Lynette Yiadom-Boakye – Marley M Writes

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6pm Madeira

When I found out about the Tate Collective’s Open Call a week before the deadline I was like “PERFECT!”. Pressure, yes, but also the perfect

March 1, 2021

marleymwrites

Hey friends! Been sitting on this idea for a while

Hey friends! Been sitting on this idea for a while and it's finally happening - I'm starting a creative writers group in Brixton. I'm so excited! And now I'm looking for people to join ✨

You can find all the details here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/brixton-writers-circle-tickets-691794224147

If you can, share this with all your wordy mates down south (we need each other 😂) 'preciate it 😊

You know what, I don't have a story for this one.

You know what, I don't have a story for this one. I tried to write one and it just didn't work. I think that's because I like the reality too much. I moved out this year so it's my first Christmas here. When I took these pics, I'd just put up my own tree with my own decorations in my own flat and the moment just hit me. Bad-ass. I really did that. I'm hella proud of my independence and grateful for everything that has allowed me to have it.

Merry Christmas you lovely lot and I hope you enjoy the holidays however you spend them. Ironically, I'll be regressing in my parents' home while being fed like a prize chicken. 'Til next year!

Happy Jamaica Independence Day!! No lie, all I can

Happy Jamaica Independence Day!! No lie, all I can think about today are my Jamaican grandparents. I type this curled up in a blanket on the sofa, doing nothing but missing them, still wearing the tan that I picked up in these pictures on my last trip to the island. So, in a bid to do something with all of those ✨feelings✨, here's a little something I wrote:

Jamaica is the two of you,
Caterpillar tache and plaited hair
Now found in every glass of rum
And every whispered prayer
To be frank
With neither of you still here
It's a tempting thought to think
That I am no longer of there

But this is an island handed to me
On plates of cooked food
A place passed down
In records and rocksteady
In clashes, cocoa butter and canerow
In matchsticks and dominos
In headscarves and woven stories
In overcomings and feet put down
You are my hyphen
Between these two half homes
My proudest prefix

Jamaica will always, always
Be the two of you
And I am from there
Because I am from you.

++ They sat in an empty room in the science block.

++ They sat in an empty room in the science block. The four of them had all swooped down to campus when they got the text. Nicola’s hook-up/ not-her-boyfriend-but-he-may-as-well-be had been caught walking out of her (soon to be ex) best friend’s room wearing said best friend’s dressing gown. We all know what that means. Nicola was in pieces. But after 2 hours and 45 minutes of talking about it, Nicola was ready to change the subject.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“Where do you guys wanna be when you’re like older older, like 25?”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Claire put a manicured hand to her chin and looked up. “Earning at least 30k, I want that straight out of uni, anything less is a joke. By 25, I’ll be at 6 figures. I didn’t do this big-big degree to get paid anything less.” The group hummed in agreement. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Ali went on to add, “I mean I’m not too bothered about the money, but I want to be published by then, making my first film or something. What about you, Marley?”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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There was a pause before the question was answered, “I don’t want to do the whole renting thing, so I’ll probably have a house. I also want to be married by then.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Esme nodded, “yeah me too.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“Yeah exactly, that’s the age you do it, right? I’ll have a really good paying job, I’ll travel loads. Maybe start thinking about a kid or two. I mean that’s like 6 years from now, that’s ages. But who knows, really.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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x-x-x⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I turned 25 last year! It's funny looking back at where I thought I'd be by now. There were so many boxes I thought I needed to have ticked by now. And it’s not that I haven’t ticked those boxes. The boxes just changed. I’m really content with where I’m at. And so’s 19-year-old me, after all it was her who got me here.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#ghostwriter #writer #creative #curly #blogger #storyteller #wordsmith #wordy #poet

“How many spa treatments do you want?”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“Yes.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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x-x-x⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Remember to spoil yourself where you can. I often have to remind myself too.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#ghostwriter #writer #creative #curly #blogger #storyteller #wordsmith #wordy #poet #blackcreative #fictionwriter #writersofinstagram #copywriter #londoncreative #britishwriter #londonwriter #youngwriter #naturalhair #blackgirlsthatblog #shewrites #freelancewriter #shortstory #fiction #basedonreallife #truestory #literature #spoilyourself #spaday #facial #massage

++ “Even mermaids go to dinner.” ++⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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x-x-x ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This dress makes me feel like a mermaid. That is all. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#ghostwriter #writer #creative #curly #blogger #storyteller #wordsmith #wordy #poet #blackcreative #fictionwriter #writersofinstagram #copywriter #londoncreative #britishwriter #londonwriter #youngwriter #naturalhair #blackgirlsthatblog #shewrites #freelancewriter #shortstory #fiction #basedonreallife #truestory #literature #mermaids #flowydress

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