October 25, 2018

Meet Adiba Nelson

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adiba Nelson.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Hmmmm…my story. Well back in November 1977, the heavens parted, and glitter rained down from the sky, and a baby girl was born.

JUST KIDDING!

Originally from New York City, I moved to AZ in 1988, and can honestly say, without snark, that I call it home. In 2009 I gave birth to one amazing little girl, and when she was ten months old, she was diagnosed with a rare form of Cerebral Palsy. After realizing that she (and children with disabilities, in general) were not adequately and appropriately represented in children’s literature, I wrote (and self-published) Meet ClaraBelle, a children’s book based on my daughter and centered around a theme of inclusion.

Since then (2011), life has been all sorts of interesting. From thinking I might need to put my daughter up for adoption because life is basically unaffordable for a single mom who can’t work because she’s parenting a child that has a disability, to giving a TED talk (https://youtu.be/adfKcwgadqk), being featured in an Emmy winning documentary (https://youtu.be/GIHGsBl1ncI), doing burlesque, and pitching an animated series based on the Meet Clarabelle Blue.

Please tell us about your art.
I am a writer.

According to my mother, I wrote my first story when I was 4. However, I have ZERO recollection of that – I think that’s just a thing moms say because they’re moms and they’re supposed to. According to MY memory, I wrote my first “thing” when I was 13. A rinky-dink poem about love being like a highway or something. From that point on, I was hooked on poetry, filling up composition book after composition book.

In my 20’s I moved to Tempe, and after my grandmother passed I embedded myself in the spoken word/SLAM poetry community, eventually becoming a finalist for the 2003 Phoenix SLAM Poetry team. In 2004 I discovered my love for personal essays and creative non-fiction and briefly considered changing my major from social work to creative writing. In hindsight, I probably should have. After graduation, I put down the pen and threw myself into life: working, getting married, getting divorced, having a baby – the likes thereof.

It wasn’t until I had my daughter that I got back to writing. I began blogging to save myself from my post-partum depression. Writing has always kind of served as a savior for me, and this time proved to be no different. Since then I have written all sorts of things – poems, articles, personal essays, think pieces and children’s books, with topics ranging from parenting, sex, race, social justice, advocacy, and women’s body issues. However, today, my focus is primarily on children’s literature and media. I am on a mission to make it more inclusive by making kids books that feature a disabled girl of color with a disability, and her crew of friends – some with disabilities and some without. The message is always KIDS ARE KIDS ARE KIDS, regardless of ability, and they should be treated as such. They should be included in television media, print media, children’s programming – all of it. And not as background characters to their disability, but as whole individuals, carrying storylines, and titling books.

When we normalize something, take the stigma out of it, especially for children, we make it safe, and ‘okay’. It becomes less ‘scary’, friends are made, inclusion happens LONG TERM, and slowly, the world begins to change.

Now, I also mentioned that I perform burlesque. Tis true. I perform as The BIG Bang McGillicuddy, and I am my town’s ONLY Black burlesquer! I am also one of only a handful of fat performers, and I m damn proud of that. Initially, I began performing for my daughter – I mean, what better way to teach her to never hide or dim her light because her body is “different”, than by literally shining a light on every physical “flaw” I have. If I’m going to talk the talk, I better walk the walk. So, while initially, burlesque began as an ode to my daughter, it has become my love letter to big girls, to brown girls, to girl who’ve been told they’re not enough – it is simply my love letter to women. FULL STOP.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
It is *still* unbelievably (and ridiculously) hard to get your self-published book on retailer bookshelves. Big Box stores like Target and Wal-Mart will (typically) only buy from one of the Big 5 kid-lit publishing houses, as will Barnes & Noble. Many independent bookstores operate in the same way, except they *will* take self-published books on consignment – 1 to 3 copies at a time. This is such a disservice to quality writers who simply have not been fortunate enough to get picked up by a publishing house. Because of this, our books get limited viewership, which means even more limited sales. If we are really trying to make it as a writer, and we’ve given up on waiting for the Big 5 to give us a shot, all of it is in our hands – the marketing, the PR, the social media, press, etc.). It can be downright overwhelming at times, if not tear-inducing.

As for burlesque, maybe it’s a regional thing, but I would LOVE to see more diversity in size, race, and ability in the southwest burlesque scene. It’s lonely out here for a Black burlesquer.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
People can find my book in the following locations:

Amazon
(https://www.amazon.com/Meet-ClaraBelle-Blue-Adiba-Nelson/dp/0989191907/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537782449&sr=8-1&keywords=meet+clarabelle+blue)

RocketChair Productions website
(www.clarabelleblue.com/shop)

Gardner’s Bookstore – Phoenix
Mildred & Dildred – Tucson
University of Arizona Bookstore – Tucson

To watch my TEDxTucson talk: https://youtu.be/adfKcwgadqk
To watch the Arizona Illustrated documentary: https://youtu.be/GIHGsBl1ncI

People can see some of my burlesque performances on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTFoEq252icw1M_YiuFCRDg

Contact Info: