#Sarah Thom

[bspoquemagazine]

Diese woche im Hau: Love is a Verb.

Liebes Publikum, was wäre, wenn das Lieben ein allgemeines Wohlwollen gegenüber anderen Menschen, Lebewesen, dem Planeten und sich selbst beschreiben würde, sowie die Bereitschaft, gemeinsam mit ihnen zu wachsen? Mit dem Festival “Love is a Verb”, das noch bis Sonntag läuft, denken wir das Lieben durchlässig und in der Dynamik des Tuns. Denn dem Lieben als Handlung wohnt politische Kraft…

[jpgcore]

[nimuetheseawitch]

KILLJOYS 1.06

Occupational hazard.

[weclassybouquetfun]

Holy Photoshop, Batman!

Team Thom Browne Class Photo: Ben Simmons, Gigi Hadid, Jaden Smith, Rebecca Ferguson, Alton Mason, Eboni Nichols, Queen Latifah, Steven Yeun and Cynthia Erivo.

Team Loewe: Taylor Russell, Greta Lee, Jamie Dornan, Josh O'Connor, Dan Levy, Ambika Mod, Ayo Edebiri, Alison Oliver, Omar Apollo

TEAM PRADA :Sarah Paulson, Harris Dickinson, Amanda Seyfried and Damson Idris

[girl4music]

“You think I should have a hobby. Now what would that be? Hanging around a derelict library with you, your poorly-socialized guard dog, and Bear here?”

Sameen Shaw is quickly becoming my new favourite character on this show and I’ve only seen her in 2 episodes so far. Granted her introductory episode was FIRE. Well… she was FIRE in it. Not so much it.

Looks like she’s planning to track Root down. And the enemies-to-lovers cat and mouse chase begins. 🤗

Plus Tracie Thoms is in this episode. I like her too.

[stratocumulusperlucidus]

Matching besties in Thom Browne ✨

[pinkmoonmp3]

sarah snook via thombrowne

[women-4life]

WHICH ROOM WOULD YOU CHOOSE ?

[30ahchaleh]

You'll never find me here

هرگز "مـ😏ـن" را اینجا پیدا نخواهید کرد

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مدتها بود که یک فیلم درست و حسابی در حال‌وهوای کافکایی ندیده بودم

میتوانم به دوستداران این مدل فضا ، نوید آنرا بدهم که این فیلم چنین عنصری در اتمسفرش پیدا میشود

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البته مد نظر داشته باشید که فیلمساز به هیچ وجه قصدش ساخت فیلمی در سبک کافکایی نبوده بلکه به نظر من فقط مدلی از آن حال‌وهوا در فیلم او جاری‌ست ، که این خود یک امتیاز برای جذاب تر شدن فیلم محسوب میشود

برگردیم به کندوکاو در فیلم ،

آن ساختمان که سر به فلک کشیده آن هوای زمستانی و آن "رنگ و نور" سرد پخش شده در سرتاسر فیلم و آن جمله های ابتدایی به ما خبر از یک قصه خاکستری میدهد

خاکستری که در کل زندگی پاشیده شده و فقط پناهـ گاهی دنج میتواند آنرا تحمل پذیر کند

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فیلم پر هست از نکته های باحال تصویری و دیالوگی تاکه راهنمایی باشن برای گذر از مسیر های فرعی فیلم تا رسیدن به جاده اصلی مد نظر فیلمساز

مثلا

در همان ابتدا تقابل جملات انگیزشی و فضای سرد خاکستری که در انتها مشخص است کدام پیروز این میدان نشان از خوش فکری فیلمساز است

یا

حریم(خلوت)شخصی را ، با لزوم پارتیشن داشتین دو میز نزدیک هم برای افراد "اهل خلوت" نشان میدهد

ارزش واقعیت را ، در آن نقاشی کودکانه نشان میدهد

لزوم خروج و خالی شدن و لذت پس آن را ، با سه نشونه کنار هم "اتاق دنج و دستشویی و تابلو خروج" نشان میدهد

