Unwritten Presence

by | Sep 9, 2025

There is knowledge that refuses the page. Knowledge that arrives on the breath, in the bend of fingers, in the hush before a voice takes hold of the air. There is wisdom that cannot be footnoted, pedagogies older than the school—more fluid than text, more precise than...

Tending the Archives

by | Sep 9, 2025

  So, during the project, my role was really to just be a helper and to also do some taping and talking, interviewing the adults of that generation, my parents, uncles, and the leaders in the community. And I think the greatest thing was that, for me, is to see...

“All the Good in Life”

by | Sep 8, 2025

In the summer of 2014, I was halfway through my MFA in Poetry at Brooklyn College and desperately looking for work at the intersection of poetry and education. As a poet exploring work in translation from Farsi and my Afghan heritage, I somehow stumbled upon City...

Documentary Arts

by | Sep 8, 2025

For more than four decades, Documentary Arts has introduced and employed innovative interdisciplinary methodologies to broaden public knowledge and appreciation of the arts of different cultures in all media, from photographs, films, and videos to studio and field...

Note from the Field

by | Sep 8, 2025

In the surreal and liminal reality of the early months of the 2020 global pandemic, I had just moved on from my 19-year tenure as the Virginia State Folklorist to start my own cultural nonprofit, the Center for Cultural Vibrancy. While I felt blessed and enjoyed my...