Sumu Tasib’s project for the 2023 Jack Straw Writers Program is a collection of short fiction covering on themes of gender, relationships, and psychology that uses characters and narratives to create empathy and understanding. In their conversation with curator Priscilla Long, they talk about their 2023 Jack Straw Program, their earliest artistic influences, and the mentors that opened their eyes. “My path to writing new stories . . . a lot of that came from writing about things that did happen but kind of noticing that by telling and retelling these stories I was editing them. And forming them into something to drive a particular point.”

Music by Bryan Smith, produced through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.