusses the risks, highlights the problems for adolescents in particular, and talks about how prevention needs to start at home.

Content warning: discussion of suicide.

Please note that these recent podcasts were recorded under pandemic conditions, and so we were not able to record them in the studio.

What does emotional labor mean and how does it manifest itself? Ohio State University English major Megan Moody discusses what the term means and how it affects women and minorities disproportionately.

Please note that these recent podcasts were recorded under pandemic conditions, and so we were not able to record them in the studio.

In this “Sinister Myth: Case Study”, Natarshia Corley tackles the killing of Florida activist Oluwatoyin Salau, questioning to what extent black women’s lives lost are registered in the struggle to end the violence. Natarshia Corley is a graduate student at the Ohio State University, working in the Self, Stereotypes, and Social Norms Lab.

Sinister Myth Case Studies feature recent news stories that may have been overlooked and that tell us something important about how stories we tell perpetuate violence. Please note that these recent podcasts were recorded under pandemic conditions, and so we were not able to record them in the studio.

This interview tackles the experience of Black students in universities and schools, featuring the work of researcher Sherita V. Roundtree, Assistant Professor at Towson University. Prof. Roundtree discusses her research on developing diverse representation and equitable access for students, teachers, and scholars who write in, instruct in, and theorize about writing classrooms.

Roundtree explains noise pedagogy which considers how multivocal representations of belonging challenge misrecognition and mislabeling of Black women in institutions like the university. How do we rethink teaching and learning when standardized approaches do not fit the teacher or students?

On November 1st, Sinister Myth held an online poetry reading a day after Halloween and a few days before the US Presidential Election. Regardless of who would win, the women reading gathered together to perform a protective hex through poems, gathering strength and power.

The readers were a squad of seven: Sarona Abuaker, Sascha Aurora Akhtar, Ruth Awad, ZoëBrigley, Mari Ellis Dunning, Melissa Studdard, and Christina Thatcher.

For Sinister Myth Bitesize this month, we talk with the British poet and writer Roger Robinson. This is a snippet preview of a forthcoming interview with Roger whose book ‘A Portable Paradise’ won the TS Eliot and Ondaatje Prizes. The T.S. Eliot Prize judges wrote of the book: “The collection’s title points to the underlying philosophy expressed in these poems: that earthly joy is, or ought to be, just within, but is often just beyond our reach, denied by racism, misogyny, physical cruelty and those with the class power to deny others their share of worldly goods and pleasures.”

Roger lives between England and Trinidad, and he was interviewed by Zoë Brigley, Rob Mackenzie, and Kristian Evans, editors for the “Dwelling” issue of Magma Poetry journal. The interview was commissioned for Magma Poetry 79 out next spring. Rob asked Roger about how to survive in dark and difficult times, while Kristian posed a question about what attracts people to white supremacy.

If you don’t know the history of U.S. interference and dubious practices in Puerto Rico, this interview with Malia Womack is a must hear. Recorded at the end of last year when Malia was completing field work in Puerto Rico, the discussion focuses on the history of US colonialism on the island including the testing of birth control on and sterilization of Puerto Rican women. We talk about the possibility of change for the better in Puerto Rico, and what we could learn from Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of activism.

This interview – delayed due to the global pandemic – features Elissa Washuta, a member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and a nonfiction writer. She is the author of My Body Is a Book of Rules and Starvation Mode, and her book White Magic is forthcoming from Tin House Books. With Theresa Warburton, she is co-editor of the anthology Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers.

This is essential listening for anyone who wants to find a voice for writing about difficult subjects like trauma and mental health. It covers such subjects as using humor to deal with difficult subjects, and allowing oneself to be angry. Elissa talks about what her Catholic upbringing taught her (or not), as well as negative stereotypes of native women. There’s also a moving discussion of what happens when mental health diagnoses are wrong.