Hey <<First Name>>

Male vulnerability has been a prominent theme in popular Black music recently, with artists like Drake and Frank Ocean building careers off their feelings and insecurities. When I first became familiar with the work of Tahir Jetter, this week’s Highwater Podcast guest, I saw his short film Close (2011), which was an official selection at Sundance that year. A story of an encounter between and man and a woman who are not on the same page, the short was one of Jetter’s first forays into the insecurities of the millennial Black man.

Jetter continued to tackle male insecurity in his web series Hard Times (2014), in which faced with mounting bills, a physical trainer starts working as an exotic dancer. In our interview, Jetter talks about writing for Black men who are trying to navigate healthier concepts of masculinity, and why not getting a theatrical release for his debut feature film, How To Tell If You’re A Douchebag actually worked out in his favor. Click here to listen.

My conversation with Jetter reminded me that our best art comes from a place of vulnerability. Think about the things that embarrass you. The thoughts you pretend you don’t have. The version of yourself that you fear won’t be accepted. That’s where the good art is found.

To Putting Yourself On The Page, 
Chakka

• WRITERS: Stanford University's Wallace Stegner Fellowship offers ten two-year fellowships each year, five in fiction and five in poetry. Fellows are regarded as working artists, intent upon practicing and perfecting their craft. The only requirements are workshop attendance and writing. The program offers no degree. Fellowships include a living stipend of $26,000 per year. In addition, fellows’ tuition and health insurance are paid for by the Creative Writing Program. Applications open Sept. 1. Deadline is December 1. More info here. 

• Check out Tahir Jetter's short film Close and his web series Hard Times. Both NSFW. (YouTube).