راحتی پیدا کردن در مفهوم "خالی و خلوت" را ، با پارکینگ شلوغ نشان میدهد

تبلور دوستــداشتن های ذهنی را ، در رابطه اورسن و آلیسا نشان میدهد

و …و …و

اما این ها همه مسیرهایی هستند برای رسیدن به مسیر اصلی

حتی

در فیلم "پدیده واقعیت" ، که چیست ، مهم نیست بلکه بهره ای که از "آن پدیده" تراوش میشود مهم است

تاکه بعد این "چرا" را در ذهن بیننده تولید کند

که "چرا ؟" اکثریت مردم در حال طناب پیچ کردن خود با واقعیت های تحمیلی هستند که از آن بهره نمیبرند و در عوض اگه بهره‌ای از جایی آمد که با واقعیت های معمول جور نبود به سوی حذف آن قدم بر میدارند

.

سوال طلایی اینست

گیر دادن به واقعی و واقعی نبودن مهم‌ست یا چه بهره ای از پدیده ها میبرم مهم؟

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دیگر جالبی فیلم در این است که شخصیت اصلی را ، فردی بدون عیب و ایراد نشان نمیدهد همچون منجی های فیلم های مارول درمقابل چنان نشان میدهد که میتواند نجات باشد آنهم فقط در نقطه‌ی لازم ، اما چون در چارچوب روال ، قدم بر نمیدارد مقبولیتش نادیده گرفته میشود

و در ادامه وقتی با واقعیت های تحمیلی نمیتواند یا نمیخواهد همرنگ شود ، سیستم حاکم مبتنی بر واقعیت معمول سعی در حذف او میکند

چرا چون این سیستم بر اساس واقعیت های خودش شکل گرفته که اگر قسمتی از آن زیر سوال برود گرداننده هراس آن دارند که کل ساختار زیر سوال برود و در نهایت از هم بپاشد و صندلیش را ببازد پس در نقشه ساختمانی‌اش چنین فضای خالی نه وجود دارد و نه در نظر گرفته میشود ، حتی شده "بهره وری" راندمان ، فدا ��ود میشود ، تا همچنان "آنچنان" حاکم باشد

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برای سیستم حاکم "بهره" ، زم��نی که از واقعیت معمول تراوش کند قابل قبول است

it is very important that we do the right thing in a situation like this.

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You'll never find me here

هرگز "مـ😏ـن" را اینجا پیدا نخواهید کرد

همگام نشدن با سیستم چنان فشاری به اینجور افراد میآورد که برای خلاصی از آن چاره ای جز فرار در خود ندارند همان خلوتـ گاه دنج و دوست داشتنی شان

و

کم پیش میآید شخصی با عوامل پشتیباتی قوی گرفتار شود و توان مقابله با مخالفان را داشته باشد

از زاویه دید "نامحرم و مقلد" سماع مولانا و اتاق دنج اورسن قابل فهم و دستیابی نیست

سکونـ ـت در اتاق و چرخیدن در سماع پنجره خروج نگاه است و البته ورود چشم‌انداز به آن فراحیات دوستداشتنی خاص شخصی که میتواند در هر کسی به شمایلی ظهور کند که اگر کرد نه گوشه گیریست نه افسردگی نه اجتماع گریزی و نه خل و چلی و نه ده ها انگ دیگر چراکه در هیچ کدام آنها که گفتم بهره‌ای ساطع نمیشود

اما حیف که پنجره است نه راه خروج ، که راه خروج ، با پله‌ست نه آسانسور

و نقطه ضعف ش، در کلید روشنایی‌ست که بیرون اتاق‌ست نه داخلـ🥺ـ آن

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THE AUTHORITY INC

شرکت اقتدار

اکنون میخواهم فرای تمثیل کارمند و شرکت اقتدار در فیلم ، مثالی دیگر از سیستم های اقتدارگرای حاکم زده باشم

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میخواهیم وارد رابطه ای شویم

سیستم در "ظاهر امر" به بهره خوشی ما از دید ما در آن رابطه اهمیت میدهد

در واقعیت سیستم حاکم پیش فرض هایی مثل سن ، قیافه ، اندام ، درآمد و غیر را تعیین کرده که اگر طبق دیدگاه او پیش نرویم آنقدر آنرا گوشزد میکند که یا ما نیز عین بقیه افراد آن شبکه میشویم و آن رابطه را کنسل میکنیم یا از طرف سیستم و شبکه های متصل به آن طرد و حذف میشویم

