Thread by @BlackLiterary

The inaugural #BlackLitSalon is LIVE! 🔥

"Just because he slept around, it didn't mean he didn't love her." 😳

@DianaEvansOP kicking off our conversation on Love and Desire with a reading from her novel #OrdinaryPeople.

#BlackLitSalon

"I wanted to write about the impositions of domesticity and the rearing of children on love and relationships." @DianaEvans on how the reality of a marriage can shatter the myth of fairytale romance.

#BlackLitSalon

"He is hypnotised by the gleam in her eyes... Her fingers grab his heart pulling it right out... She is ravenous..."

@IrenosenOkojie reading from her experimental short story collection #Nudibranch.

.@IrenosenOkojie uses cannibalism to represent an act of radical self love, and challenges the traditional expectations of love stories in her writing.

#BlackLitSalon

"Her laughter reminded him of the way her mouth had tasted. Fresh.
Their mouths found each other easily this time... She was playing and it felt good... Their hands went everywhere."

@msolumide reading from her novel When We #SpeakofNothing

#BlackLitSalon

.@msolumide writes about desire and sex with confidence but she's also very interested in platonic romantic friendships. "You can't find fulfillment from one person."
#BlackLitSalon

Popular culture shapes how we see love. The panel share what films/music/books shaped them.

@IrenosenOkojie: "I was really obsessed with Love Jones. It felt radical to me because it was about middle class black people in love."

.@msoluminde "As fledgling queer in the making, the female friendships in Alice Walker. I was looking for black women who loved each other and themselves, like the work of Audre Lorde."

.@DianaEvansOP shouts out Chewing Gum and Insecure for their representation of contemporary black life and love.

Is transcendent love a myth?

@msolumide: "Love doesn't need to transcend. You have to acknowledge that difference, not leave it behind."

@IrenosenOkojie: "Being able to be your authentic self is what's important, if you have to tiptoe around things like race you feel silenced."

.@DianaEvansOP: "I think the only truly transcendent love is that between parents and children. Love between adults is going on a journey with someone with their own hang ups, it's an ongoing thing. You never reach a sublime plateau." #BlackLitSalon

"I like to write bad sex. The most interesting sex scenes are slightly warped, I think good sex scenes are boring." - @DianaEvansOP

"I find writing about deviant sex, it's fun to play with. I never shy away from writing female sexuality, and it's important to make that aspect visible." - @IrenosenOkojie

.@DianaEvansOP on the danger and vulnerability of love: "There is a sense of erasure in love, an element of self sacrifice. The struggle is holding on to enough of yourself, especially as women and mothers." #BlackLitSalon

.@msolumide: Vulnerability makes your relationships more authentic. It's a necessary risk. #BlackLitSalon

Black queer lives are usually depicted under the shadow of homophobia. @msolumide: "I am not interested in writing about homophobia. It is about people who are homophobic to undo that shit. Let queer characters have fun. Let them have sex." #BlackLitSalon

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