Biomythography is a term created by Audre Lorde for her book Zami, a simple spelling of my name. It has been described as the weaving together of myth, history and biography in epic narrative form, a style of composition that represents all the ways in which we perceive the world, often involving the use of multiple genres of writing, including poetry, fiction, biography, drama, and creative nonfiction. For more on Audre Lorde
Bio-mythographeology is a term based on Lorde’s work, to describe a natural process, a craft-centric, creative output spanning Mediums but surrounding the Biography, Mythology and History efforts of the Dumpster Archeology Project. Blending together into narrative forms, these are the representations and collective perceptions of a lost Soul found in a dumpster.
Until I discovered Audre Lorde’s wonderful work, I wrestled with context and conjecture as the storytelling side of the project dealt with the fact …I was guessing most of the time. At the heart of the Dumpster Archeology Project was mythology, legacy and a simple honoring. It seemed as if the raw data spoke it’s own language and the Dead spoke of themselves.
Dumpster Archeology couldn’t be defined as ONE thing as it often becomes a Hyper Dimensional Rabbit hole that goes deep into History, Digital Information and the heart of celebrating a LIFE ….complete and a legacy open to public viewing within the machine of culture itself. If conjecture is a part of the Storytelling process, so be it…..creating Mythology is a lot more fun and often the Dead speak for themselves.
Audre Lorde wrote about civil rights, feminism, lesbianism, illness and disability, and the exploration of Black female identity. Her work is worthy of much more historical notice than it has, but central to the themes is this sense of an “authenticity of experience“. My dumpster dived Souls are real people, with real lives, and our attempts to tell their story must maintain the same level of Authentic prose.
Together we find the narrative out of the context, and mix it all into a soup called Bio-mythographeology.
Trash doesn’t lie, it might tell a unique story, a mythology built from…. simple information!
My name is Lew Blink and I tell Stories from the Trash. I believe that when it comes to the Biography process, one can discover a lot about a human being from the raw data left behind. Digital landscapes also contain the odd legacy a person leaves on our cultural story, and through OUR public forums we learn much about a lost soul. Trash is the next best thing to an actual witness and I suppose one could say the artifacts, data and collective memory when put together, has a “pattern recognition” aspect to it.
Often included in the overview of a person’s life from the trash, are the actual words, and language used to speak the subjective understanding of a personal Mythology. Inclusion of details is not meant to pass judgement, but drive home the notion that the Biomythographeology of an Individual …. is subjective and fluid like history itself.
Bio-Mytholographeology is birthed today in the minds of those willing to absorb the details of a lost St Louis Resident and discover the narrative mythology of a fellow citizen. Who are we collectively?
To answer this complex opinion, we can simply experience the emotional resonance of a legacy in digital form and hope the effort is rewarding. Thank you for reading this Digital exploration and Magazine!! Lew Blink
