Published in LEVEL·Apr 3, 2020Member-onlySo She Smashed the Homie Two Decades Ago. So What?Relationships come with exes, and sometimes those exes are your friends — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. We’re all grown-ups. Which means that as time goes on, we may learn that we have something more in common with our new boo than just our favorite restaurant or a…Relationships4 min readRelationships4 min read
Published in ZORA·Jan 24, 2020Member-onlyNovelist Gloria Naylor’s Newly Rediscovered ‘Sapphira Wade’ Was Worth the WaitAn unfinished manuscript has recently been published for the first time — Seven years shy of her death, in 2009, novelist Gloria Naylor donated her archive to Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. The capsule contained her life’s work, from unpublished plays, letters, writing, and even a screenplay based on the unethical conditions of Parchman prison in Mississippi. (As Naylor was affixed to…History7 min readHistory7 min read
Published in ZORA·Nov 26, 2019Member-only10 Years Ago, Rihanna’s ‘Rated R’ Was the Rebel Cry We Were Waiting ForHer artful transformation allowed her to redefine her narrative, her way — In the fight to reclaim herself as someone greater than a victim of violence, Rihanna used 2009 to mark her reinvention. It could be argued that her girl-next-door persona had concluded in 2007, when she exchanged her long honey-blonde tresses for a vampy, raven bob to coincide with the maturity…Music7 min readMusic7 min read
