above all happiness

In 2018 I was invited by Tayari Jones to share my work at Black Mountain Institute's Believer Festival. In anticipation of meeting Barry Jenkins and eventually viewing his screen adaptation of one of my favorite books of all time, “If Beale Street Could Talk”, I created a collection of pennants from pulled phrases of parts of James Baldwin’s work that continue to sit with me long past the 20+years since I first read it. It is no easy feat condensing a wordsmith master like Mr. Baldwin’s work to fit within the confines of 2inch letters in a 13inch space. But in the reading it, for what might be the 15th time, I got to consume this love story in an entirely new way. In celebration of Baldwin's 100th Birthday, I am releasing a limited amount of this collection that previously was specially gifted to a few from my VIP time at the festival.