by Noriko Nakada Sitting here at home with a dying tree as the focal point of our holiday seems an appropriate way to end 2020. In these waning days and long winter nights of December, the year is dying. Los Angeles struggles for breath, symptomatic of a city where too many have refused to make …
By Noriko Nakada Three months have passed since I’ve written here, and this week the weather in LA turned cool. Back in March, I wore jeans and hoodies to teach my classes from the kitchen table, and this week I pulled on sweaters and socks and continued teaching from the kitchen table. We are living …
Continue reading “Breathe and Push: Writing Through Despair”
Time works in such interesting ways, especially right now.
By Rosalyn Montgomery Dear Students, I have thought long and hard about my decision to address the newest example of police brutality against Black men and women in America that has resulted in the worldwide protests. Sometimes the only way that I can deal with the rage that these images evoke in me is to …
Continue reading “Breathe and Push: A Letter to Students in the Spring of 2020”
By Kate Maruyama Our spaces have changed due to the current situation, as have our concepts of rooms, events, and conversations. But as we step into Zoom sessions, chat rooms, or House Parties, and as we prepare to go out into the world again, here are some good things for us to remember as white …
By Désirée Zamorano “Ask your heart, from time to time, what is most important right now, in this moment, and listen very carefully for the response.” –Jon Kabat-Zinn When I learned that my students would not be returning from spring break, it was like a shovel to the side of my head. I was jolted; …
by Noriko Nakada I had something else in mind for today’s column and had found someone write it. She wrote a beautiful and important essay on allyship, but that was done over a month ago, and so much has changed since then. So like so much right now, that essay will sit and wait. We …
Continue reading “Breathe and Push: from the safety of home”
By Noriko Nakada I’m heading to AWP again this year. Last year was my first because I had the chance to table for Jack Jones Literary Arts. I also listened in on panels, heard from writers I respect and admire, and tackled that book fair. The book fair is so overwhelming. All of those presses …
By Noriko Nakada It’s been three years. We have been living with a white supremacist, rapist, corrupt reality TV star at the head of our government for three long years. What does this do to a woman? A woman of color? An ally? An artist? We knew he was white supremacist: housing discrimination, condemning the …
Continue reading “Breathe and Push: Tracking Destruction and Fighting the Power”
One of the things I love most about our Women Who Submit community is the way we celebrate. We clap-up every submission and query at our parties and acknowledge our passes and publications in our virtual spaces. So during this season of celebration, let’s think about all of the ways we can close out the …
Continue reading “Breathe and Push: 5 Ways for Writers to Celebrate”
