Category: Literary Arts

• Why I Stopped Being A Voluntourist

  I don’t want a little girl in Ghana, or Sri Lanka, or Indonesia to think of me when she wakes up each morning. I don’t want her to thank me for her education or medical care or new clothes. Even if I am providing the funds to get the ball rolling, I want her to…

  Simone Monique Barnes

  February 20, 2014

  Arts, Black History and Culture, Cultural Integrity, Ethnic, Regional and National Identity, Literary Arts, Nation Building

  Africa, Dominican Republic, Nation Building, Tanzania, volunteer, voluntourist

• New Yorker’s Lament.

  Weekly convo with random folks I meet in Austin, TX (although this story could easily take place in many other cities and towns in the US): “Where are you from?” I’m from New York. “Oh? Really, what part?” New York City. “How long did you live there?” Huh? I’m from there. “I know, but for…

  Simone Monique Barnes

  May 28, 2013

  Americana, Arts, Ethnic, Regional and National Identity, Literary Arts, Simone Monique Barnes

  Austin, Bronx, New York City, travel, writing

• Editing is not for the weak

  “Writing is one of those talents that don’t get easier with practice. Every time I sit down to write I feel as though I have to poke around to find a new vein to slice in order to get the words to come. The most that a writer can hope for is to be surrounded…

  Simone Monique Barnes

  June 11, 2012

  Arts, Literary Arts

  Renita Weems, writer, writing