10 yrs Ago | A Poet & A Book
10 years ago, (A)live Heart was born and I was on tour sharing my work in several cities.
Though I’ve continued to write, I haven’t published any poetry in a VERY long time. I took some time to explore other art forms and ways of being creative. It’s how I create The Deck of N0NE | An Afrofuturist Tarot Deck. I wanted to retire from the narrative of being a public facing poet. So I did. But it all comes round again. Wheel of Fortune, Ouroboros, etc. Returning to where it all began, for me creatively, is inevitable.
Currently, I’m working on a manuscript that contemplates the inherent transformation when we carry death in our bodies. Do we become the reaper or does our body reject it and replace it with life? Do we become something else—a hybrid or unnamed species? Is this how mermaids were created—when faced with the choice of enslavement or death, did my ancestors jump from ships and transform in the depths? Can life still bloom when the old is stripped away and we are left to heal and adjust?
After a major surgery and the cooling embers of The Deck of N0NE, I can’t think of a better way to continue my work as a creative. Back to where it all began, exploring the edges of poetry and its ability to serve as a creative outlet.
A short poem from the collection:
Black In Lovecraft Land
We call them gods
among stirring creatures
static and moan
wondering how to get
out, unseen horrors
trapped in funhouse
mirrors.
The collection explores many ways the black body experiences death. Whether on the screen or in real time, I wanted to dig into what it means to escape the narratives passed down, transcend external pressures and expectations to find the self alive and experiencing the pleasure of sovereignty and rest—through speculative themes and otherworldly phenomena.
“Black in Lovecraft Land” is a short exploration of the duality of holding survival in a science fiction storyline while acknowledging that even though it’s not real, the impact remains. So often black folks don’t survive storylines and what happens then? Do we idolize them for living? Do we mimic the struggle to ensure our own safety? Do they survive because they become the horrors they were once trying to escape?
Stay tuned for more manuscript sneak peaks and check out my instagram @bookthirtythree for info on performances and pop up tarot experiences.
xoxo
Imani performing at Third Place Commons in Lake Forest Park. 2026.
