“What have they taught you to settle for?”— Donika Kelly, from “A Poem to Remind Myself of the Natural Order of Things,” published in The Arkansas International
local bitch decides to daydream instead of getting a degree
i hope 2019 treats you to exciting opportunities, amazing relationships, unforgettable memories, and endless self love.
Some days I want to sit in my sadness
like a parked car, engine stillhot but breathing, waiting for
a song to end. But some neverdo.
— Emilia Phillips, from “Moonpie,” published in Underblong
you’ve gotta stat romanticizing your life. you gotta start believing that your morning commute is cute and fun, that every cup of coffee is the best you’ve ever had, that even the smallest and most mundane things are exciting and new. you have to, because that’s when you start truly living. that’s when you look forward to every day.
Reading List: Favorite Essays by Women on Women (or Other)
Managing Hearts with Kim and Flo, Bea Malsky
We R Cute Shoplifters*, Tasbeeh Herwees
Morbidity and The Minature*, Elizabeth Metzeger
Meet Justin Bieber!*, Zadie Smith
Do No Harm, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Sick Woman Theory, Johanna Hedva
The Death of The Moth & On Being Ill*, Virginia Woolf
The Promise of Misery*, Becca Rothfeld
Time After Capitalism, Miya Tokumitsu
Ode To The Library Museum, Erica X Eisen
And This Is How I Will Remember You, Mehreen Kasana
Self-Care as Warfare*, Sara Ahmed (See Also: Audre Lorde’s A Burst of Light & Other Essays)
The Fairytale Language of The Brothers Grimm, Chi Luu
White Magic, Lou Cornum
“How can I love something that isn’t ruined?”— Hieu Minh Nguyen, from “Again, Let Me Explain Again,” Not Here