Photo by Caroline Yang, 2019.
Hydro’s Phobia
by Hawona Sullivan Janzen
Directed by Mankwe Ndosi
Hydro’s Phobia is the true-false story of Hydro, a healer woman who struggles with a profound fear of water. Moments of her life are revealed through a series of narratives performed by tour guides from her dreams. One part performance art, one part self-help book, and three parts fantasy, Hydro’s Phobia is a living ode, a love-poem for anyone who has ever been afraid.
BIOGRAPHY: Hawona is a St. Paul based poet and performance artist whose work explores the complex nature of grief, loss, love and hope. She is the co-founder of Witness Writing, a free community-based writing workshop in North Minneapolis and chair of the Literary Witnesses poetry reading series. Her work has been read on National Public Radio, featured in 10-foot-tall broadsides on the sides of buildings for the Poetry of Resistance and Change Project, imprinted on coffee sleeves by Coffee House Press and performed as a jazz opera at the Soap Factory Gallery. Her most recent works are: “BLUE: Our Lives Are On This Line,” a collection of encounter poems about life along the Blue Line expansion route in North Minneapolis and the “Rondo Family Reunion,” a public art lawn sign project and performance featuring poetry and photos of life in Rondo Neighborhood of St. Paul.