WHO ARE WE?

A recent CDC reports states,

“The cesarean rate decreased from 2009 for non-Hispanic white women (32.8 percent in 2009), but increased for Hispanic women (31.6 percent in 2009)... non-Hispanic black women were more likely to deliver by cesarean (35.5 percent) than white (32.6 percent)...”

Who are we? We are Janean L. Watkins and Lakeesha J. Harris –an award winning poetry, playwrite, photography and journalism duo from Chicago, IL who’ve decided to provide a safe space for women of color to reaffirm themselves through, what we like to call, emotional art recovery or artistic healing.

We are the founders of .:Seeds:. Literary Arts Journal of Northeastern Illinois University, two-thirds of the Sistah Sankofa Women Writers Retreat organizers and owners of Write 2 Shoot Media. We are mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, writers and purveyors of truth. We feel that it’s up to us take action when the bodies of black and brown women around the globe are being violated, so we’ve taken a step towards healing us all with CUT.

We are survivors of the CUT. and we know that voices are best heard through a common medium – media. We hope to use art, words and imagination to showcase our ability to rise up from our collective moments of pain by reclaiming our bodies through art.

WHAT DO WE WANT?

For this Anthology, we want to offer you the opportunity to share your writing and other works of art in an attempt to showcase the magnitude of medical trauma experienced by women of color around the globe. Photos of your battled scars are highly encouraged and we can discuss our team assisting you in taking your photograph and/or interviewing you for the anthology, depending on your location.

What is your story? What would you like to say to the ‘health care professional’ that had their way with your body and the world who continues to ignore our call for quality health care? What would come up in a conversation about your future health now that you know more? This is the space and place where you can tell that story, show that picture, invite others into a glimpse at your past journey so that you can begin to heal. Don’t silence your experience. You lived it – and it’s not something to be taken lightly. You were cut, you were violated – and you survived. Now, you must speak your truth.

With CUT., we are attempting to provide a forum for women of color to share the stories of how they were cut through cesarean section, episiotomy, hysterectomy, myomectomy, mastectomy,  genital mutilation or by other means. We want to hear from parents whose sons were circumcised without their permission. These are our stories. They are stories that can be difficult and heart wrenching, but in many cases – they can be real, healing and affirming.

Contribution Guidelines

Written Work:

Women of color are encouraged to contribute up to two (2) pieces of work. These contributions can take the form of poetry, prose, anecdotes of your experience(s), essays, short stories, articles and love notes to your body/womb – photographs of your cut(s) are also highly encouraged. They can be a combination of four items from multiple art forms if you wish. Short fiction should not exceed 3500 words in length. Flash fiction should be within the range of 100-200 words.

Works that are properly translated into English are also eligible for contribution. If someone other than the original writer translated the work, their name must be included.

Visual Artwork:

• All artwork contributed must be original and unpublished.
• The editors of CUT. will accept all mediums of art but all visual pieces must be photographed and contributed at 72dpi, 400x800 pixels minimum and the file size must NOT exceed 600kb (300dpi high resolution preferred. You may save the slides in medium or low-quality JPG setting for 300dpi, to not exceed the maximum file size).
• Slides should be individual picture files only, in .JPG format. Do not include any titles or other additional text.

Editors will assess a body of work; therefore artists should submit up to four (4) different pieces which capture the breadth of an artist’s work. Entries which include sculpture or 3-dimensional art can submit a maximum of 6 slides, allowing up to 2 views of each of 2 3-D pieces.

Though we would love to recycle some of your work that might previously been shared, for legal reasons, we can only accept previously non-published works. All work is subject to editing. If you anticipate that your work may need a lot of editing, make sure to contribute well before the deadline to increase your chances of acceptance.

Please, include your name ONLY on the contribution form and cover letter. As a header for your cover letter, please include:

• First Name, Last Name (Middle initial, if applicable)
• Mailing/Email Address
• Phone Number

Please, fill out the contribution form COMPLETELY. Failure to do so will forfeit your contribution. Upload multiple files separately. For uploading files, please use our online contribution manager. Emailed contributions cannot be accepted.

Contribute your maximum four pieces at: http://write2shootmedia.submittable.com/submit. Contributing to our anthology, CUT., is too important to silence anyone, therefore we are asking for donations for the publication of CUT. If you would like to join us in our fundraising efforts, please make note of it in your cover letter. For donations over $500, please contact us directly.

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Contribution Acceptance Begins: Monday March 25, 2013; 12:01 AM - Central Standard Time

Contribution Acceptance Ends: Sunday September 1, 2013; Midnight - Central Standard Time

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