A Collective Editorial Partnership
HEDONE
HEDONE
Our ongoing editorial partnership with Hedone, led by the wonderfully delicious, visionary artist and writer, Tshegofatso Senne, who is a Black, genderqueer feminist, supports a living archive of “Black queer life”, pleasure and self-definition. Named for the Greek goddess of enjoyment and bliss — the Muse of Delight — Hedone is the softest of soft landings: rooted in Black and Brown feminisms, healing, social justice and pleasure activism.
Megan Natasha from Stoep Collective collaborates with Hedone on editing their collective’s publication and archive. These published works range in form (think essays and poetry, fragments and flash), subject matter (queer birth, sex, disability and desire) and tone (exultant and furious, contemplative to vociferous), helping shape intimate lived experiences through workshopping, one-on-ones with writers, and a range of developmental editing.
SCROLL TO READ SELECTED ESSAYS
“Today, the water cradles me in its cool embrace, its buoyancy a gentle betrayal of gravity’s unforgiving pull.”
THE SPACE BETWEEN GRIEF AND POSSIBILITY
By Thembelihle Ngcai
The year I lost my ability to walk was the same year my family became fitness enthusiasts. While my body was betraying me, theirs were thriving — reaching new heights of strength and endurance. My mother was planning her next marathon, my aunt bolting out the door to her step class, and my cousins took turns borrowing each other’s bicycles to ride through the summer. They spoke in a language of muscle recovery, elevation gain, and personal bests.
Read Ngcai’s essay here.
“I felt like I was going to die, like at any moment my body would implode. I begged and begged the nurses just to look because it felt as though my baby was forcing her way out, while I was trying my utmost not to push.”
MY BIRTH JOURNEY AS A NON-BINARY, QUEER PERSON OF COLOUR
By Dmitry Felix
Dululu as I was, I told myself, “Nope, let me go for an ultrasound.” Which I did at a Baby City Store. There, in the store in Cape Town’s Sable Square, I saw the result: nine weeks pregnant.
Read Felix’s essay here.
