Digging Beneath Bones, teri elam’s debut poetry collection, travels through memory, lineage, rupture, and return, illuminating the body that navigates this rite of passage—a Black, Southern woman of a certain age—moving through the comfort and discomfort of relationships, dysfunction, family, truth, and self. It explores memory as a concept, a need, and a loss. A portrait of caretakers, aunties, nieces, and Black boy joy, it highlights meaning through music, television, myth, prayer, and the small altars of daily life. Above all, it is a love letter to a mother from a daughter, looking through their kaleidoscope, shining light on the broken bits of colored glass that create an infinite number of shapes, holding their testimony and memory.

teri elam is a poet, essayist, and screenwriter. She has been a Two Sylvias Wilder Series Poetry Book Prize and Perugia Press finalist. Her poems have been published in Prairie Schooner, The Future of Black: Afrofuturism and Black Superheroes, Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology, and Kwame Alexander’s This Is The Honey. Her poem “Counterpoint,” about legendary jewel thief Doris Payne, received honorable mention in december magazine’s Jeff Marks Memorial Prize contest. A Cave Canem and The Watering Hole Graduate Poetry Fellow, elam has film and poetry reviews and artist interviews in Birmingham Poetry Review, Heavy Feather Review, Callaloo, The Rumpus, Incluvie, and Rough Draft Atlanta. You can find teri at her website and on Instagram.

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The Rediscovery of George "Nash" Walker: : The Price of Black Stardom in Jim Crow America (SUNY Press, 2025) is the first biography dedicated to the life and cultural contributions of this actor, writer, and producer who revolutionized Black American theatre during the early twentieth century. In 1892, Walker left his hometown with a medicine show and quickly formed a partnership with comedian Bert Williams that would last nearly eighteen years. Under the moniker of “The Two Real Coons,” Williams and Walker used their comedy to erode the stereotyped White image of minstrel-style “cooning.” Their theatrical company produced many popular plays, including Clorindy/A Lucky Coon (1899–1900), Policy Players (1900–1901), Sons of Ham (1901–1902), In Dahomey (1902–1905), Abyssinia (1905–1906), Bandanna Land (1907–1909), and Mr. Lode of Koal (1909–1910), even performing on Broadway and abroad. An activist at heart, Walker insisted that audiences receive carefully curated Black entertainment, told from a uniquely Afro-American perspective. Unfortunately, Walker contracted syphilis and was forced to retire in 1909, marking the end of the first golden age of Black theatre. Despite his landmark contributions, Walker’s story has been largely forgotten. Drawing on archival resources, newspaper accounts, memoirs, oral histories, and manifestos written by Walker, this book celebrates the accomplishments of the vanguard generation of Black artists who were active between the close of the Civil War and the start of World War I.

Daniel Atkinson’s research and commitment to the legacy of George Walker and his generation is deep and authentic. Listen in on this fantastic conversation and check out also previous episodes with Dr. Cheryl Thompson and Es-pranza Humphry, both scholars of this era. And when you’re finished, head over to the Additions to the Archive Substack where we continued our conversation.

Daniel E. Atkinson is an independent scholar who earned his doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Washington where he specialized in Afro-American music and culture. You can find Daniel on Instagram and LinkedIn.

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After the groundbreaking success of his debut film, Boyz N the Hood in 1991, filmmaker John Singleton (1968–2019) gained worldwide acclaim, earned the respect of major film industry figures, and became the topic of both scholarly and popular culture film conversations. He also made history by becoming the youngest—and the first African American—nominee for the Academy Award for Best Director. However, lukewarm reception for his sophomore release, Poetic Justice in 1993, dampened the momentum of his early promise, and critical interest in his subsequent work waned. Once Upon a Time in South Central LA: John Singleton’s Hood Trilogy (UP of Mississippi, 2026) seeks to reframe Singleton’s legacy and reaffirm his significance as a filmmaker.

Author Mark D. Cunningham argues that Singleton’s so-called “hood trilogy”—Boyz N the Hood, Poetic Justice, and Baby Boy (2001)—offers a vital cinematic lens into the lived experiences of young African American men and women. Blending film analysis with literature, music, sociology, and cultural studies, the volume positions Singleton’s work as a critical intersection of African American history, identity, and popular culture. Cunningham explores Singleton’s portrayal of Black masculinity, the social environment of South Central Los Angeles, and the impact of hip-hop culture on gender dynamics. By revisiting Singleton’s early career and the cultural weight of his films, Once Upon a Time in South Central LA reasserts the filmmaker’s place in the cinematic canon and highlights the enduring influence of his work on African American youth and storytelling.

Dr. Mark D. Cunningham is professor and chair of the Department of Radio-Television-Film at Austin Community College. His research focuses on film and television studies, with an emphasis on Black filmmakers, screen adaptations, and representations of race and identity in popular media. His scholarship engages figures such as directors John Singleton, Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, and rapper/actor Ice-T. His work has appeared in The Atlantic and The Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, and he has contributed to numerous edited volumes in film, television, and media studies. You can find Mark on Instagram.

Subscribe, like, follow, and rate Additions to the Archive with Sullivan Summer on Instagram, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts. And check out Sullivan's Substack for a continued conversation between she and Mark, as they discuss the hood trilogy's impact in the 21st century.

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