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edge-poetry

poem: i’ll see you again

i’ll see you again,

maybe it won’t be tomorrow

or next week,

but i promise we will meet—

i’ll remember all those days

we laughed between crying

and held hands while running—

maybe we won’t ever

see each other the same way

because we’ve “changed”—

i’ll miss you,

everything you were

dances through my memory

in full color—

but it’s okay,

i’ll meet you again someday,

it may not be the same—

yet that doesn’t seem to matter,

because it’s you,

it will always be you.

-j.g. edge

Ig: pascalfrancesca_

there you are.

9 of history’s greatest philosophers reveal the secret to happiness

sappylittlebitch

concept playlists pt. 3

pt. 1 pt. 2

honeysuckle at midnight: moonlight over a secret garden, persephone eating pomegranate seeds, poppy flowers on the bank of the lethe, and magic woven into the ivy vines and trees

good grief: whatever your grieving, a loved one, who you used to be, the last episode of your favorite show, these songs will hold you as you cry

si, amore mio?: the italian countryside, forgotten love notes, the sound of a typewriter, the taste of honey on your tongue, and of course the peaches

too close to the sun: icarus and apollo are lovers and that is all :)

stressed bisexual: for when you’re all bi yourself

what’s your damage?: no real concept here just a compilation of songs I thought had the similar vibe of fun, confused, and kind of over it. best listened to in a denny’s- the realm of chaos and revelry.

sapphics under the moon: for all my sapphics yearning to run free in the woods with artemis under the moonlight, tender and hedonistic in the best way.

parisian heist: femme fatale meets academia and the desire to give art back to the people with a righteous rage.

divine love: gothic cathedrals echoing with the voices of dead saints and your love for the person you swear was church because no one else ever made yoh feel so holy.

sad speakeasy hours: cue memories of your past lover and life's tragedies as you slam another bill down and take the entire bottle as you stumble home to the sound of soft jazz.

highway lights, endless nights: you live in a small town and don't quite know what you're doing with your life, but some nights you're infinite as you cruise down the highway or travel the world from your bedroom.

très cool: french songs for all the baguettes out there,,

give up on your dreams and die: for the go-getters having trouble getting their go. a shit ton of nostalgic songs that make me feel sad and existential.

introvert-unicorn-deactivated20

How to slowly make your day better:

Make a list of the things that make you happy.

Make a list of things you do daily.

Compare the lists.

Adjust accordingly.

jackalopiel

100 good questions to ask your friends at 4:02 am when you can’t sleep (can also function as an asks list)

Are you bothered by your cosmic insignificance?

Do you mourn for a place or person you’ve never known?

Do you really think there is somebody for everybody?

Do you place any value in gender roles?

Do you have to be related to be family?

Are your platonic relationships just as valuable as romantic or family ones?

Are you in love? Do you want to be?

Do you think you can put love into categories (family, platonic, romantic, etc.) or is it just one general sensation?

Would you be happy with a life without romance?

Are you always going to be a little in love with somebody?

Would you change your appearance if you could?

Do you have the feeling you’ve lost something you might have had in another life - whether it be a person, a place, a world, a language, etc.?

Do you believe in reincarnation?

Would you want to be reincarnated?

Do you think you’re special, or just another person amongst billions? Can you be both?

Do theoretical ethical debates have any value? Is it important people discuss ethical dilemmas, e.g. the trolley problem?

Did you have imaginary friends? Do you still have them?

Are you religious? Do you think your religion is ‘correct’?

If you aren’t religious, do you wish you were? Why?

Do you want a grand adventure?

Do you have somebody, whether it be a friend or stranger, who you think you could have loved if the circumstances were different?

How long does it take you to fall in love with somebody?Is the sensation of ‘falling in love’ or ‘being in love’ better?

Is love about convenience or something more? Can it be about both?

Do you think you really understand your gender and sexuality?

How fluid is your concept of gender and sexuality?

What’s the most life-changing choice you’ve made so far?

Are you afraid of growing old?

Would you want to live forever? How about for a billion years, a million, a millennium, a century?

Do you believe in some form of god/s?

Are your choices fated or of your own free will?

Do you have a hunch about how you’re going to die?

Do you believe in star signs?

How old do you have to be to be considered an adult?

Was your childhood happy?

What are you missing from your life?

Have you ever met someone who had a very similar personality to your own? Did you get along?

Do opposites attract?

Is your life what you expected it would be five years ago?

Do you know what you want out of life?

