Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
The 27 Club2 views
Author
Walker, Kamau, Creative Writing - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Virginia
Advisors
Chakraborty, Sumita, AS-English (ENGL), University of Virginia
Abstract
The 27 Club gains its title from the group of musicians (and artists more broadly) who have died at the age of 27, including the likes of Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Basquiat and more. At large the project serves as a contemplation on life, having reached the age of 27 without the promise of survival, while also questioning how I may imagine a future after reaching 28. As such, the book explores the precarity of life, most frequently within the manuscript, predicated on Blackness, substance abuse, mental health and ecological positioning. The book simultaneously acts as a celebration of love and of the individuals who helped us through all of life's precarities, be they family, serpent, strangers, or musicians who have passed away.
Degree
MFA (Master of Fine Arts)
Keywords
Music; Blackness; Ecology; Poetry; DMX; Mac Miller; Childhood; Parenting
Language
English
Rights
All rights reserved by the author (no additional license for public reuse)
Walker, Kamau. The 27 Club. University of Virginia, Creative Writing - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, MFA (Master of Fine Arts), 2026-05-05, https://doi.org/10.18130/dt83-9r76.
