Brittani’s Team Pick:
“Raisin in the Sun?” What are your thoughts. It doesn’t matter. Because Lorraine Hansberry herself was bored to death of it. So much so that she included it on her “I AM BORED TO DEATH WITH:” list. Now one of my greatest fears is that I will die unexpectedly and all of the random/weird/embarrassing slips of paper I have floating around my room, thrown in folders of keepsakes, and in pockets of pants that haven’t been washed yet will come to light. If any of them were as brilliant as the lists Hansberry wrote, I wouldn’t worry about this at all.
In addition to the “I AM BORED TO DEATH LIST WITH:” list, she made a few others of things she likes, things she hates, and things she wants. This is basically all I use the internet for so I’m impressed and jealous that she was able to come up with such a good list in probably one sitting and that these lists are some of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life.
Highlights include putting “my homosexuality” in the like and hate columns, how hot she thought Dorothy Secules was, being bored with both being a Les AND Lesbians (with a capital L, so including herself?), hating Sidney Poitier, every time she said silly, cramps — ok, who I am kidding. This entire thing is a gem. I want to print it out. I want to frame it. I want it to be the first thing I hang in my new apartment whenever it is I get a new apartment. But real talk, how much sex was she having that she was bored enough with it to list it in all caps? Nothing has ever made me more interested in any person in the history of everdom than these lists have made me in Lorraine Hansberry. God bless April 1, 1960.
This is probably my favorite primary document in the WORLD.
My favorite gems:
“Bored to death with…Lesbians (the capital L mostly)…Silly white people…sex…”
“I like…older women…charming women…and/or intelligent women…”
“I hate…my loneliness…Sidney Poitier…racism…cramps…”
It’s like, regardless of time, queer women of color still like/hate/are bored to death with the same things (I hate cramps too girl).
This made my day.
This inspires me to make similar lists.
A contemporary Shonagon! I am adding this article to my own list of “Things that bring a warm feeling to the heart.”
Ha, she is brilliant.
This is perfect. My favorite part is it looks like she wrote “lesbians” with a lower case “L,” but after considering it further went back and upper cased it (and added a parenthetical addendum).
It sounds like she may have put some time into getting to know what “drinking without happiness”, was like. I agree.
I would like to hope that she and Dorothy got to know one another and that she had some love.
Great notes, most of it I can read.
thank you, brittani. thank you.
this is my favorite thing ever
being asked to speak
speaking
This is amazing. I wish I were Dorothy.
Also, my guess is that by “SEX” she may have meant that thing she was up to with her husband from time to time. I imagine that bored her. Poor Robert. (Nah, not losing any sleep for his troubles.)
Lorraine Hansberry is on my list of Favorite Humans Ever. “Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” and “To Be Young, Gifted & Black” are amazing pieces of theater/literature/revolution.
I love how she “likes” and is “bored with” Eartha Kitt lol.
Yes, Lorraine and Dorothy did get together (see http://lavenderpoems.com/lorraine-hansberry-lesbian-poet-dramatist/). They lived together until Lorraine’s death; it was Dorothy who cared for her during her last months. It truly is a tragic story. I too hope that Lorraine found the all consuming love she was looking form.
I love this! On the bored to death list, I thought it said “Jelly white people” instead of silly white people. I was like, wait, did Lorraine coin the term “jelly” because that would be awesome.
Could I ask that you include a transcript of the writing? I can’t read cursive very well :?
Thank you thank you thank you thank you X 1000!