حتی اگر بدانیم همه چیز "پول" نیست یا فلان چیز و فلان چیز هم نیست

Money isn't everything

فقط پافشاری مدت دار بیش از عمر یک فرد و دارای کثرت میتواند در آن سیستم فرهنگی تغییر ایجاد کند

واقعا داشتم میرفتم کـ🥺ـه

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در آخر به یک نکته ضروری اشاره کنم که در جایی ندیم و اکثرا آنرا اشتباه میگیرند که من برای آن اصطلاح کمدی کافکایی را مناسب تر دیدم و البته که در فیلم نیز جاری ست

Kafkaesque comedy

کمدی کافکایی مزه ی طنزی دارد خاص خودش

یعنی در لحظه بیان طنز شیرینی دارد اما در کل "مطلبِ تلخ" است که تلخ میشود

پس در ژانر طنز "تلخ یا سیاه" محض جای نمیگیرد اما جدا از آن هم نیست

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حال شما را ��ه صرف اندیشه ، روی ترانه‌‌ی آخر فیلم دعوت میکنم که به اندازه فیلم توجه مرا جلب کرد

در پست بعدی تحلیل این ترانه فوق‌العاده را خواهم گذاشت و یک دست‌مریزاد به فیلمساز برای این انتخابش که فیلمش را اینچنین تمام‌و کمال کرد

5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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[zonetrente-trois]

[casualoptimist]

Book Covers of Note, January 2024

[makingqueerhistory]

Transgender Books For Your Libraries

I have said this before, but right now requesting and reading queer books from your local library is important. I want to take a second to say there is a direct attack against the transgender community around the globe, and it's worth your time to request and read transgender books. So, here are some transgender books to request:

(Some links are affiliate links and the money goes to Making Queer History's research fund)

People Change, Vivek Shraya

Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Judith Butler

The Salt Grows Heavy, Cassandra Khaw

Transland: Consent, Kink, and Pleasure, MX Sly

Freshwater, Akwaeke Emezi

Amateur: A Reckoning with Gender, Identity, and Masculinity, Thomas Page McBee

The Subtweet, Vivek Shraya

Dark and Deepest Red, A. M. McLemore

A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Becky Chambers

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Fantabulous Memoir, Kai Cheng Thom

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir, Akwaeke Emezi

Dead Collections, Isaac Fellman

Disintegrate/Dissociate, Arielle Twist

Tell Me I'm Worthless, Alison Rumfitt

How to Be You: Stop Trying to Be Someone Else and Start Living Your Life, Jeffrey Marsh

A Lady for a Duke, Alexis Hall

Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality, Sarah McBride

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower, Erica Ridley

I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World, Kai Cheng Thom

We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film, Tre'vell Anderson

Beyond the Gender Binary, Alok Vaid-Menon

[librarycards]

hi sarah. feel free to delete this if it’s too much, but do you know of any work (academic, personal essays, art, etc) about grieving someone who’s died to suicide/wishing they were alive while also grappling with how to square it with your anti-psych, anti-carceral, pro-bodily autonomy politics? for reference i’ve read Alexandre Baril’s paper on Suicidism before and may revisit it in this light, as well as aleks thom's writing on disenfranchised grief and your lovely recent poem about suicide, but i’m sort of at a loss about where to look for other work about the intersection of these specific topics. many thanks and much love in advance

thank you so much for asking! i feel strange saying "i'm sorry for your loss" because it's clichéd and trite and you've heard it a billion times before. i am sorry, though, and i am equally sorry that you carry your loss into a world that is so deeply hostile to everyone affected by suicide – loved ones, those who have attempted, those who have completed, those who are dealing with suicidal thoughts, all of us.

