Bio

I'm a freelance writer (Vanity Fair Magazine, Gawker, Splitsider.com, etc) and stand up comedian based in Chicago. I've been on NPR a bunch, used to run a comic book blog about black female superheroines, and am obsessed with vintage fashion and pop culture.

Favorites (hover / click to see name)

  • music

    • Kilo Kish
    • Flatbush Zombies
    • Friendly Fires
    • Kendrick Lamar
    • A$ap Rocky
  • movies

    • Groundhog Day
    • Coming to America
    • Galaxy Quest
    • The Princess Bride
  • publications

    • The New Yorker
    • Grantland
    • The Awl
    • Splitsider
  • I am BlerdNation because...

    I'm a nerd and I'm Black haha. Nerdery manifests itself in every part of my life. It's an inextricable part of my identity.

  • Who is your blerd role model? Why?

    If I had to choose ONE, I'd say Aisha Tyler. She's the quintessential female comedy blerd.

  • How do you stay connected to other blerds?

    All of my best friends are blerds. We all either do comedy or are writers and we naturally gravitated toward each other. Through my writing and my comedy - and my internet presence, I try to represent myself fully - and who I am is a blerd. When you're unabashedly you, likeminded people tend to flock!

  • What’s your most awkward blerd moment?

    So many. I have a joke about this. When I was a kid, I took Latin and lived in the hood. I once tried to get kids on my block to like me by teaching them the words to Eminem's My Name Is in Latin. Failed abysmally... from the Latin abyssus meaning bottomless lol.

  • What’s your favorite word/phrase?

    This is an IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION for a writer! "Cellar door" is apparently the most beautiful phrase in the English language, but it does little for me. I like the words "whimsical" and "periwinkle". "Quaintrelle" is also a gem (or any delightfully antiquated words I can ease into my personal lexicon. Just like a diva is the female version of a hustler, a quaintrelle is the female version of a dandy. She dedicates her life to leisure and pursuits of pleasure. Sounds ideal! And any really specific words do it for me - defenestration, which means to throw someone/something out of a window; Callipygian, which means having a shapely buttocks. So many!

  • What are your goals/passions?

    My passions are ever-evolving. I consider myself something of a transient hobbyist, but being creative is always a priority. Writing and comedy are the thru-lines. I hope to make a living completely from writing and comedy one day - without needed a supplemental day job. That would make me happier than anything I can think of.

  • What are you listening to, watching, or reading that impacts you or that is giving you a different perspective?

    I read a lot of short stories and humor pieces. I'm currently reading Montaigne's Essays and Hume's pieces on morality. The fact that human nature hasn't changed in almost 300 years - or in Montaigne's case, 500 - gives me a lot of perspective.

  • Are there any famous, or not-so-famous, people that you think would be a great addition to BlerdNation?

    I think that there are a lot of blerd comedians who are under the radar and deserve attention from other blerds. When people think of "black comedy", a very specific sensibility tends to come to mind - when, in fact, black comedy is as diverse at black people themselves.

  • What advice would you give to other blerds?

    Be yourself. Unrepentantly.

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