Black History month has begun! I'm going to use the occasion as a springboard to talk about FIYAH magazine.
FIYAH is the spiritual successor to FIRE!! magazine, a Harlem Rennaisance publication. It aimed to provide Black writers a space “to express ourselves freely and independently—without interference from old heads, white or Negro.” It featured works from Wallace Thurman, Zora Neale Hurston, and more.
I learned about FIYAH when it was less than a year old. It won me over with its goal of showcasing all of Blackness. No gatekeeping, purity tests, or other garbage I've suffered in the past. While my first submission to FIYAH wasn't accepted, my second one was.
Barbara in the Frame was published in Issue #4, Roots, It featured what has become a theme in my writing, "f*** you, we're not a monolith." The protagonist, Bab, is terrified of how different she is from her classmates. Her Aunt Barbara, and her aunt's recipe for Joe Froggers, give her strength and a means to connect.
This was the first time my fiction got more than a token payment. I can't overstate how helpful this was. First, it was a huge morale boost. My writing career is taking bigger steps! Barbara in the Frame and the money I made from it also helped me get the foot in the door to other writing groups, such as NSS, Codex, and SFWA.
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