I aspire to build, through language, interactive spaces of resistance and experimentation.

My work aims to:

• unmake colonial myths;

• construct interactive playspaces;

• subvert prescriptivist conceptions of language.

[FICTION]

Where Language Was Lost: A literary project that collapses the pillars of linguistic prescriptivism. This project engages with nationalism, contact linguistics and the Berlin Wall.

[NOVEL WITH GRAPHIC ELEMENTS]

Dandara of Xangô: In colonial Brazil, an enslaved African girl fights to escape bondage, raise an army, and wipe out the ruthless Portuguese military force that wants to spread slavery throughout South America. Based on a true story.

[NONFICTION]

You Mean It or You Don’t: James Baldwin’s Radical Challenge: A book that does not indict liberal complacency, but rather offers a remedy to it. It provides next steps for those willing to evolve good intentions into good actions. Co-written with Dr. Adam Hollowell, and released June 2022.

Additionally, in order to unseat patriarchal narratives of white male heroism, I have written several nonfiction books for young readers, including a biography of Venus and Serena Williams, a compendium of political pioneers and an exploration of the life of Mary Bowser. They are all published by Holt/Macmillan under the pen name Jay Leslie.

[THEATRE]

Dorian/Grey: A musical theatre collaboration with composer Daniel Lopez, examining intergenerational trauma that is passed down through nurture just as much as nature.

[AND]

Additionally, I have written for Issa Rae Productions (2015) and my work has been published in anthologies such as Outside the XY: Queer, Black and Brown Masculinity (2016).