Meet Hannah Eko | Writer, Multimedia Storyteller, Founder of The Lit Club

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Eko and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
There’s a question posed by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes who wrote Women Who Run with the Wolves that I love. It’s “Do you love your creative life more than cooperating with your own oppression?” And when I think of the why of my artistic and creative career it is that I love my creative life more than I love cooperating in my own oppression. Everywhere I turn, there’s someone or something telling me what is possible for me as a Black woman artist. There are those who do not even consider that I could make art. There are those who think the only art I can and should make should be for their own determined purposes. I pursued art because it was one of the few things I did just for me. Yes, I absolutely want visibility and impact for my work and to inspire others, but first and foremost, I did it to shrug off the chains that I am often encouraged to take on. I pursued my art and creative life to free myself and by extension to free others.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a writer, multimedia storyteller, and founder of The Lit Club which is a cannabis-inspired literary movement steeped in art, healing, and pleasure justice. I have always loved to read and create and write. As a child, I thought writers were some of the coolest people on the planet. (Total nerd.) I also grew up the first-daughter in a Nigerian-American household, so I always lived with the expectation that I was supposed to provide and serve as an example for others. I went to military school for five years after high school and served as an active-duty officer in the US Coast Guard for six. But, my heart still longed to realize my creative dreams so I left active-duty life in 2015. It has been a complex, beautiful, and wild journey to get to this place. I had to commit to healing generational limitations, to believing enough in myself to invest in my art, and to forgiving myself for when I “failed” to do so. I have learned that there are people who indeed desire to see me thrive and how important community is to being an artist. I have also learned not to take rejection personally and to respect my unique path of becoming an artist as an ever-evolving practice in self-recovery.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I truly love how there are so many sides to LA. I would take them to The Salt Eaters Bookshop in Leimert Park or The Pop Hop Books in Highland Park if they wanted amazingly curated independent bookstores. I would take them to Venice Beach to people watch and geek out on the canals. I would take them to Los Feliz and to bars like The Ruby Fruit for a femme fun time and casual strolling. I love LA’s cannabis culture, so we would go to Gorilla RX because it’s super cute and black-woman owned, to WYIIOW because they are amazingly curated and really community-oriented, to The Woods if they wanted to have a sort of jungle-oasis vibe and to The Artist Tree if they wanted to cowork and have a really good smoke in a beautiful, artistic place I would take them to the Perch or the Ace or the Wayfarer or Golden Hour is they wanted rooftop views and cute drinks because I love DTLA for that. I would take them to Death and Co. in the Arts District or the Blind Barber in Highland Park if they wanted a sort of speakeasy bar vibe. If we wanted to catch a movie, we’d go to Alamo Roadhouse in DTLA or the Vista Theater in Los Feliz with a stop at Pam’s Coffy. For dinner, I’m thinking Ackee Bamboo, Manuela, Greekman’s, the best taco trucks, getting some dim sum in Chinatown. If we want to dance, I’m thinking Shoo Shoo Baby because I tend to like their DJs. We would have to go to House of Intuition to get a reading and buy some crystals because what’s more LA than that?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
So many people. I have to shout out of my family and friends who have supported me through so much, who encouraged me to never give up, to stop playing small, and to reach for the highest heights. I have to credit all of teachers, from yoga to my MFA and all my creative mentors who inspired me and showed me how to be a more complete human. There are also many mentors from afar in books and of course, the Goddess Herself, that divine feminine consciousness that inspires me to live into my Highest Self.

Website: hannahoeko.com

Instagram: @hannah.eko and @thelitclub.cannabis

Image Credits
Sammy Oguejiofor – Graphiking Photography LLC Elizaveta Dirat Marylin Eko