“Why do you wake up before the sun?" was written between 2019 and 2020, in Barbados and New York. The words are a collage of thoughts/dreams/imaginations that are a reflection on the meaning of rest as a Black queer woman. Disjointed and strung together in places, the writing serves as an unearthing of how constructions of self and rest may be unbound from the histories of enslavement, colonialism and white supremacy. Rest in: duppy visits, in refusals, in ritual, in a journey towards growing new inner gardens.

A version of this essay was originally printed in Freedom School: A Seminar on Theory and Praxis for Black Studies in the United States in Summer 2020 - a link to the full publication can be found here: https://www.freedomschool-litmag.com/ This essay is a part of a larger collection of essays, by Aliyah, titled Dreams of Breadfruit and a Mango Tree. In 2021, Aliyah collaborated with Lucky Risograph to design the reprint of the original essay; a portion of the sales proceeds will go towards future production of "Bright Spots Zine," a zine project compiled by Aliyah Blackmore, unraveling Bajan + Caribbean Diasporic Black histories through free printed material and resource lists. More about "Bright Spots Zine" can be found here: https://www.aliyahblackmore.com/bright-spots-the-zine @brightspots_zine

Dimensions: 5.25” x 8.5”
20 Pages
Risograph printed in flo. orange and metallic gold with copper staples