Adesina Brown
Adesina Brown is a 21 year-old, queer, non-binary author who centers QTPOC in all their work. They have been previously published in Rigorous Magazine, Coffee People Zine, and more. Where the Rain Cannot Reach is their debut novel.
Twitter: @theadesinabrown
Instagram: @adesinabrown
What period of history do you wish you knew more about?
I wish I knew more about my own lost history—both personal, collective, and ancestral. I have lost a lot of memory due to dissociation, and I have had a lot of memory stolen from me as a marginalized person, whether due to lack of records or deliberate erasure. When I think about what period of history I would like to know more about, it’s hard for me to pinpoint a particular era, though I’m most curious about my own queer and trans ancestral lineage.
I think that curiosity is clear in Where the Rain Cannot Reach—this imagination of, or hope for, a world where sexuality and gender are allowed to be variant and celebrated for their variance. When I write, I mostly think about “what if” rather than “what was” or “what is”; I want to imagine new worlds.
Is your go to comfort food sweet or savory? Is it something you make yourself? Does food inspire your writing?
Biscuits, greens, and beans—so simple, but my mom has been making it for me since I was young, and it’s my ultimate comfort food. I think my preference for savory over sweet and my veganism influence my writing in different ways. Of the former, I tend to associate sugar in my writing with decadence, indulgence, luxury—none of which have inherently negative or positive associations to me, but it can be fun to play with on the page. Of the latter, I must admit that veganism influences my writing, especially after my reading of Carol J. Adams’s The Sexual Politics of Meat and pretty much all Aph Ko’s writing. Both writers (and, admittedly, Virginia Woolf, too, in her iconic descriptions of food) have given me a significant framework through which I write food and food culture. I always try to avoid moralizing, but I’ll admit that the space for analysis is intentional.
Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?
If I’m not writing, I want my creations to feel somewhat more organic than writing, which is heavily edited and stylized. I have the most fun with collaging, and my art is for my own eyes so I like to allow it to be imperfect and fun. Random brushstrokes, continuous lines, and torn edges around photos make me happy.
If you could create a museum exhibition, what would be the theme?
My absolute favorite kind of album cover is a portrait—ironic, perhaps, because I generally dislike seeing real people or the artistic depiction of people on book covers. Still, portraits are emotional, evocative, and intimate, and I think they make perfect album covers. I’d love to gather my favorite portrait covers into one space. Maybe I’d be the only one at that exhibition, but I think it’d be a cool way look through time, identity, and musical intention. Some of my favorite covers (and favorite albums) are Solange’s “A Seat at the Table” and “When I Get Home”, “The Score” by The Fugees, and Joni Mitchell’s “Blue.”
What brings you great joy?
Finding something new to love in an old favorite song. Laughing with family. Petting my dog. Seeing new growth on my money tree.
