Love Me, Love My Belly
I had two poems published recently in Porkbelly Press’ Love Me, Love My Belly zine, issue 7. Porkbelly Press, an indie micro press (celebrating a decade of publishing, congratulations!), publishes the annual body image zine. Their site describes Love Me, Love My Belly as “dedicated to the acceptance of self and imperfection as beauty. It’s about the space between us, our differences, our scars, our wobbly bits, and our power as it relates to the bodies we live in.”
My poems included in the zine are “a diagnosis III” and “a body that aches”. I’ve written a manuscript called a diagnosis, filled with poems that explore and try to describe ptsd, anxiety, and chronic pain. In “a diagnosis III”, I try to visualize pre-ptsd me and post traumatic me as two beings, two specters, both haunting in their own way. “a body that aches” is an ode to the only body I get — one brimming over with numbness, pain, emotion. The theme of self love, of radically loving your body, is one that comes up a lot in my work. Being born with a bone disorder, I have experienced chronic pain, bullying, and feeling different/othered for all of my life. Poetry is catharsis for me, enabling me to better understand my pain and myself, as well as connect with others who experience chronic pain.
I’ve been submitting my a diagnosis manuscript for the past few years; fingers crossed it finds its home! Keep an eye out for other poems from the collection.
Read the latest issue of Love Me, Love My Belly. Submit your poetry, creative nonfiction, and art to Porkbelly Press’ future zines and calls for submission.
Open Doors Festival
Last month, I participated in the second Open Doors Festival, a festival organized by and for disabled folks. I was honored to read several poems at the festival and thrilled to experience talented disabled artists sharing their art on stage! From Deaf and ASL music videos, to choreography/performance art, to monologues, to a blind pianist, there was every type of art and every type of disabled artist.
The festival is the brainchild of the incredible Suzanne Richard and Jessica Wallach. Richard is the Co-founder and Artistic Director of Open Circle Theatre, a professional theater including the work of artists with and without disabilities. Mixing arts with advocacy, Richard has worked on and served in various local, national, and international accessibility and disabilities-related councils and committees. Wallach is a Washington, D.C.-based photographer, educator, and accessibility consultant. She is an artist with a disability, and a disabled artist. With a background in portrait photography, she has recently entered the fine art scene, leveraging her disability as both subject and focus. In her project, The Body is Good, she aims to transform all spaces, particularly healthcare spaces, into affirming environments for all bodies.