I met Marilyn Chin at a week-long, Indiana University writing workshop in 2003. Not only did I find her poetry brutally direct, intensely honest and yes, confrontational—all qualities of a rebellious woman—I found that her personality and teaching style were also quite similar. I immediately adored her! I still do. In her courageous poem “How […]
Posted inMile-High Club
Open letter to my high-school self
Dear 17-year-old me, Right now, you’re probably sitting at Bakers Square in Homewood, choking down watered-down coffee, pretending to study and reading your friends’ terrible poetry. I imagine that you’re stressing out about getting into the College of Your Choice, the nightmarish indignities of gym class and the fact that the boys you like never […]
Posted inEssays Archive
Louboutins: Red Soles Not Beaten But Bruised
They were an unexpected gift from my husband. Lovely strappy black Christian Louboutin heels with the signature red lacquered soles. I had casually mentioned to him that when Oprah sat on her couch interviewing guests, you couldn’t help but notice her perfectly shiny red soles. A few weeks later those signature “China Red” lacquered soles […]
Posted inPluck
Mommy brain
Earlier this summer I was at a bar with an old friend chatting about all kinds of interesting stuff. We share a lot of things in common. One thing in particular is that we’ve participated in Christian fundamentalist culture. Another thing is that we’ve each since split from that scene in a rather grand and […]
Posted inMovies
‘Bachelorette’ an enjoyable but uneven blend of darkness, light
“Bachelorette” tells the story of a group of high school friends who all come together for a wedding in Manhattan. Add a ton of cocaine, an abortion subplot, a suicide attempt and an extensive amount of cursing, and let the joke-filled fun times begin! The movie’s mash of darkness and comedy makes it difficult to […]
Posted inMile-High Club
‘Sometimes you just gotta put your balls on the table’
So I’m not exactly an imposing business figure. I’m 5’3″, look younger than my 37 years (thank God black don’t crack), have dreads and a nose ring, and I’ve inherited my mother’s frequent smile. In short, I’m apparently easy to underestimate and even easier to condescend to. I say apparently because it keeps […]
Posted inColumns Archive
Don’t Marry Her!
Dear Vered, When my good friend started dating a new lady, I was immediately put off by how standoffish and wrong for my friend she was, but I wasn’t worried because I figured she was a fling. My friend is an amazing person, and I figured she was just testing the dating waters with this […]
Posted inPluck
Is there any way to talk about my choices without dumping on yours?
I was totally on board with this post, until I got to this line: There are some parents who can do all of this. They are those superhumans who can also knit clothes for their baby and pump gallons of milk from their own body. I envy them (and despise them!). Blogger Rachel Engel writes […]
Posted inMile-High Club
Bitchin’
Confession: I, in the presence of a man, called another woman a bitch the other day. I didn’t say it to her face, and he certainly isn’t going to tell her I said it, but I’m having mixed feelings about it. As the feminist editor of this-here feminist magazine, it feels wrong to use the […]
Posted inPluck
My baby’s poop made me cry
Oh, milestones. You know, the first time your baby rolls over. The first smile, first laugh. Their first solid poop. That’s the one that got me. Hit me right in the gut. I flushed his little turd down the toilet and cried. I want Teddy to grow up, to become more independent. I don’t want […]