Author: Jessie

  • Cultural Consciousness

    Jessie

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    It’s only Wednesday. But it’s already been a hard week. A bomb threat was called into the JCC in my community. And today I went on strike for International Women’s Day. These two events may seem unrelated, except in timing, but they have become combined in my mind. This week there were many people in… Read more

  • In Broad Daylight: What I Believe

    Jessie

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    This time it is my city. This time it is my community. This time it is my people. This time it is not my family. I am lucky it is not my family, as I was lucky when it happened in St. Louis, and Philadelphia, and not here. But I am writing now when perhaps… Read more

  • Thank You: From Taking to the Streets to Talking in the Streets (1/22/17)

    Jessie

    To the grandma on the metro in the pink kitty cap, thank you. Thank you for smiling and nodding at me across the train as if we were sisters, because we are sisters. To the middle aged woman who looked at me on the street corner, thank you. Thank you for asking me if I… Read more

  • When We Will Not See the Fruits of our Labors

    Jessie

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    Yesterday I, like thousands of others, visited the final resting place of Susan B. Anthony. I paid my respects to a woman who never saw her efforts come to fruition. But I voted. Her efforts were not for her, they were for me. And that’s the greatest gift anyone can give. Last night friends called… Read more

  • A Night of No Returns

    Jessie

    “I’m scared,” they say. This is what I’ve heard from my friends, people who voted like me. They are not angry or sad. The loudest noise has not been a noise at all, but silence. Our democracy has always been full of heated argument, lying, scheming, profanity, change, ingenuity, and passion. Now there is only… Read more

  • The Void

    Jessie

    You must feed the void or it will feed on you. That is what writing is. It is standing on a precipice, staring into an endless hole with no guarantee, no possibility really, that you will ever be able to fill it up. And while the void is deep enough already, if you wait, if… Read more

  • Day Jobs

    Jessie

    I have a full time job and then some. It has been about eight weeks since I took the position after completing my MFA degree in Creative Writing. And I now no longer have time to write everyday. It is often frustrating, probably adds to some of my sleep issues and exhaustion, but I will… Read more

  • New Year New Reads

    Jessie

    Happy 2015! I’m sure everyone plans to read more this year (don’t know that we will, but it’s nice to dream) and I have my first suggestions. My friend Daniela has just translated her debut novel into English, and it’s available for digital download on amazon.com. If you love fantasy (and a good deal) try a… Read more

  • Thesis Writing and Movie Titles

    Jessie

    So this happened today … And in 4 weeks the first draft of my thesis is due. These two events together are not particularly conducive to focusing. I try to tell myself it’s writing, that I do it all the time. Like, all the time. But it’s different when I know someone is waiting to… Read more

  • National Book Festival 2014

    Jessie

    The National Book Festival was today in DC. I attended for the second year in a row. Perhaps it was more apparent this year, as the venue was indoors rather than out on the national mall, but the festival was incredibly well attended. I sat through four packed presentations and spent the rest of my… Read more