'Conversations With Harriett' x Jeannine A. Cook [COPPED]

If you’re new here, CISED is a platform where we “Celebrate Ill Shit Every Day.” Most of what we share is art-related and since writing is an art form, I’m down to share cool pieces of literature, too. I’m happy to present the first book featured on this blog! I approach art from a consumer standpoint and I definitely look forward to getting my hands on a copy of this to consume. I’m now waiting for my signed copy to come in the mail.

The work in question is a compilation of 22 fictional vignettes of discussions between author Jeannine A. Cook and iconic abolitionist Harriet Tubman titled Conversations With Harriett. Tubman’s ministry of liberation and lasting is so meaningful for Cook that she named her Philadelphia literary gallery for women writers, artists and activists Harriett’s Bookshop. “It's almost like her like giving her a monument in a place where people can remember her contributions and continue to say her name,” says Cook.

Though she is in the press lately for her entrepreneurial pursuits with Harriett’s, Jeannine is a seasoned scribe with a serious pen from what I’ve read. She was most recently published in literary magazines Indigo & Midnight and Adelaide. Cook’s brick & mortar shop in Philly’s Fishtown section doubles as her writing studio where she gets busy. “For me, space is a big issue and quiet is a big issue. Stillness is a big issue and just having the type of environment that I want to have,” she analyzed. “I've been saying it for years like I need a space of my own. I need a space of my own just so that I can like flex, you know? I see that it's made a whole heap of a lot of difference for me as a writer.”

Cook’s infatuation with Tubman started when she was around the age of eight. The Underground Railroad conductor became a creative muse at an outing with comrades about a decade ago. “I did an event with my sisters called 'Resurrecting The Spirit Of Our Ancestors' where each of us decided to take on an ancestor that we wanted to kind of really connect with and encourage other people to do the same,” Cook reflected. “My person was Harriet, and so each of us created a different art piece for the person that we were connecting with. And I did  this piece ‘Conversations With Harriet,' and that conversation has been ongoing between her and I.” She continued, “It’s mostly me sharing perspective on how things are now and seeking her insight on how they should be. 

It’s safe to bet that Conversations With Harriett is an extension of Jeannine’s credo of writing as activism (which was covered in my exclusive profile of Jeannine and Harriett’s for Philadelphia Weekly). Writing pieces that verbalize conversations between yourself and a nearly deified figure such as Tubman is a bold endeavor to take on. Though I haven’t read it yet, I sense that it is a fearless body of work. “It’s mostly me sharing perspective on how things are now and seeking her insight on how they should be,” said Cook in a quick synopsis. “It jumps around. There are a lot of little vignettes.”

Looking forward to sitting down with it when it gets here.

Conversations With Harriett by Jeannine A. Cook can be purchased exclusively from Harriett’s Bookshop, located in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia at 258 E. Girard Ave daily from 10 am - 6 pm (contactless pickup available) or online. Be sure to check out the shop’s Essentials For Essentials program which hooks hospital workers up with books that they want during the current COVID-19 crisis.

Jeannine can be followed on her official website, as well as on Twitter and Instagram.

For the Diaspora shop, click here.

For the Black American shop, click here.

For flags, click here.

For books, click here.