My Body of Work
“Beauty opens the door to the significance of beings, and having seen and recognized this, we can no longer be unmoved or indifferent.”
Wendy Farley (Beguiled by Beauty: Cultivating a Life of Contemplation & Compassion)
Through feature articles, personal essays, reviews, interviews, and poetry, I’m interested in the beauty of unearthing hidden histories, the complexities of mothering, food as invitation, placemaking in the American South, loss and reclamation, and the gorgeous intersectionality of individual and collective identity. Some of the mentors, writers, poets, and thinkers who’ve thrown open the doors of beauty to me include:
Valerie Boyd, Alice Walker, Elizabeth Alexander, Emily Bernard, Alexander John Shaia, Joy Harjo, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Ada Limón, Barbara Holmes, Mary Oliver, Christine Valters Paintner, bell hooks, Sara Miles, Wil Gafney, Steve Martin, Natasha Trethewey, and Rhiannon Giddens.
Features & Poetry
Bitter Southerner: Personal Essay Is That Your Mother?
The Guardian: Feature Article Asheville Restores Drinking Water
Oxford American: Interview Nicole A. Taylor
The Porch: Poetry An Ode for Mother
Bitter Southerner: Feature Article Still She Rises
Bitter Southerner: Interview Monica Land
The Porch: Interview Suzan-Lori Parks
Bitter Southerner: Feature Article An Invitation Into Belonging
The Porch: Poetry Walking with Rapture
Books
Essay: The Color of Belonging
Essay: To Brim with Wholeness
Contributing Author
Reviews & Podcasts
The Porch: Film Review Cabrini
Hear-Tell Podcast: Guest Is That Your Mother?
The Porch: Reconsideration Daughters of the Dust
The Porch: Film Review Soul
The Porch: Film Review Wolf Walkers
The Porch: Conversation The Muse Likes to Be Followed, Not Pushed
“Through the act of cooking dinner in her kitchen, [Pittman] connects with a line of North Carolina chefs who came before her. Traveling through time, the writing stays firmly rooted in place, giving names and faces of past, present, and often overlooked, African American contributors to Appalachian cooking.” — Josina Guess, assistant editor at Sojourners Magazine
