Saturday, 26 April 2025, 6 pm, diffrakt | centre for theoretical periphery
Performance, poetry, reading and conversation with
fuuturejazz | Satch Hoyt
Organised by
Maryam Fazeli | Arash Qilich
As Lauren Olamina prepares herself and her community for survival in a collapsing world, she gives a name to her evolving belief system: Earthseed. She gathers her verses, shaping a belief system rooted in adaptation and change:
Earthseed. I am Earthseed. Anyone can be. Someday, I think there will be a lot of us. And I think we’ll have to seed ourselves farther and farther from this dying place.
On this evening, we will read the diary entry for 26 April 2025, explore Earthseed’s ideas on destiny, purpose, future and community, and discuss its potentialities and dangers. How much does it offer liberation, or other iterations of struggle?
And the Destiny of Earthseed is to take root among the stars.
This event is part of a reading series organised by Maryam Fazeli and Arash Qilich, tracing Lauren Oya Olamina’s diary entries in real time. Published in 1993, Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler – a seminal work of Afrofuturism – follows the journey of a young Black woman navigating a dystopian U.S. shattered by climate catastrophe, racial and economic injustice, and authoritarian violence. In response, Lauren envisions new paths of resilience and transformation.
The collective reading session will be accompanied by a poetry performance by Satch Hoyt and a sound performance by fuuturejazz collective.
Event Schedule
6 pm – arrival & food
7 pm – start
There will be food and drinks based on donation. Merch available.
Accessibility
The venue has an elevator, making the event accessible for wheelchair users without stairs. To use the elevator, please request the access code via the doorbell or contact us in advance at mail@diffrakt.space. Unfortunately, the restrooms are not wheelchair accessible due to narrow doorways.
The event will be conducted in spoken English, but questions and contributions in other languages are welcome and will be translated to the best of our ability. If you have any accessibility needs or requests, please feel free to reach out to us via email.
