When You’re Wright, You’re Wright
“There’s a word we use for such performances—chautauqua—and there are many people who do historical figures,” writer and thinker Darryl Lorenzo Wellington tells SFR of an upcoming event at the Santa Fe Public Library’s main branch that’ll find him embodying the great Native Son and Black Boy author Richard Wright. “There’s a lot of audio of Wright [on which the performance is based]; and I found out that a lot of people don’t know there’s actually a movie of Native Son from 1951 in which he plays Bigger Thomas; and a lot of the material I’ve drawn from the books.”
At Wellington's The Power of Black Indignation this weekend, the name of the game is highlighting Wright’s staggeringly prolific body of work. To best illustrate that, Wellington says, he’ll become Wright through a combination in-character lecture and Q&A session. And as much as Wright’s work feels timeless, he adds, it’s particularly timely given the current political landscape.
“By the end of his life, Wright was very critical of the United States and the Soviet Union—and this was in the middle of the Cold War” he explains. “Still, he saw great hope, I think, and it was during a time of anti-colonial movements in Africa…he went through so much in his life, yet he kept on and found a way to try and keep some hope and ambition toward a true democratic state.”
It all comes down to determination, Wellington notes, adding that he both admires and is impressed by Wright’s sticktoitiveness. Additionally, he says, the dramatic nature of chautauqua makes learning about Wright fun.
“Yeah, I hope you’ll be dramatically engaged,” he says, “but what I think I am impressed with—what so many people are impressed with—is the extraordinary variety of his work. Even though there’s a thruway of social unrest, he did autobiography, novels, existential philosophy. He had an extraordinary belief in himself.” (Alex De Vore)
The Power of Black Indignation: Richard Wright, Black American Novelist w/Darryl Lorenzo Wellington: 2 pm Saturday, Feb. 8. Free. Santa Fe Public
Library (Main Branch), 145 Washington Ave., (505) 955-2839
Geek Love
True Story: SFR Culture Editor Alex De Vore got hired because former SFR editor Julia Goldberg saw him talking shit while hosting the Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz some years ago. Which is to say, good things happen at the quiz, baby! This week, find Geeks Who Drink taking over Social Kitchen+Bar with its irrepressible combo of trivia, dick jokes and snark. Yes, there will be prizes. Yes, there will be beer. Yes, there will be the bragging rights that come from knowing the whole-ass cast of Golden Girls (Don Cheadle and Quentin Tarantino included). Please note we’re not promising a Golden Girls category so much as we’re illustrating the types of things the quiz might cover. Bone up, baby. (ADV)
Geeks Who Drink: 7 pm Thursday, Feb. 6. Free. Social Kitchen+Bar, 725 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-5952
They Didn’t Have Lord Huggington?
Even though Mad Men incontrovertibly proved that love—and by extension, Valentine’s Day—is a myth created by money people in a skyscraper someplace, we’re still required to go through the motions during holidays, so here’s a little something for everyone who still feels feelings: The New Mexico Museum of Art hosts a Valentines Cardmaking workshop this week. There, you’ll find everything you need to make something cute for your sweetie or lover or whoever else needs a written reminder you care about them. We kid. We kid because we love. It’s never a bad time to spread love, especially in card form—here’s how you can do that. (ADV)
First Friday: Valentines Cardmaking Workshop: 5 pm Friday, Feb. 7. Free. New Mexico Museum of Art, 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072
Back at the Library
Our local libraries are kind of killing it with the events this week, so allow us to highlight another event, this time at the Southside branch: Something Queer at the Library. The ongoing discussion group/queer lit exploration club delves into Shelley Parker-Chan’s 2021 novel, She Who Became the Sun, a sapphic tale of a peasant who takes on her brother’s identity and goes on to do great things. She Who Became the Sun tackles gender identity, sexuality and the concept of destiny alongside the pitfalls of societal misogyny and, ultimately, hope. Online book blog The Lesbary calls it “a stunning queer fantasy debut full of wide, sweeping action,” and we’re kind of like, “Oh, dope!” about that. The read feels especially timely during a moment wherein the leaders of our country are trying so hard to erase queer voices. Consider this a hearty recommendation. (ADV)
Something Queer at the Library: She Who Became the Sun: 6 pm Tuesday, Feb. 11. Free. Santa Fe Public Library (Southside Branch), 6599 Jaguar Drive, (505) 955-2820