it’s because it’s on is a study enthusiasm. in the second half of 2026 it comes out on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month - the first one is a note from me and the second one is an interview with someone else!
the title of the project comes from June Jordan:
“And then if you're lucky, and I have been lucky, everything comes back to you. And then you know why one of the freedom fighters in the sixties, a young Black woman interviewed shortly after she was beaten up for riding near the front of an interstate bus—you know why she said, "We are all so very happy." It's because it's on. All of us and me by myself: we're on.” [1]
it’s on. we’re on. all of us. these lines have been ringing in my head since i read them in the fall of 2021, and caused an ‘enthusiasm’ or “a kind of inner earthquake produced by allowing oneself to be possessed by something larger and more powerful.” [2]
My understanding of enthusiasm, which caused an enthusiasm in itself, comes from Valeria Luiselli:
“…our mother spoke to us about the strength and power of the Pythonesses…who in ancient times served as the vehicles of the oracle by allowing themselves to be filled with ενθουσιασμός, or enthusiasm…the definition my mother gave of the term…said: “En, theos, seismos,” which means something like “in, god, earthquake.” she explained that enthusiasm was a kind of inner earthquake produced by allowing oneself to be possessed by something larger and more powerful, like a god or goddess.”
enthusiasms tilt me toward awe. they flow from the "fountain of renewal"[3] available in the midst of all of our lives.
thank you for your attention. may these notes lend themselves to the work of freedom, which is at once the work of love.