Writing is an act of resistance
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26 Oct. 2020: A rap on Barrett’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court
Trump’s court, US Supreme Court, Declaration of Independence rap, Poetry, Amy Coney Barrett, Kathleen MinorBy Kathleen Minor The dude who refused to denounce white supremacy, tried to nuke a hurricane and our democracy, puts kids in cages and promotes segregation. That dude? Rewrote the Declaration. We hold these truths to be self-evident: If you ain’t white, you must be irrelevant. Listen. There seems to be some confusion. We’ve been…
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Suffocating
By Keily Blair The smell first strikes me while we’re traveling down the road, confined to a car. Brutal citrus and bitter herbs mingle in the air, gagging me. My grandmother notices this, and a rushed apology flees her lips despite the fact that I’ve told her countless times that strong scents send me…
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Deputized
By Holly A. Stovall Congratulations! You are Deputized! Abortion after 6 weeks is illegal in Texas. Help enforce the law by reporting an illegal abortion in the anonymous form below! How do you think the law has been violated? I’ve had three spontaneous abortions (that’s doctor lingo for miscarriages) in three years, each at…
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A Letter for My Unborn Daughter
By Debasish Mishra Dear daughter, this is a dark world Light is a mere plaything and if you were present here it’d diffract through the window and fall on your orange cheeks like petals of the sun But darkness is real How do I define it? Wherever you go, it’ll follow in the stares…
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Defiance
By Ethan Cunningham Artist’s Statement For me, the true beauty of this image is that it suggests a powerful story with very little. But for each person, that story can be very personal and very different. The silhouette acts as a stand-in for the viewer. I like to imagine this is a woman who…
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⌘lzibongo for Black Women
izibongo, in praise of Black women, Langston Hughes, Harriett Tubman, Rosa Parks, Black Lives Matter, Audre Lorde, Poetry, Maya Angelou, Breonna Taylor, #BLM, Kai CogginBy Kai Coggin a praise poem, after JP Howard, for my Sisters praise you Black Woman because you never be praised enough let me lift your collective name here let me strip you of all your forced-on shame here praise you for the stars that unfold when you smile praise you for the way…
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Cell Block Tango
By Avra Margariti A lullaby—seductive, hypnopaedic—slinks through the high security ward of the women’s prison. Morrigan, the phantom queen whistling between sharp teeth her very own Cell Block Tango, banshee call to arms. The doors all open wide locks broken, passwords hacked, guard uniforms painted red with life, never to be washed clean again.…
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Gender Neutral
By Jane Muschenetz To Skyler and the Diversionary Theatre, who stand proud and help all of us stand together. They’re studying the effects of gendering on language and cultural norms — how the moon is feminine in Spanish and Russian, but masculine in German how this alters our perception of its qualifications — whether…
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Rudy Springs a Leak
By Suzanne O’Connell This morning I found a meatloaf in a basket. When you look, there are always things to find. The only time you can find a fraudulent ballot for example, is when you look. We have statisticians willing to testify that there is a big coordinated Thing. It lurks in every city.…