How Did You Know You Had a Stutter?

jerome, i absolutely loved your album. It was truly one of the most beautiful pieces of music and poetry i've ever listened to. So before we get to your album, i wanted to ask some questions about your stutter specifically. And what was it like growing up? Oh, thank you, maya so much. I really mean so much to hear.

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Episode notes

JJJJJerome Ellis talks with Maya and Cynthia about the intersections of being a black person who stutters and a musician, how his views of his disability evolved since childhood, and why it was so important for him to connect his stutter to his ancestral history of slavery in his work. He also highlights how the stage is a safe space for stuttering and music is a source of healing the pain he experienced as a child.

“Growing up I felt so much of the pain and also the beauty of the stutter. Over time I’ve come to feel the stutter alters time, and music is another way that we can alter time. Part of what I was trying to do with The Clearing is to try to undo some of the things that have been told to me about stuttering and to transform the stuttering narrative through poetry, music, history, and philosophy.”

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