i think that perhaps the most useful thing to remember is a bit simpler and a lot more challenging than can be conveyed in a paper or poem. it's that peoples' bodyminds are their own, including when they treat said bodyminds in ways we on the outside don't like. this is true for people who do all manner of "unhealthy" and "self-harmful" things, and as loved ones, it's incredibly fucking hard to witness, especially when the consequences are deadly.

suicide grief, and in general, work by loved ones and caregivers to those of us who experience extreme states, is pretty tough to find in the area of Mad studies. this is partially justified, given the degree to which we've all been spoken over and around by abusive "caregivers." yet it also denies the simultaneity embedded in basically any Mad community: we are all both, because we're all together and hurting at once.

i actually have two friends who have written about their own experiences as suicidal + Mad people who have lost close people to suicide: MT Vallerta, a scholar-poet [check out In Memoriam], and poet S.G. Huerta [you should read their poetry book, Last Stop].

Sophie Lewis also wrote an intriguing piece that touches on suicidality, death doulaing, and kinship.

Emily Krebs studies suicide/bereavement from a Mad crip abolitionist perspective, and is worth checking out.

i think it's also a good idea to remember that a way to honor those who have completed suicide is to take better care of suicidal people who are still alive. it only does more harm to suicidal people to approach ideation/attempts carcerally, and indeed encourages more covert, risky, and isolated methods rather than open dialogue. here are some ways to honor - not only support, but truly honor, trust, and respect suicidal people:

candidly speak about death, self-harm, and "dark thoughts" - and what to do around them - before and outside of immediate crises. be explicit in your intentions to support those who are actively suicidal before the next crisis occurs. ask people their preferences - who should you call? is the hospital ever on the table, and if so, under what conditions? who will be there to advocate for them when interacting with carceral authorities?

be candid about how their actions affect you, without placing blame. when someone attempts suicide, everyone they love is affected. this is not the person's fault, but it is something that needs to be addressed in community. here's an example from my own life: a dear friend was forcibly hospitalized after an attempt. i had been a main support person of hers in previous crises, when we lived near each other. when we spoke about her experience months later, i admitted that i felt "guilty" and as though i had somehow caused her to be institutionalized by living in a different place now. she admitted to me that she felt "guilty" for having "let [her loved ones] down" and "letting" her health deteriorate. we were able to find comfort and commonality in our affective experiences, and have become better friends for it.

cool it with the solutions. ask for consent before doing anything, but especially giving advice. many people kill themselves, or try to, because they feel cornered - often for very logical reasons (poverty, oppression, abuse/complex trauma). the adage that a poor person probably has more financial wisdom than a rich advice-giver holds true here, so don't immediately offer tips unless they've asked for them. sometimes, suicidality isn't connected to anything concrete, either, or a person's reasoning doesn't "make sense" (duh). if someone has the courage and trust to come to you with their feelings of suicidality, what they need most is someone to listen, to take them seriously, and to afford them the same personhood that they would have otherwise.

when people disclose thoughts of suicide, they take an immense risk in terms of their safety and credibility, and they do so because it is not possible to be a person alone. but, we also need to hold simultaneously that the individuals who do their best to support a loved one, but are not equipped to do so, are also not at fault for somehow "killing" them. suicide is incredibly complex, and suicide grief perhaps even moreso than other types of grief.

i also don't have concrete answers as to what to do about this conflict between our emotions around suicide - wanting to save a person we love, wanting them to stop hurting, being willing to do anything to keep them around - and imagining a world against and beyond the institution in all its permutations. but i know we will move toward it together through open conversation and trust and collective risk. much love and respect to you for asking such a challenging question during a heartbreaking time. <3

