Nicolas Hyacinthe’s “Hard Edges & Soft Embraces”
Nicolas Hyacinthe is of two cultures, countries, and languages. Every day he straddles the vast chasm within these identities. His story isn’t unique of the Haitian diaspora, but his perspective is. Photography and film are bridges that allow him to navigate from his world to ours. Hard Edges & Soft Embraces is a multi-media meditation on returning home to Haiti… Read more →
Snapshots of the Haus of Glitter’s Practices, Performance, & Petition
We often forget the vitality of breath, of true togetherness, and conscious reflection, which is why The Haus of Glitter Dance Company’s “Decolonizing Creative Practice: Defensiveness Retreat” on March 18th, 2023 and March 25th, 2023 (in cooperation with The School of Embodied Praxis) came as a divine blessing. The Haus of Glitter Dance Company (based in Providence, RI) works, through… Read more →
New Jersey Tea
In the field guide, the butterflies are organized by shape just as in field guides of flowers and trees. Just as all things in nature are known by their cups, their serrated edges, their tents, their folds and lengths. I flip through white silhouettes on black glossy pages. There’s an entire section of skippers and another of fritillaries. I find… Read more →
The Smell of Survival
I now welcome gaslighting Like maple stencils on patio furniture The furniture I will fight rich kids for with an invisible bark Punch vulgar blood back into my throat with panic attack pauses Down cocktails worth more than my father’s hourly wage Wipe the guilt off my face with the hubris of a placating eucalyptus oil soaked towel smelling of… Read more →
Swell
There’s a cup of tea growing cold on the table between the two of them, and a puzzle. It’s 5:30 in the morning and the fog outside is growing, sinking, swelling. Inside, the walls of the cabin feel damp. The wood swells, walls creaking. Anne pulls the blanket closer, finds another piece, places it. Sips her tea. She looks at… Read more →
GOD
1. The only thing I heard this morning was the low murmuring of CNN France & the unmistakable sound of walls falling Woman: Am I making all of this clear enough for you? Man: No. Not exactly 2. On this floor there are not horses, but at least ten biological fathers. It’s only a matter of time before one of… Read more →
Doppler Effect
That summer, my younger brother and I biked a mile from our house to the railroad tracks every day, where we’d built a hidden fort between the boulders and slabs of rock, making a roof out of leafy branches. Only two boys in the neighborhood knew about our secret refuge, and the four of us squeezed into our cramped quarters,… Read more →
Dragon Blood Tears
Slowly, they tell me, my dark-bark worries grow umbrella-like not unlike dragon blood trees that shade the elephantine deserts of my insecurities. Calm, calm—then: flames climb up wooden ivory towers in a flash, intensely, and then all burnt out. After the ashes smolder, and the forest of my sensoria turns to dragon blood tears, bodies labor motionless for hours, sometimes… Read more →
My Gender
My gender can kick your gender’s ass. My gender is flicking wet dental floss at a wall and letting it stick. My gender is an edible at a theme park. My gender is every college you almost went to. My gender is a mint green condom, never used. My gender is donating her bras back to Goodwill. My gender is… Read more →