it’s rotten work.

(not to me. not if it's you.)

[exastria]

on grief.

glennon doyle / andrew garfield / shannon barry / jamie anderson / ocean vuong / dalai lama xiv

[primulaceas]

Mary Oliver, “Thirst.” Thirst

[fixedtrajectories]

Let’s all die

[orpheuslament]

Song, Allen Ginsberg

[counttwinkula]

hey did you know that uhh

i. the monster's body is a cultural body

ii. the monster always escapes

iii. the monster is the harbinger of category crisis

iv. the monster dwells at the gates of difference

v. the monster polices the borders of the possible

vi. fear of the monster is really a kind of desire

vii. the monster stands at the threshold… of becoming

[counttwinkula]

oh shit i didn't expect this to actually get notes lmao

these are all direct quotes from jeffrey jerome cohen's "monster culture (seven theses)" (full pdf linked) i highly encourage you to read it yourself!

that said, while i think cohen's writing is evocative, it can be a little dense, so while i'm here, here's my capsule summary (you can also hear me talk about this in the first episode of my podcast) (listen to @ghostswerepeopletoo)

i. the monster's body is a cultural body - The monster is a work of fiction to be analyzed through tools of literary and sociological theory.

ii. the monster always escapes - As long as the cultural fear from which the monster stems persists, the monster will reappear in retellings, reimaginings, and sequels.

iii. the monster is the harbinger of category crisis - Monsters defy binaries and challenge easy comprehension or categorization.

iv. the monster dwells at the gates of difference - The monster represents the Other.

v. the monster polices the borders of the possible - Tales of the monster exist to discourage unacceptable or taboo behaviors.

vi. fear of the monster is really a kind of desire - Subjects can vicariously participate in the disruption of the social order through the monster.

vii. the monster stands at the threshold… of becoming - Within the monster we find information about the self.

[doppelgangerism]

………… love u siken

[doppelgangerism]

[saint-batrick]

oh, siken is out here spitting FACTS.

[earhartsease]

kindly reminder that most people are not attracted to most people, so it's a happy accident when two people are attracted to each other - which means it's nobody's fault if someone doesn't feel the same way about you, and nobody's fault if you don't feel the same way about them

[two-bees-poetry]

so soft it hurts

[geryone]

I Do Know Some Things, Richard Siken

[geryone]

I Do Know Some Things, Richard Siken

[geryone]

The Idea of An Entire Life, Billy-Ray Belcourt

[wovi]

*

joy sullivan

[metamorphesque]

The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

[wovi]

[soyoumusik]

“Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

— Kurt Vonnegut (via lazypacific)

[mapsofnonexistentplaces]

leaving out a very vital part of the quote

[geryone]

The Subjunctive, Richard Siken

[wovi]

*

margaret atwood, november

[anditslove]

“and if we make it or if we don’t, I want you to know it was absolutely worth it.”

— Andrea Gibson, excerpt from Orbit