Hello dear humans,
For over the last year and a bit, I have been teaching a Grief Studies class. You may have seen the announcements from time-to-time and wondered, huh or no thank you! and whatever your reaction has been, I understand. Grief, however, is a wild and expansive world where I have existed for much of my life, and this class came out of a desire to be in community with like-minded people, with writers or folks who were hungry to speak about life — and the depths of it.
After many friendships ended in the last few years, and my painful reality with my familial life, I have experienced a lot of sadness around relationships. I often have felt unseen in my relationships, but I found the more I learned about grief, the more I’ve understood myself. I’m an intense person, but so are people who want to work with grief, not be in denial of it.
We have also been witnessing multiple mass genocides, the realities of what happens in Gaza, Congo, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia… It’s a lot to hold. Especially because those of us in the Global North are implicated. Yet, simultaneously, we are watching the collapse of the planet by many people who benefit from war, through arms industries, because it’s all related. This makes us feel crazy, overwhelmed, anxious… full of grief. Many of us are descendants of genocide survivors, and watching these multiple genocides happen in our name makes us feel crazy. Many of us feel stuck and completely incapable of seeing a future beyond this pain, this destruction. It makes sense, of course, we feel that way. There is so much anger and frustration around how violence is always wielded against the most vulnerable among us. We stay in grief sometimes because it’s the only thing that makes sense. This class hopes to give us resources so we can move through this feeling, so we can keep going and keep showing up for liberation.
Teaching this class has (single-handedly) been the most rewarding experience of my writing career. I have met writers, or people who write (not everyone wants to be or sees themselves as writers/we shouldn’t let a vocation define us!), who can meticulously and profoundly go to places within themselves that require such courage and grace. It’s been awe-inspiring to witness and experience as a teacher and facilitator.
One of the experiences of being in the Grief Studies class is that you make a zine with your cohort. Therein lies the writing of the work you discovered, something tangible that reflects the depths we go to together. These memories and amulets of writing are things that buoy us — connection, tangibility, the ability to process through language.
So the first Grief Studies cohort has finished their zine, and what lies amidst these pages are some of the most talented people I’ve ever met. The art, the design, the words, the profundity. It’s been an honor and a privilege to do this with people I love, people who fill me with such pride and elation. If you are someone who has ever sat with me, I am so indebted and grateful to you.
The zine is for purchase if you’d like. Here’s more:
ABOUT THE ZINE
Dimensions: 4.75"x6.25"
Grief Studies is a DIY co-created zine collecting the works of students from Fariha Róisín’s first ‘Grief Studies’ writing workshop which took place February through April of 2024.
The zine was collaboratively produced by Shehab Chowdhury, raya marie hazell, Michaela Pointon, Anushka Ramakrishnan, Izzy Starr, sierra stinson, and asghar zaidi.
Layout and design by raya marie hazell & sierra stinson.
CONTRIBUTORS
Introduction by Fariha Róisín
Shelly Anand / Jose Arriaza / Ayoka / Shehab Chowdhury / Mimi Cravens-Wilson / CZ / Elizabeth / earth.topeople /Leila Haseba Shaban / raya marie hazell / jewel. clarity joywell / sumia juxun / Radha Lath / Mei Love / thái Lu / Opal Mae Ong / Emory A. O'Malley / Mayte Mendoza / Cristina Martelo / Kristin Pennington / Michaela Pointon / Anushka Ramakrishnan / Menaka Shanmuganantha / Izzy Starr / sierra stinson / Udita Upadhyaya / asghar zaidi
PROFIT DONATIONS
Any profit made from this project will be donated to the following organizations to support our kin in Gaza and occupied Palestine:
Thank you for reading and may these words find you if you need them.
<3 f