[gatheringbones]

best books of 2022 rec list:

fiction:

chouette by claire oshetsky

forty thousand in gehenna by cj cherryh

fierce femmes and notorious liars by kai cheng thom

sula by toni morrison

everyone in this room will someday be dead by emily r. austin

jane eyre by charlotte bronte

villette by charlotte bronte

non-fiction:

gay spirit by mark thompson

we too: stories on sex work and survival by natalie west

transgender history by susan stryker

blood marriage wine & glitter by s bear bergman

love and rage: the path to liberation through anger by lama rod owens

gay soul by mark thompson

between certain death and a possible future: queer writing on growing up in the AIDS crisis by mattilda bernstein sycamore

the man they wanted me to be: toxic masculinity and a crisis of our own making by jared yates sexton

nobody passes: rejecting the rules of gender and conformity by mattilda bernstein sycamore

cruising: an intimate history of a radical pastime by alex espinoza

gay body by mark thompson

what my bones know: a memoir of healing from complex trauma by stephanie foo

the child catchers: rescue, trafficking, and the new gospel of adoption by kathryn joyce

the opium wars: the addiction of one empire and the corruption of another by w. travis hanes III

a queer history of the united states by michael bronski

the trouble with white women by kyla schuller

what we don't talk about when we talk about fat by aubrey gordon

the feminist porn book by tristan taormino

administrations of lunacy: a story of racism and psychiatry at the midgeville asylum by mab segrest

the women's house of detention by hugh ryan

angela davis: an autobiography by angela davis

ten steps to nanette by hannah gadsby

neuroqueer heresies by nick walker

the remedy: queer and trans voices on health and healthcare by zena sharman

brilliant imperfection by eli clare

the dawn of everything: a new history of humanity by david graeber and david wengrow

tomorrow sex will be good again by katherine angel

all our trials: prisons, policing, and the feminist fight to end violence by emily l. thuma

if this is a man by primo levi

bi any other name: bisexual people speak out by lorraine hutchins

white rage: the unspoken truth of our racial divide by carol anderson

public sex: the culture of radical sex by pat califa

I'm glad my mom died by jenette mccurdy

care of: letters, connections and cures by ivan coyote

the gentrification of the mind: witness to a lost imagination by sarah schulman

skid road: on the frontier of health and homelessness in an american city, by josephine ensign

the origins of totalitarianism by hannah arendt

nice racism: how progressive white people perpetuate racial harm by robin diangelo

corrections in ink by keri blakinger

sexed up: how society sexualizes us and how we can fight back by julia serano

smash the church, smash the state! the early years of gay liberation by tommi avicolli mecca

no more police: a case for abolition by mariame kaba

until we reckon: violence, mass incarceration, and a road to repair by danielle sered

the care we dream of: liberatory & transformative justice approaches to LGBTQ+ health by zena sharman

reclaiming two-spirits: sexuality, spiritual renewal and sovereignty in native america by gregory d. smithers

the sentences that create us: crafting a writer's life in prison by Caits Meissner

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in May 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Farzana's Spite - Felix Graves 🧡 Archangels of Funk - Andrea Hairston 💛 How It Works Out - Myriam Lacroix 💚 Queer History A to Z - Robin Stevenson, Vivian Rosas 💙 Queerceañera - Alex Crespo 💜 Second Night Stand - Karelia Stetz-Waters, Fay Stetz-Waters ❤️ You Can Call Me Cooper - Cali Kitsu 🧡 Gooseberry - Robin Gow 💛 Grand Slam Romance - Ollie Hicks, Emma Oosterhous 💙The Witches of Silverlake - Simon Curtis, Stephanie Son 💜 Drawn to the Enemy - Barbara Winkes 🌈 The Truth of Our Past - Heather Leighson

❤️ Infaust - T.D. Cloud, Ambi Sun 🧡 Garner for Gold - Catherine Labadie 💛 The Z Word - Lindsay King-Miller 💚 Snake Charming - Genevieve McCluer 💙 The 7-10 Split - Karmen Lee 💜 Loving Jemima - Sienna Waters ❤️ The Potion Gardener - Arden Powell 🧡 A Swift and Sudden Exit - Nico Vincenty 💛 The Worst Ronin - Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Faith Schaffer 💙 Murray Out of Water -Taylor Tracy 💜 The Guncle Abroad - Steven Rowley 🌈 The Weight of What Was - Pip Landers-Letts