What makes a person ‘good’? Are you a ‘good person’?

What fundamentally matters do you?

Is freewill an illusion?

Do you create art? How do you define art?

How often do you lie? Is all lying inherently bad? Are you generally truthful?

Do you want to be remembered after your death? What for?

Is true world peace ever possible?

Do you have to suffer to truly understand the human condition? What is the human condition? How can you really experience it?

Are you free? Will you ever be? Can anyone be truly free?

Do you hold yourself to higher standards than you hold others?

What do you expect from a friend or partner?

What question could you ask to find out the most about a person?

Do you justify all your beliefs or have you just inherited/absorbed some?

Which beliefs do you have that is most likely to be wrong?

Can human really understand the complete nature of the universe, space and time?

Is a conscious what makes someone a person?

What do you think about artificial intelligence?

Do you thinks humans are obsessed with escapism (books, video games, movies, etc.)? Are you looking for an escape? Do you think that’s a bad thing?

Are we eventually going to ‘run out’ of new combinations for music, art, language, etc.? Is there a limit to human creativity?

What do you think the next era of music will be like?

What do you think the next era of fashion will be like?

Do we live in tumultuous times, or do they just seem so strange because we’re living in them?

Would you want to meet a clone of yourself? Would you like them?

How confident are you, really?

How consistent is your perception of time?

What age should people be allowed to vote? Should children and teenagers be allowed to vote?

How do you feel about the idea ‘an eye for an eye’?

What’s the worse thing a person can be?

How do you feel about monogamy?

Can you be in love with someone and still fall in love with someone else?

What’s the tragedy of your life?

Would your life make a good play?

Should people be prosecuted for crimes that weren’t considered crimes at the time?

Would you fight for your country? Do you feel a sense of loyalty to your nation?

Do you believe in gender equality in every aspect?

Do we have a moral obligation to care for others? To what extent?

Do you crave approval and/or praise?

Is there comedy in all tragedy and tragedy in all comedy?

Are you ever going to be satisfied?

When you are sad, do you listen to music that conveys your emotions or music that makes you happy?

Is your music organised by mood or sensation or do you just listen to everything at any time?

Would you marry a friend if they needed you to (e.g. for citizenship)?

Are you a deep person?

Given the chance to live your life on Mars, with no hope of returning to Earth but with the promise of scientific discovery and glory, would you take it?

Are you who people think you are?

Do you think you would be happier if you had been born a different gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality or religion?

What’s your toxic trait? Are you trying to improve yourself and fix it?

Do you anger easily?

Are you a jealous person?

If you lost all your memories, would you have the same personality?

Given the chance to reset your life (with none of the knowledge you currently have), would you take it?

Is hate as strong as love? Who do you hate?

Do you speak multiple languages? Which do you dream in? What language would you want to learn?

Do you draw meaning from your dreams, or do you disregard them?

How would you describe yourself when you love? Do you love forcefully, unconditionally, gently, quietly, desperately?

Is unrequited love real love?

Is your perception of yourself similar or the same to how others perceive you?

Are you overly analytical?

Do you ever feel that you are really a terrible person, and only act good out of societal or some other obligation?

Do you believe in magic? Are you superstitious?

What belief do you have that isn’t logically grounded, but you still firmly believe in?

ashstfu

what doesn't kill you gives you a lot of unhealthy coping mechanisms and a really dark sense of humor.

papenathys

Hi so I’m an English major who, thanks to the atrocious American education system, has had very little interaction with other literature. Any suggestions for where to start? I tend towards the darker stuff, but I love classics.

here are some book recommendations for (mostly) non white authors:

freshwater by akwaeke emezi: a young nigerian woman named ada battles lifelong with various iterations of her own self, these multiple personalities shaped by deities rooted in Igbo cosmology and myth. a difficult read; personalities/POVs bleed into each other, introspection precedes plot and there is a TON of trigger warnings (dm for info). nevertheless, harrowing, powerful study of the long-standing politics of trauma, faith and sexuality.

running in the family by michael ondaantje: after a bizarre dream leaves him shaken, ondaantje decides to journey home to sri lanka on a quest to piece together long-buried stories about his family, especially his deceased father. this book is a fictionalized memoir; history and folklore often overlap, but it's good throughout, rooted in the bittersweet warmth of lost culture and nostalgia in 1970s sri lanka. 100/100: made me ugly laugh and then reduced me to tears.

