Endsley’s pieces explore performance and identity and how they interact with feminist pedagogy, race, and popular culture. As an activist, she incorporates cultural production and uses it to address academic/home communities, motherhood, and knowledge production. Her lecture titled “Everything I Never Had” illuminated her experiences with community isolation in university settings, performance in daily life in relation to meeting white standards, and finding strength through spoken word expression. Throughout the lecture, Endsley integrated spoken word and poetry into her speech. Her performances brought to light the experiences of coming from a racially mixed family, surviving trauma, and finding strength when the world tries to “take away your fire.” In addition, Endsley incorporated the audience into the performance by passing around a notebook where audience members could write under the prompt of “Everything I Never Had”. The event was well-attended by faculty, staff, and students with a reception that followed. Endsley also hosted a poetry Workshop the evening after the lecture for anyone interested in spoken word or poetry.
March 10, 2014
