MENTORSHIP RECIPIENT

Mentor Commentary:
Isaiah Hunt

Recipient Reflection: 
Lucy Rees

On "Mama Made the Rain" ​by Lucy Rees

by Isaiah Hunt

Often I wonder what kind of parent I will be: the laissez faire, or the helicopter, continuously
hovering over his child? I foresee myself the former, but in reality I’d be constantly worried about
their safety, warning them about a world that grows dangerous day by day, always pleased to see
them with me inside our home where they can’t be harmed, just like Mama in Lucy Rees’s “Mama
Made the Rain.”

​But I will dial back and say that Phoebe’s character is what captured my attention. Her voice is a
fresh take on the mother-daughter relationship within this piece, which drew me into the
commentary on parent paranoia, generational trauma, and the unfortunate consequences when a
parent tries to hold on to their child too much. Spiced with that speculative flavor of a Mama
controlling weather, Rees’s writing left me compelled and excited to work with her.

Listening to Rees’s intent behind “Mama Made the Rain” revealed to me the vastness of this story.

Every part (Becca, the rain, the uncle, Boothbay) flows into Phoebe's journey. I was only there to
offer restructuring and be a second ear for Rees while she did the heavy lifting. We dove deeper into Mama’s rain, and the amazing ending which Rees has conjured out of our conversations about Phoebe's agency. Rees restructured the narrative into a linear, quieter narrative that parallels Phoebe's rebellions while keeping the eeriness of Boothbay and Mama’s descent intact. I’m honored to play a part in this story’s journey, and I know that Rees is proud of what she has made.

Now every time it storms, I’ll be sipping my tea from the window wondering, “who made this rain?”

Isaiah Hunt

When Isaiah isn’t studying Pan-African history or obsessing over 90s and Y2K culture, he is teaching Fiction Writing and Afrofuturism at John Carroll University. He is currently working on a collection of linked stories that focuses on the entertainment industry, commercialism, Black cyberculture, and R&B, along with a companion novel set in a near-future Cleveland. He received his MFA from Northeast Ohio Masters of Fine Arts in ‘22, is one of the recipients of the Ohio Arts Council Award for Fiction in ‘24 and is a Clarion West ‘24 alumni. You can find his stories in his instagram bio: @Casual.dream