Narrative Media Co.

Eniafe Isis Adewale is more than just an artist and writer; she is a woman embarking on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment.

With decades of experience in bringing ideas to life, Eniafe's path has been marked by passionate leaps and transformative experiences. From studying at the renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem to founding ALL HER WORDS, a platform dedicated to amplifying women's voices, Eniafe has consistently championed storytelling as a tool for reimagining paths and fostering deeper connections.

We recently caught up with Eniafe to learn more about how she continues to weave words into experiences that inspire and resonate with others.

“my work is feeling. my craft is writing.”

Tell us about your work/craft and the mission that you’re on.

My work is feeling. My craft is writing. I think this is the first time I have answered this question in this way and it feels organic to where I am right now in the exploration of myself and this craft. My craft is also what I refer to as journey-telling, the unwrapping and unraveling of the layers of our experiences, and stories. It is digging in and exploring between the written lines, the moments and spaces of what I call the ‘just before, and immediately after’; personal inquiring, excavation, and a fair amount of dissection.

The question of mission is always a bit challenging for me to answer. A couple of years ago it was challenging because I didn’t quite know, or couldn’t put words to it but now it’s challenging because it is not a soundbite. If I am to really take a deeper look at my work, and my process, each piece I write has its own mission, one that falls in line with a broader intention, or divine assignment.

There are three quotes that speak to my current intentions, which are layered and multi-faceted, just as I am.

“Writing is one of the ways I participate in my own transformation.” — Toni Cade Bambara
“if I write what you may feel but cannot say. it does not make me a poet. it makes me a bridge. and I am humbled and i am grateful to assist your heart in speaking.”— nayyirah waheed, ‘salt’
You know people say, ‘I didn’t ask to be born’. I think we did, and that’s why we’re here. We are here, and we have to do something nurturing that we respect before we go. We must. It is more interesting, more complicated, more morally demanding to love somebody, to make one other person feel good.” — Toni Morrison: A Writer’s Work

This last quote from Toni Morrison always serves as an anchor to one my most sacred purpose which is that I am here to perfect my loving. Nod to my mother for giving me this language.

“truth doesn’t always feel ‘good’”

How does your work support, shift, and/or challenge a narrative about your culture, craft or identity?

My writing can sometimes be challenging in that it kneads at pressure points and tensions, within myself, and others, and within our lives, collectively. Tension, or challenge, how we perceive it, and how we respond to it has been at top of mind. I recently wrote a short reflection on this sort of nature of tension. In the process of reflecting, I recalled a piece I’d written years ago about this notion of knowing the truth by the way it feels. I’d always taken this to mean that I’d know the truth, is the truth, because it would feel good. But what I’ve come to understand is that the truth doesn’t always feel “good” because the truth can be challenging, and so there is tension, and tension doesn’t feel good, so often we lean away and call the truth as a lie. But tension is necessary for growth, I’d even say that it is necessary for our wholeness and connected being. My hope is that my work and words nudge us, and compel us and provide a held space for us to sit in the tension. In line with this, I also want to challenge us to find ways for our art to reflect the times, word to Nina. These times are full with tension and I pray that we do not shy away from confronting it.

The other thing I challenge, and also support, is knowledge of self, and the journey of knowing, and/or learning self. James Baldwin said, “I believe that if we understood ourselves better, we would damage ourselves less.” Understanding ourselves is deep, deep work. This work is more often than not, grueling. It requires us to sit with and in front of ourselves, and others, and take a critical look at who we are, really, versus who we say we are or who we posture ourselves to be so that we can be seen in a particular way. It is the work of seeing our beautiful and our ugly, seeing where we are most loving, careful and caring, and where we are most indifferent, careless, and unfeeling.

There’s a line in ‘The Salt Eaters’, by Toni Cade Bambara, which I often find myself coming back to,

“Are you sure, sweetheart, that you want to be well?...Just so’s you’re sure, sweetheart, and ready to be healed, cause wholeness is no trifling matter. A lot of weight when you’re well.”

“give yourself permission”

What advice have you received that you want to pass along to aspiring creative professionals?

This piece of advice comes from Toni Morrison. During a 2011 interview with Oprah she said,

“I know what is alive for me and I have a place that is mine. That’s my work, when I write. That’s mine. It is free. Nobody tells me what to do, and I wouldn’t listen if they did. It’s all mine. My world, I have invented it, these are my people, this is my language. And now I have come to believe that everybody needs one of those places, it could be gardening. It’s just a place where it’s you, and what you do.”

Let your reason for your aspirations be rooted in you. Give yourself permission, grace and space to create outside of the need to be productive or “successful”. Art and creativity is so precious, and regenerative, and it is necessary that we protect our creative natures. It is also ok to be a creative who does not create for consumption. What we choose to do, or not do with our work and creativity is for our choosing.

diverse voices, diverse visions

At narrative media co., our mission is to amplify diverse voices and visions, providing a platform for creatives to not only share their stories but also to ignite conversations and inspire change.

A huge thanks to Eniafe for being open and willing to give us her time and wisdom so early on in our journey. We’re proud to share this community with her.

Connect with Eniafe on Instagram, Substack, and visit her website for more about her and her work.

embracing the art of journey-telling with Eniafe Isis