Hello! Welcome to the first ever edition of Go Prefigure. This Substack is where I want to inhabit a more liminal space at the boundary between the personal and a collective imaginary. I want to make space to imagine new social solidarities, new ways of connecting. To water the green shoots of radical hope and collective solutions, and share the semi-precious gems of inspiring ideas and culture, jagged purple-amethyst, uncut turquoise and glowing amber. Welcome to my plant nursery, my gem collection. Grab a Moroccan rug-cushion and sip some tea in the walled garden. Look up at the sky with me and ask “what if…”
Why I am writing this Substack
So here I am, with Substack, experimenting with a new medium to share my core values: curiosity, kindness, honesty, inclusivity and innovation. How can I rekindle the speculative sense of possibility that I learned from the radicals at Sussex University? And combine it with the playfulness, the kindness of a primary school teacher? And the levelheadedness of an analyst who studied ethics? One thing is clear: I’m more than happy to put party politics to one side (which is convenient as I have to be impartial working at the Lords). I want less heat, more light.
The story of the name “Go Prefigure”
Fractals, selected inspired by the phrase “I am multitudes”, a quote attributed to American writer Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
“Prefigurative politics are the modes of organisation and social relationships that strive to reflect the future society being sought by the group.” Popularly known as “be the world you wish to see”, here’s a YouTube talk on it. I first heard the term in 2019 at a talk I co-organised by a member of a San-Francisco based commune, a member of the Embassy Network, “Communities experimenting with culture and commoning”. I wrote the talk up as Experiments In Living.
Why now
I have been longing for more creative outlets and more imagination, because my current job, researching policy for Parliament, is so factual. Every sentence has a reference. I took a creative nonfiction class, writing with genuine effort the first time in years. I enjoyed finding my voice writing memoirs, reviews and essays, and honing the wordsmith’s craft.
With a writing coach recommended by peers at the London Library, I started pitching articles, and as I got my first bites from editors, realised pitching felt too much like applying for a job to be my main outlet long-term. The time feels right to do something that I would do even if just for myself, without thinking of an editor’s needs.
Look up at the sky with me and ask “what if…”
9 things you can expect from this Substack
9 is my favourite number. Left: Thai number /Right: engine, engine, number 9…
Firstly, you can expect novel questions. Questions you may not hear elsewhere.
Secondly, you can expect food for thought from psychology, philosophy, academia.
Thirdly, you can expect a captain’s log of my journey into the unknown. Snapshots, if you will.
Fourthly (you’ve just been given a hint of this) you can expect really dorky references.
Fifthly, you can expect potentially really pretentious high art/culture, with wisecracks for levity.
Sixthly, you can expect some poetic mind-wandering / right-brain weirdness (I will signpost you to this).
Seventhly, you can expect seriousness about some silly things (puddings, wordplay) and silliness about some serious things (religion, the meaning of life).
Eightly, you can expect inspiration magpied from things I have read, watched or attended that month selecting for joy and innovation.
Ninethly, you can expect some calls to action and practical tips to live to make the world we want.
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