Ep 390 - aja monet, Grammy-Nominated Poet and Keeper of the Black Surrealist Tradition

·1 hr 12 min·5 clips

Aja Monet reveals how seeing Palestine's surveillance state made her realize 'we will be in the moment we're in right now, if not worse.'

The episode is a long-form interview with poet and organizer Aja Monet on the AirGo podcast. Hosts Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger introduce Monet as a Grammy-nominated Afro-surrealist artist pivotal to Black liberatory organizing for over a decade. The conversation begins with Monet discussing practices for presence, including eating as a sacred act and the concept of 'witness' versus 'withness' in solidarity work. A significant portion focuses on her 2015 delegation to Palestine with other Black movement builders, which she describes as a turning point that made her critical of U.S. and Israeli policies; she notes the delegation's role in building relationships that informed later solidarity efforts. Monet traces her geographic and political journey: growing up in New York, attending Sarah Lawrence and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, living in Paris where she was radicalized through political debates, and returning to join the Justice League and Dream Defenders. She explains how her relationship with Dream Defenders co-founder Phil Agnew deepened her commitment to grassroots organizing in Florida. Monet reflects on her time in Chicago as a teaching artist, working with organizations like Young Chicago Authors and mentoring local hip-hop artists, while navigating personal trauma and the city's segregated landscape. She recalls organizing the 'Every Drop Counts' benefit for Haiti in 2010, which brought together Chicago's music scene. The hosts ask about her Grammy-nominated 2023 project 'When the Poems Do What They Do,' which she says solidified her purpose and connects to a continuum of Black poets who are also musicians. Monet concludes by encouraging listeners to attend her live shows and find her on Substack.

As heard by us

Aja Monet connects poetry, movement work, mentorship, and the places that taught her how to keep changing.

Aja Monet's conversation with AirGo follows the making of an artist through the places, people, and political homes that shaped her. The episode moves easily between Afro-surrealist poetry, Black liberatory organizing, Chicago mentorship, and memories of Yonkers, while the hosts…

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Press play for Aja Monet on poetry, movement homes, creative homes, and the Yonkers geography threaded through the conversation.

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