"Writing to save my life" with Antoinette Cooper

Interview by Matthew Green. Produced by J'aime Rothbard.

In her new book of documentary poetry UNRULY, Antoinette Cooper braids her experiences of medical trauma and sexual violence with the stories of the “Mothers of Gynecology” – enslaved Black women who were subjected to medical experiments by 19th century gynecologist J. Marion Sims, who appears in the book under the pseudonym Father Butcher.

In this deeply moving and intimate conversation, Antoinette speaks about the generations of shame that made it so difficult to share her experiences, and the fear that others would not be able to hold the depth of the pain she was carrying. Her commitment to telling her story was not only an artistic endeavour – but an existential struggle. “I was writing to save my life,” Antoinette says.

Antoinette reframes resistance to this work as a matter of being unskilled rather than unwilling, while sharing her journey of turning towards the trauma held in the sacral chakra of the collective Black body.

This is a transformative conversation that will speak to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the relationship between trauma integration and truth-telling; the erasure of the collective and ancestral trauma carried by Black women; medical racism; the necessity of developing capacity to witness rather than bypass; and the many paths individuals can walk to transmute their most harrowing experiences in service of collective healing. 

About Antoinette Cooper:

Antoinette Cooper is a multi-disciplinary artist, educator, and organizer with over 20 years of experience. Her work focuses on healing collective trauma through the arts, ancestral wisdom, and embodied practices. Antoinette is also the founder of Black Exhale, a nonprofit dedicated to creating sanctuary spaces for the liberated Black body. Her documentary poetry collection, UNRULY, was published January 2025.

 bio.site/antoinettecooper

Professional Website

Black Exhale

Purchase Unruly Bookshop.org

Purchase Unruly via Amazon

00:00 Introduction to Collective Healing

01:46 Matthew Green's Encounter with Antoinette

03:28 Defining Collective Healing

05:57 Antoinette's Personal Journey and Writing 'Unruly'

10:31 The Power of Sharing and Collective Healing

24:17 The Mothers of Gynecology and Historical Trauma

38:05 The Power of Sharing Stories

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