susanna's seven husbands by ruskin bond: one simply doesn't read only one ruskin bond book; I don't ideally recommend one specific story. yet this is probably one of his darkest novellas yet, narrated by a north indian boy who grows up next door to a beautiful, enigmatic biracial heiress with a long line of dead husbands and a property brimming with mysteries. it's chock full of deadpan humour and really wtf moments written in the classic bond vein. don't watch the trash movie, the novella is a gem!

kitchen by banana yoshimoto: following her grandma's death, a japanese woman moves in with two unlikely friends. I never thought potted plants, phone booths and refrigerator lights would make me want to scream into my pillow for 1 hour but oh, well. cooking!! kitchens!! bowls of katsudon to warm your soulmate's hands!!!! urban loneliness!!! poignant look into intimacy and grief!!! accidentally falling in love!!! murakami wishes he could write like this!!! (research triggers though!)

china dolls by lisa see: see's books are all beautifully atmospheric portraits of chinese women and their experiences in different points of history. I recommend china dolls, which is about three young asian american women navigating the world of nightclubs in 30s/40s San francisco. twisted and complex female relationships, a nuanced look at the exoticisation and perilous lives of asian americans during WW2, and of course, compelling storytelling.

the neapolitan novels by elena ferrante: charts the life of two intelligent young girls, best friends lenu and lila, from childhood to adolescence to maturity, starting from 50s Italy, against the backdrop of their violent, eventful neighbourhood in naples. equal parts chaotic academia + bildungsroman. mixed feelings about this one because while I liked the concept and characters, the translation felt pretty mediocre to me and many turns of phrase were lost. also someone lied to me and said it's sapphic goldfinch, which, no, it's not :(

reading lolita in tehran by azar nafisi: gorgeous memoir about the author's time as an academic woman in 70s Iran: her fight against the regime, her expulsion from the uni, creating a secret girls-only book club at the height of the leftists/student led 1978-81 Iranian revolution etc. The book is divided into phases like lolita, austen etc where parallels are drawn between the themes in the western texts and the lives of the Iranian girls in the book club. can't recommend it enough.

the interpreter of maladies by jhumpa lahiri: from a couple trying to rekindle their marriage through a storytelling game to a little american boy's affectionate bond with his bengali babysitter, this really cutting and impactful collection of short stories deal mainly about the expatriate indian experience in US. jhumpa lahiri can keyboard smash and it would still create pulitzer prize winning prose.

bunny by mona awad: a young woman pursuing an MFA in creative writing, is inducted into the unsettling, seemingly saccharine world of a sugary cliqué called the bunnies. it's like a cocktail blend of moral ambiguity and voyeuristic opulence (the secret history) meets absolute feral campy horror (ahs coven), bitchy bratzy vibes + dark academia (literally what's not to love) and it gets well.....unhinged. someone on this site compared it to donna tartt and stephen king getting hammered and punching out a collab novel and tbh I agree :D

the kite runner by khaled hosseini: pretty sure everyone has already read this but idc. it's a story about afghanistan, a story about family and friendship, a story about loving and creating stories and flying kites and how sometimes history crawls out of muddy empty alleys to stick a knife into your back. I know not many people like hosseini on tumblr but honestly this novel just made such an impact on teen mimi, I can't not recommend it. heavy trigger warnings, dm for info.

sister outsider by audre lorde: if you are looking to begin with reading on intersectionality audre lorde is always a great place to start. this is a collection of essays, speeches and vignettes about lorde navigating her multiple coexisting and inextricably bound identities as a lesbian, a Black woman, an activist, a cancer survivor and a poet. this is a masterpiece of a collection, and I particularly adore the sections on the uses of anger and an open letter to mary daly.

love in the time of cholera by gabriel garcia marquez: so many people walk into this book expecting a genuine tender romance or something and that's why they get disappointed. my dude, it's ggm. this book is about the lush world of colombia in the late 18th century, the perils and ridicule of obsessive love, it's infused with magical realism and fascinatingly grotesque imagery and a rich array of flawed characters, but,, it's not your average slowburn coffeeshop romcom so like.?? idk why people misread it so!

I hope you'll find something to your liking from the handful I recommeded. additionally, please consult this list for non-western classics (it's pretty normcore; personally don't care for some of the picks under india but it's a good place to start with all the basics), this list for indigenous literature and this list for indian academia and classics.

whitepeopletwitter

psychictoastmaker

People in the comments being all bitter. As if the arts aren’t out here giving you a reprieve from all the shit y'all go through. As if the arts aren’t out here making sure you live a little bit instead of just surviving.