“Why am I compelled to write? Because the writing saves me from this complacency I fear. Because I have no choice. Because I must keep the spirit of my revolt and myself alive. Because the world I create in writing compensates for what the real world does not give me. By writing, I put order in the world, give it a handle so I can grasp it. I write because life does not appease my appetites and hunger. I write to record what others erase when I speak, to rewrite the stories others have written about me, about you.
To become more intimate with myself and you.”
– Gloria Anzaldúa
My Blog
My blog has taken numerous forms over many years – poetry, prose, personal, and philosophical. I first started writing in 2009 on Little Bird, Poet Tree then created my personal website and started writing here. Around 2016, I (mostly) stopped writing publicly and turned to my own notebooks, paper and pen. This inward turn was rich and challenging – committing energy towards emotional healing and deeper understanding is intensely rewarding, but it’s not easy. Eventually, it became clear that I am still uncovering what it means to practice feminist friendship, but I do know it requires sharing.
In order to practice feminist friendship through a digital medium, I am recommitting to sharing other dimensions of my world. This is also not easy.
My goal is to practice being more vulnerable and honest through this next chapter of my writing to see myself more clearly and, perhaps, share things that might helps others see themselves a bit more clearly, too.
Where Else I've Been Writing
Buy Me A Coffee
Buy Me a Coffee is a sweet little site where I do most of my current writing. It felt like the right place for more personal reflections and fostering a greater sense of connection with those who support and follow my work. Other sides of my creativity have found a home on Buy Me a Coffee, too. Sometimes I share mini zines, playlists, and other downloadables.
Medium
Another place to find some of my writing, but it’s not exhaustive nor especially intriguing in terms of how I’ve sought to materialize my more creative thoughts. In fact, to get all that, one would have to do some online hunting and find parts and pieces I’ve published on various other sites (like those below).
Feminist Friendship
After teaching my feminist friendship course, I wanted a place to experiment with non-linear ways to connect through writing, the process of learning, sharing the “fundamentals” of my own thinking, and developing intimacy through authentic storytelling. I built this website, and then got stuck. Perhaps my intention arrived before its time, before I was really ready for such an idea. I think I was onto something special in 2018, though, so I keep it in mind. It’s an example I return to as iterations of similar projects continue to evolve.
From 2020-2022, most of my energy was running parallel tracks on two themes: Intimate Relationships and Work Dynamics (including what happens to us work, workplace cultures, and the culture of work, in general). Then they overlapped. The challenges of dating to find a long-term, romantic partner echoed the difficulties of applying for jobs that might actually support meaningful work. (Basically, I endured a lot of heartbreak and disappointment.) I thought this project might lead to hilarious breakthroughs or breakdowns, but I never quite found my voice there. I strongly believe the personal is the political is the professional is the philosophical, so this project is something I hold onto…just in case I ever get the nerve to hash out these blended aspects of our lives.
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Positive Philosophy: A Feminist Practice of Affective Therapy and Political Resistance
I spent several years writing to capture the transformative, liberatory, therapeutic, healthy, and healing potential of thinking critically and creatively in new ways. Following trends in positive psychology, which seek to cultivate positive emotions like compassion, gratitude, and empathy rather than just eliminate negative things like depression and anxiety, I saw similar potential for practicing philosophy in ways that are engaging, captivating, politically robust, and personally relevant.
I called it, positive philosophy.