Welcome back to the garden, lovebuds. In the last month, encompassing the magic of my birth season — Virgo season — I have been consuming so much beauty. There has been a fair share of despair these last 4 weeks, and we’ll talk about ways to miitgate or commiserate with these difficult events. But all…
Read MoreSome Notes on Wanting
Seclusion illuminates much when it is foisted upon you. Some of us are, for the first time in our adult lives, having to contend with loneliness that quite literally cannot be touched by others. We cannot live our lives in the ways we’d so become accustomed: grabbing a coffee, enjoying lunch at your favorite spot…
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Objectivity Is a Lie
Objectivity doesn’t mean what you think it means. Let’s use the dictionary definition of the word as our starting point. If a person or opinion is objective, it is “not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.” As a former journalism student, I know the term all too well. For the…
Read MoreFlowers in the Garden: Sowing Seeds (August 21, 2020)
Welcome to Flowers in the Garden, your monthly stroll through the greenhouse of our culture. In this column, I will share some of the art, journalism, stories, and humor that have sown seeds in my brain over the last moon cycle, more or less. Consider it a digital altar of the important news and nuanced…
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Noname, ‘Black Is King’, and the Duality of Righteousness
To close out America’s so-called birthday month, megastar Beyonce debuted a new visual album entitled Black is King exclusively on Disney+ on July 31. The album is a supplement to the beloved children’s movie The Lion King, as a re-imagining of the animated/live-action film in human form, complete with song and dance. As with nearly…
Read MoreShe Got a Makeover…(the blog not me lol)
Welcome The Wordy Wench 2.0! I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve redesigned this blog to hopefully be more user-friendly for my readers, but mostly to make it cute. I don’t know yet where this blog will take me, but my hope is that it helps me make a sustainable living as a writer. To help…
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The Violence Is The Point: ‘The Last of Us Part II’ Review (Spoilers)
I felt many emotions after finishing The Last of Us Part II a couple of weeks ago. Chief among them, accomplishment, for having beat the game before my husband đ But less petty than that: disgust, despair, dissonance. TLOU2 was overall a gruesomely violent game that, at various points, became too heart-wrenching to continue. I…
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On HBO Max’s ‘Legendary’, There’s Nothing Wrong With Being Confident
In a near-dystopic America, many people are learning about the things they were never taught. Systemic racism, violent histories, cultures and perspectives previously ignored. It is in this climate of discovery that the show Legendary premiered on HBO Max. A competition reality show for a grand prize of $100,000, eight ballroom âhousesâ compete in dance…
Read MoreMy Body Was Meant for Pleasure, Not Pain
My body was meant for pleasure, not pain. I came to this realization while listening to a podcast. In this Very Special Episode devoted to the Black Lives Matter movement we are living in, the hosts were discussing all of the risks associated with attending protests. It wasnât a matter of if things would turn…
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Black Women You Should Read to Add Richness to Your Bookshelf (& News Feed)
We are actively living through a revolution. In the midst of pain and trauma, I have never in my life felt more hope for humanity and my own energetic possibility. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the country sat at home for months not working. Stirring, collecting unemployment often without insurance, and reflecting on…
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