Writing Through the Visual and Virtual: Inscribing Language, Literature, and Culture in Francophone Africa and the Caribbean interrogates conventional notions of writing. The contributors-whose disciplines include anthropology, art history, education, film, history, linguistics, literature, performance studies, philosophy, sociology, translation, and visual arts-examine the complex interplay between language/literature/arts and the visual and virtual domains of expressive culture. The twenty-five essays explore various patterns of writing practices arising from contemporary and historical forces that have impacted the literatures and cultures of Benin, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Morocco, Niger, Reunion Island, and Senegal. Special attention is paid to how scripts, though appearing to be merely decorative in function, are often used by artists and performers in the production of material and non-material culture to tell "stories" of great significance, co-mingling words and images in a way that leads to a creative synthesis that links the local and the global, the "classical" and the "popular" in new ways.

What does it mean to be in a place and out of place at the same time? Gabrielle Civil explores this question by making black feminist performance art in Mexico. She asks unsuspecting Mexicans if they have good hair, visits legendary black expatriate artist Elizabeth Catlett, celebrates Obama’s first election with mariachis, embarks on love affairs, dresses up as a Mexican doll, and christens herself with Negrita rum. Archiving her 2008-2009 Fulbright fellowship project, In and Out of Place combines diary entries, images, performance texts, critical commentary, and current reflections. Civil explores—and expands—the parameters of her own body, artistic process, heritage, and culture. She retraces—and activates—her trajectory as a black woman artist in the world. from "¿ de donde eres ?"             where are you from?             and why are you wearing a sombrero?             are you trying to go native?             are you staking a claim?             are you playing a part or a joke?             who are you here, black girl?             who do you think you are?             what gifts are you bringing?             what rights do you have?             who are your people             and where are they now?             why is your accent so funny?             what are you trying to say?             when did you get here?             how long will you stay?             what lines are you drawing?             what are you rendering?             what do you recall?

A collection of paintings describing different prophetic events happening around the world with the use of tropical and modern day settings.