Hi! I’m Joy, a Louisiana-born, Nigerian-American writer who’s obsessed with literature, research, and the untold histories of Africa and the Black diaspora. The Braid Blog is where I weave it all together: memory, literature, culture, and the quiet power in our everyday lives. Think of this space as part archive, part altar–always an offering.
I’d love to connect! Feel free to visit my socials below or send me an email xo.
Welcome to The Braid Blog!
The Braid Blog is a literary billet-doux to the Black experience, rooted in history, parted with care, and textured with memory. This is where the soft meets the sharp, where lineage speaks in sentences and every strand tells a story. Through art, essays, book reviews, and reflections on everything from politics to plaits, I’m weaving a space where we can feel, remember, and reimagine ourselves out loud. You belong here.
A space for the poems that live at the root. Return each month for a new verse.
August 2026 Feature:
Song of Summer by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Dis is gospel weathah sho’—
Hills is sawt o’ hazy.
Meddahs level ez a flo’
Callin’ to de lazy.
Sky all white wif streaks o’ blue,
Sunshine softly gleamin,’
D’ain’t no wuk hit’s right to do,
Nothin’ ’s right but dreamin.’
Dreamin’ by de rivah side
Wif de watahs glist’nin,’
Feelin’ good an’ satisfied
Ez you lay a-list’nin’
To the little nakid boys
Splashin’ in de watah,
Hollerin’ fu’ to spress deir joys
Jes’ lak youngsters ought to.
Squir’l a-tippin’ on his toes,
So’s to hide an’ view you;
Whole flocks o’ camp-meetin’ crows
Shoutin’ hallelujah.
Peckahwood erpon de tree
Tappin’ lak a hammah;
Jaybird chattin’ wif a bee,
Tryin’ to teach him grammah.
Breeze is blowin’ wif perfume,
Jes’ enough to tease you;
Hollyhocks is all in bloom,
Smellin’ fu’ to please you.
Go ’way, folks, an’ let me ’lone,
Times is gettin’ dearah—
Summah’s settin’ on de th’one,
An’ I’m a-layin’ neah huh!
Subscribe to loq in and receive new Strands directly to your inbox.
What if stories could change the way an entire people see themselves? From Octavia Butler to Black Panther, Afrofuturism is reshaping Black literature, reconnecting the African diaspora, and proving that speculative fiction isn’t just escapism. Let’s explore why these stories are changing far more than our bookshelves.
In Sweet Heat (2025), Bolu Babalola delivers romance with depth–intimate, messy, and impossible to ignore. Kiki Banjo thought she outran her past, but one reunion cracks everything open: love, pride, ambition, and the life she’s been carefully constructing. Consider this your invitation to read this spicy title responsibly.
Step into Spike Lee’s Crooklyn through the eyes of a little Black girl carrying weight she never should’ve held. This reflection unbraids hyper-independence, misogynoir, and the quiet traumas we normalize in Black families—revealing how generational patterns shape our children long before we notice.
Let’s rewind to the Muses—five sisters who sang Hercules into legend and now rise again in Farrah Rochon’s Bemused. This Greek mythology retelling fuses Disney nostalgia, Black girl magic, and divine sisterhood, reminding us that unity isn’t weakness. It’s the truest form of power.
Choose an amount:
Or enter a custom amount
Designed with WordPress
A literary billet-doux to the African world.
