Chinaka Hodge: What will you tell your daughters about 2016?
Chinaka Hodge: ماذا ستخبري ابنتك عن عام 2016؟
Poet, playwright, filmmaker and educator Chinaka Hodge uses her own life and experiences as the backbone of wildly creative, powerful works. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
strewn about our morning papers,
عن أوراقنا الصباحية،
of our sisters, spouses, small children.
لأخواتنا وأزواجنا وأطفالنا الصغار.
when she asks, as she certainly should,
عندما تسألك، وستفعل حتماً،
we didn't own it outright.
حريتنا لم نمتلكها بالتمام.
for every way we used our privates
مارسنا فيه خصوصياتنا
that enforced them.
against the outlines of our fallen,
على حواف سقوطنا،
and moved with courageous abandon
مضينا بهجرنا الجسور
فيه بماسورات البنادق،
ducked and parried,
تهبط وتتصدى،
collected death threats,
وجمعنا تهديدات الموت،
and found a running mate,"
استقر بنا الحال ووجدنا رفيق الهروب،
shamed nothing but fear,
ما اعترانا عار إلا من الخوف،
عن قصد، بالطبع،
to be docile or small.
والانصياع قد مضى.
that we were women,
and some of us did not,
ولم تفعل الباقيات،
whether that made us real
إذا كان هذا يجعلنا واقعيات
or heir to your triumph,
من ذريتك أو وريثتك
teetering towards woman,
مترنحة في طريقها لتكون امرأة
Were you fearful or fearsome?
هل كنتِ خائفة أم مخيفة؟
in the year it was time?
عندما حانت السنة؟
which bones had to break?
أية عظام اضطررت لسحقها؟
هل أنت بخير يا أمي؟
about the arc of your brow,
already carried so much, wants to know
تريد أنت تعرف
what light did you keep from extinction?
الذي حافظتِ عليه من الاندثار؟
or were you roused?
what did you do with your privilege?
مضى الوقت، ماذا فعلت بميزتك؟
or directly into the flame?
أم واجهت اللهب؟
or treat it like a liability?
أو تعاملت معها كعبء؟
of "nasty" or "less than"?
"وضيعة" أم "أقل من"؟
or a clenched fist?
أم بقبضة مضمومة؟
لقد وقفت هنا
drawn on my face like a dagger,
في وجهي كالخنجر،
in spite of crooked odds.
بالرغم من قسوة الطريق.
in the company of courage,
في صحبة الشجاعة،
when you just had yourself.
لم يكن عضدك سوى نفسك.
and the sisters beside them,
كما الحال دائماً
في التوقيت المثالي تماماً،
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chinaka Hodge - Writer, educatorPoet, playwright, filmmaker and educator Chinaka Hodge uses her own life and experiences as the backbone of wildly creative, powerful works.
Why you should listen
Chinaka Hodge is a writer and educator from Oakland. She received her BA from NYU’s Gallatin School and studied Writing for Film and Television at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts MFA program. Her work has been featured in Believer Magazine, Teen People Magazine, Newsweek, San Francisco Magazine, on PBS and NPR, and in two seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry. She was an Associate Producer on Simmons Lathan presents Brave New Voices for HBO.
She is a Cave Canem Graduate Fellow, was a playwright-in-residence at SF Playwrights Foundation and serves as a Visiting Editor at The California Sunday Magazine. She is an inaugural Senior Fellow at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Chinaka Hodge | Speaker | TED.com