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More than just a book of memoir,
Biomythography Bayou is a ritual for conjuring queer embodied knowledges and decolonial perspectives. Showcasing the nature, folklore, dialect, foodways, music, and art of the Gulf South communities in which she is rooted, Mel Michelle Lewis finds poetic ways to celebrate their power and wisdom.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Land and Labor Acknowledgment
Conjure Portal
Part 1: Water
Elemental Essay: Water
Catfish Mardi Gras Queen
Bayou Honeyman
Water Recipe
Praise Song for Blue Crab
Part 2: Fire
Elemental Essay: Fire
Tongues of Fire
Twin Flames on the Other Side of Fire
Ashy
Ceasefire
Jazz Fired
Part 3: Earth
Elemental Essay: Earth
Praise Song for the Road Home
What on Earth
Erosion
Who Got the Body?
Part 4: Mineral
Elemental Essay: Mineral
Salt
Red Clay Recipe
Indian Shell Mound Park
Oyster Shuck
Part 5: Nature
Elemental Essay: Nature
Spell for a Bee
Thunder Cake
Nature Preserve
Estuary
Storm Warning
Return Portal
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
MEL MICHELLE LEWIS (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, teacher, and environmental justice practitioner. Their creative work explores nature writing themes in rural coastal settings through the lens of Black, Creole, Afro-Indigenous, and queer embodied knowledges. Originally from Bayou La Batre on the Alabama Gulf Coast, they currently reside in Baltimore. Read more here: melmichellelewis.com
