Linda's Blogspot

  Ed Bullins' The Corner An in-depth look at Ed Bullins' The Corner (written in 1968, published in 1973) highlights its dramatic structure, plot setup, character breakdown, and political significance within Black theater history. ​Plot & Scenario ​The play takes place late at night on an urban street corner. A group of young Black men hang out, drink wine, talk trash, pass the time, and posture in front of one another. ​While superficially casual, the street corner operates as a micro-society with its own hierarchy, unwritten codes of masculinity, and survival rules: ​ The Conflict: Cliff Dawson —cynical, street-smart, and world-weary—dominates the corner. His younger brother Steve Benson , who possesses intellectual ambitions, finds himself drawn to the corner's gravity yet increasingly stifled by its dead-end trajectory. ​ The Catalyst: As the night unfolds, personal rivalries over status, local women, and past grievances bubble up through sharp, authenti...

  Deep Energy: The Unconventional Power and Legacy of the Haynesville Shale ​Stretching across roughly 9,000 square miles beneath Northwest Louisiana, East Texas, and Southwest Arkansas, the Haynesville Shale stands as one of the most prolific and strategically vital natural gas formations in North America. Sitting thousands of feet below the classic 20th-century conventional oil and gas reservoirs of the Ark-La-Tex region—such as the famous Cotton Valley Group—the Haynesville represents a triumph of modern petroleum geology, horizontal drilling technology, and hydraulic fracturing. ​1. Geological Profile: High Pressure and Extreme Depth ​Formed during the Upper Jurassic period, the Haynesville is a black, organic-rich mudstone and shale layer. Unlike shallower, porous sandstone structures where trapped oil and gas flow easily through natural channels, the methane within the Haynesville is locked tight within ultra-dense rock matrixes. ​Several distinct geological attributes s...

The Seeds of Science: How West African Knowledge Engineered Southern Agriculture The agricultural engine of the early American South was built on more than just forced manual labor—it relied fundamentally on the transfer of sophisticated agronomic, botanical, and engineering expertise brought by enslaved West Africans. ​When European colonizers established plantation systems across the Southern colonies and Sea Islands, they encountered unfamiliar climates, tropical marshlands, and crops they had no prior experience cultivating. Enslaved agriculturalists from specific West African regions provided the technical blueprint for establishing and expanding three of the South’s most lucrative cash crops: rice, indigo, and cotton. ​Rice ( Oryza glaberrima ) and Lowcountry Hydraulics ​The establishment of Carolina Gold rice as a multi-million-dollar export was only possible because European planters deliberately targeted and enslaved people from the "Grain Coast" or "Rice Co...

Gullah Geechee sweetgrass  Gullah Geechee sweetgrass basketry is one of the oldest African-derived craft traditions continuously practiced in North America. Centered along the coastal Sea Islands and Lowcountry regions of South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida—an area recognized nationally through the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor NHA—these handwoven pieces represent an unbroken link between West African ancestral traditions and contemporary American fine art. ​History and Origins ​The roots of sweetgrass basketry trace back to the 17th century, when enslaved West Africans from rice-growing regions (such as Senegambia, Sierra Leone, and Liberia) were brought to the coastal American South. They brought with them sophisticated knowledge of coiling and weaving techniques, using local flora to create essential agricultural tools: ​ Agricultural Utility: The primary early form was the fanner basket , a wide, shallow tray used for winnowing threshings from ...

Deaon Griffin-Pressley Deaon Griffin-Pressley is an interdisciplinary visual artist, educator, and fiber artisan based in South Carolina, widely recognized for his work exploring historical heritage, place-based craft, and sustainable artistic practices. Key Areas of Focus & Creative Work ​Cotton Renaissance & Natural Fibers: He specializes in hand-spinning, processing, and dyeing heirloom cotton and natural fibers. His work focuses on reclaiming the narrative around historical crops in the American South, transforming materials historically tied to labor into expressions of cultural art, healing, and heritage. ​Community Education & Workshops: He actively leads public workshops, live demonstrations, and educational sessions in museum spaces, heritage sites, and community centers, teaching hand-spinning techniques, natural dye processes, and textile history to younger generations. ​Interdisciplinary Artistry: Beyond fiber arts, Griffin-Pressley incorporates storytelling, s...

​ Deaon Griffin-Pressley ​ Deaon Griffin-Pressley is an American actor, playwright, poet, fiber artist, and multidisciplinary practitioner based in New York City. Operating artistically under the moniker SLAVERY , his work spans classical and regional theater, experimental playwriting, and educational textile art centered on the reclamation of raw cotton to promote cultural healing and historical reflection. ​Contents ​ Early life and education ​ Career ​2.1 Theater and playwriting ​2.2 Cotton reclamation art and SLAVERY project ​ Exhibitions and public engagement ​ Selected works ​4.1 Plays ​4.2 Books and educational projects ​ References ​Early life and education ​Griffin-Pressley was raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He pursued formal training in dramatic arts, studying at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City. He subsequently attended the British American Drama Academy (BADA) at Oxford University under an English-Speaking Union...