In this conversation with Danielle Bainbridge, we cover a lot of ground and discuss themes from her forthcoming memoir in essays, including how she navigates the layered expectations placed on her by different communities — queer, academic, familial, or activist — as a queer, Black woman in this book. We also get into the broader cultural silences or stereotypes about Black mental health, especially for women.
Danielle Bainbridge is Assistant Professor of Theatre, Black Studies, and Performance Studies at Northwestern University. Her first academic book, Currencies of Cruelty: Slavery, Freak Shows, and the Performance Archive, is forthcoming in 2025 from NYU Press. Her first memoir, Dandelion: A Memoir in Essays, is forthcoming from Jaded Ibis Press in 2025, where it was the winner of the inaugural Uplift Voices Nonfiction Prize. Danielle has received scholarships and residencies from Tin House, the Adirondack Center for Writing, and the Banff Centre in Canada. Her web series and media work have been nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards and one NAACP Image Award. She lives and loves in Chicago with her partner and two naughty cats.
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