our methodology + practice are informed by Etel Adnan’s letters to June Jordan— an archive currently housed at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute. this correspondence stretches decades of friendship— revealing an intimate exchange of political ideas, creative projects, and personal relational growth between the two thinkers.

Etel Adnan (1925-2021) was a Lebanese-American writer/essayist/artist/philosopher whose work spanned poetry and painting. born in Beirut and later based in California and Paris, she explored themes of war, exile, and identity through a transnational and multilingual lens.

June Jordan (1936-2002) was an American poet/essayist/professor/activist known for her work in black feminism, education, and social justice. she wrote across genres and was deeply committed to accessible language, political change, and everyday life as a site of resistance.

these women embodied lives that indelibly linked the personal to the political in a way that went beyond identity politics and nationalistic ideologies. our work honors their legacy, and invites community to engage with archival material as a point of creative departure.