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CHEMO GALS (2023)

Words by Keoni K. Wright If the chemo clinic was a bus terminal along the road to recovery, then I was the degenerate in the corner sipping his breakfast out of a brown paper bag. I wandered into my chemo sessions like the lost and languid, perpetually proud of my hangover and the visible bruises on my body from the weekend's rugby match. No one around me ever dared to penetrate the halo of "fuck-offedness" I projected. Fun fact - people who frequent chemo clinics tend to have a lot on their minds. Another fun fact - following a cancer diagnosis, people tend to become selfish pricks. But that's okay because... well... they have fucking cancer.  I was a very particular type of prick. I was a Navy prick. This detail is critical to my story (although, maybe not to this story). I was receiving my cancer treatment, chemo and all, at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. I was also living on the Army base just "up the hill" from the hospital. As a Navy cancer p...
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HOMEWORK: Surinamese Kickboxer Chavella Lee (2018)

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Words by Keoni K. Wright For Surinamese kickboxer Chavella Lee, nothing is guaranteed except her mark on history. The last three weeks were a staunch reminder of the unpredictability that comes with living a fighter's lifestyle.  In late March, Lee was scheduled to fight as an amateur in New York City. Several days later, the fight was upgraded to a pro match, her debut, but the American opponent pulled out for unspecified reasons. Promoters in Holland then booked Lee for a pro debut in mid-April that was eventually moved to April 21st. And just three days ago, Lee received news that her opponent was changed from a fellow debutant to a fighter with two professional fights. Lee’s response – “There’s no pressure. If my trainer says we are going to fight in April, then we fight in April. We just stay ready for everything. I am calm.” Armed with natural athleticism, sheer work ethic, and a keen sense of awareness well beyond her 20 years, Lee is the epitome of a contender. Watching her...
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EXODUS: A Surinamese Village Deals with Modernity (2018)

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 Words by Keoni K. Wright Jdjani (21) and Mayo (48) are bound by their allegiance to Witagron and the way of life the jungle provides If you are confident enough to compete with logging caravans hogging narrow strips of loose sand, once city pavement ends, you can make it to the remote village of Witagron in under 5 hours. Local guide Steve Oldenstam (“Steve O.” to his friends) travels this road often. He navigates the bumps, downed trees, and the magnetic lure of roadside ditches the same way a seafarer reads the open ocean. Steve-O has been taking curious tourists to Witagron and other off-the-grid villages in Suriname’s western rainforest for years. “Witagron is the wild west, man. I want visitors to experience the rawness. Other villages play to the tourists’ expectations. Not here,” 28-year-old Steve O. says. Aesthetically, Witagron is unlike other villages along the route. A red and white communications tower dwarfs the tallest trees and pulls the eyes away from an array of t...
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