poetry for a tender week
I don't know about you, but I've had to be very gentle and tender with myself this week.
I mean, I knew these things were coming, and I'm not all that surprised.
But that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed. And concerned. And grieving.
Whenever I'm struggling, I find medicine in perspective. Zooming out to what's bigger than just me.
I've been thinking about people who cling to binaries, especially a gender binary, when the world has much more expansive examples.
Last year, I had the opportunity to create a performance art piece around literature. I dug out a college project from a quarter-century ago: an anthology of erotic poetry by women.
Because a quarter-century ago, I wanted to create something sex-positive, consent-positive, body-positive, and queer-positive, on my college campus that wasn't any of those things.
Because a quarter-century ago, in a small liberal arts college in a small town in North Carolina, there were no out students on campus. Even me, with my not-completely-cis and not-completely-straight leanings, had no interest in sharing any of that in a place where I was one of the only people willing to identify as a feminist.
(Because I was absolutely the weirdo outcast who eventually did semi-nude performance art on campus. If you know "Reclaiming Cunt," from the Vagina Monologues – that was me in 2001.)
I believe poetry is medicine, and creating Rocking Horses: American Women Poets & Physical Love Poetry was a deeply healing project.
(The class, American Women Poets (ENG 372 or 335 or whatever), focused on USian woman writing in English. I expanded the definition for my anthology: I included Mexican and other Indigenous poets.)
Another validating moment was the realization that the poetry wasn't all that new. Already, a quarter-century ago, many of those poems had already appeared in other anthologies of women poets.
Meaning that all this sex-positive, consent-positive, body-positive, and queer-positive poetry had been in the world for a while. Regardless of suppression, regardless of evangelicals who demonize sex and abortion and sensuality—love perseveres.
The world has always had much more expansive examples.
anthology on the left, zine-style for 2024
If you also find poetry to be medicine and want to read, the project is on my site. (Scroll down the page for the details.)
Last thing, for the local folks – I have a few events coming up:
Ambient Instrument Jam on Wednesday, January 29th
This is a play space, where you're welcome to BYO ambient instruments. As needed, I provide instruction. If you don't have any instruments, no problem! I always bring a few to share. No experience or expertise needed, just curiosity and a willingness to share.
By donation, all details here.
Book signing on Saturday, February 1st at The Crazy Book Lady in Acworth
That afternoon, I'll have copies of Still Moving and a blue pen. As usual, I'll be slingin' tarot as well. If you buy a book, you keep the card you pull. Makes a great altar item or bookmark!
Soundbath on Monday, February 10th
This space will have gentle movement and breathwork, followed by music. By donation, all details here.
At a time when too many people are clinging to binaries, limiting lived experiences, and using neurodivergence to justify Nazi salutes—expression matters. Poetry matters. The wider expressions have always existed. And I will continue acknowledge them, as I always have.
In poetry,
S.
--
she / they
skyeris.art