How shallow it is I have no fucking clue. — Some people love to take themselves so seriously and it’s a favorite tell of rigidity in the personality that I take great pains to accept the first time and run. Running is a favorite activity of mine and of the Swedes. Although most of the time people are not really…

Embracing uncertainty through creative expression — This afternoon I’m sitting at the dining room table instead of at my desk. There’s a tin piggy bank in the shape of a telephone booth, a stack of tarot cards, and a pink crystal candlestick holder. I am neither happy nor sad. I have four cats. I’m thinking about…

How we reveal who we are as writers, readers, and artists — When I draw humans it’s usually from life. This simply means that I look at the person in front of me and render them in real-time. Recently, I’ve been working off a photograph and the process has proved to be difficult enough to prompt some reflection. Before drawing humans, I…

Hence The Necessity of “The 1619 Project” — Since The New York Times published Nikole Hannah-Jones’s “The 1619 Project” in August 2019, the response has been polarizing but predictable. What can you expect in a society still dominated by oppressors? Discussions from critics continue to pull away from the necessity of teaching history written not solely by the…

Completing my thoughts from “Drawing From Life” — At the beginning of the month, I lamented in “Drawing From Life” about my failure to depict our September interviewee. …

How do you leverage disgust and the unexpected in your writing? — “…and then he took a shit, right there, on the train.” We were standing close enough to gossip but far enough not to “gather” on the sales floor. The scent of the obscene punctured our morning shift like a freshly brewed pot of coffee as my co-worker described what she…

An ode to the … of life — The doldrums I’m reminded of line … drawings … from … … the … phantom … tollbooth beautiful, succinct, fleeting A moment where the brain Thought, “Hey, I’d like to share this rough draft” I think those moments are the most beautiful always a work in process i hope you don’t…

Forgive my ignorance — I just wonder how Such few words: standard English Can take away the ‘i’ in Afghani When in Dari, an official language of Afghanistan alongside Pashto that ‘i’ is present When in Urdu, an official language of Afghanistan’s neighbor, Pakistan, that ‘i’ is present Where Pashtuns reside too In Lahore and…

Convictions from my father — Dear Dad, I’ve known what it’s like to miss you, ever since I was a little girl. I remember your hugs and genuine affection. …