❤️ The Amazing Alpha Tau Pledge Project - Lisa Henry, Sarah Honey 🧡 I Met Death & Sex Through My Friend, Tom Meuley - Thom Vernon 💛 Malicia - Steven dos Santos 💚 The Sins on Their Bones - Laura R. Samotin 💙 SLUTS: Anthology - Michelle Tea 💜 You Should Be So Lucky - Cat Sebastian ❤️ Death's Country - R.M. Romero 🧡 Cinema Love - Jiaming Tang 💛 The Brides of High Hill - Nghi Vo 💙 Emma - Jenna Kent 💜 Wish We Were There - Lionel Hart 🌈 A Troublemaker in Her Eyes - Genta Sebastian

❤️ I Make Envy on Your Disco - Eric Schnall 🧡 Lavash at First Sight - Taleen Voskuni 💛 Queer Power Couples - Hannah Murphy Winter, Billie Winter 💚 In Repair - A.L. Graziadei 💙 A Heart Divided - Angie Williams 💜 Long After We Are Gone - Terah Shelton Harris ❤️ The Queen of Steeplechase Park - David Ciminello 🧡 Lunar Boy - Jes Wibowo, Cin Wibowo 💛 Hot Boy Summer - Joe Jiménez 💙 Sunhead - Alex Assan 💜 The Summer Love Strategy - Ray Stoeve 🌈 Into the Mouth of the Wolf - Erin Gough

❤️ The Girl in Question - Tess Sharpe 🧡 The Lost Erwain - Mariah Stillbrook 💛 Starfire - Naomi Hughes 💚 Adrift - Sam Ledel 💙 Shanghai Murder - Jessie Chandler 💜 April May June July - Alison B. Hart ❤️ A Bone in His Teeth - Kellen Graves 🧡 Cabin Fever - Tagan Shepard 💛 Don't Be a Drag - Skye Quinlan 💙 The Ride of Her Life - Jennifer Dugan 💜 The Redemption of Daya Keane - Gia Gordon 🌈 Nearlywed - Nicolas DiDomizio

❤️ The Sunforge - Sascha Stronach 🧡 The End of Time - Trudie Skies 💛 Silent Ones - Melissa Polk 💚 Prime Time Travelers - Neil Laird 💙 My Darling Dreadful Thing - Johanna van Veen 💜 The Honey Witch - Sydney J. Shields ❤️ Spitting Gold - Carmella Lowkis 🧡 Last Chance - Claire Highton-Stevenson 💛 Road Home - Rex Ogle 💙 Only for Convenience - Shannon O'Connor 💜 Linus and Etta Could Use a Win - Caroline Huntoon 🌈 Finding Molly Parsons - Alyson Root

❤️ Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding - Maia Kobabe, Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier 🧡 See You Next Month - Jamey Moody 💛 Until You Say My Name - Tatum Schroeder 💚 Disembark - Jen Currin 💙 True Love and Other Impossible Odds - Christina Li 💜 Flyboy - Kasey LeBlanc ❤️ Thirsty - Jas Hammonds 🧡 Hands Off - N. Slater 💛 Flooded Secrets - Claudie Arseneault 💙 The Deer and the Dragon - Piper C.J. 💜 To Be Loved - Frank G. Anderson 🌈 Snowblooded - Emma Sterner-Radley

❤️ Blood Remains - Cathy Pegau 🧡 Blood on the Tide - Katee Robert 💛 We Were the Universe - Kimberly King Parsons 💚 Loyalty - E.J. Noyes 💙 Spirits and Sirens - Kelly Fireside 💜 Clean Kill - Anne Laughlin ❤️ The Worst Perfect Moment - Shivaun Plozza 🧡 Oye - Melissa Mogollon 💛 Here for the Wrong Reasons - Annabel Paulsen, Lydia Wang 💙 Exhibit - R.O. Kwon 💜 Experienced - Kate Young 🌈 Parenting with Pride - Heather Hester

❤️ Road to Ruin - Hana Lee 🧡 Meet Me in Berlin - Samantha L. Valentine 💛 The Advice Columnist - Cade Haddock Strong 💚 where lost & hopeless things go - Bryony Rosehurst 💙 Pit Stop - Ellis Mae 💜 The Switchboard - Christina K. Glover ❤️ In the Shallows - Tanya Byrne 🧡 Have You Seen This Girl - Nita Tyndall 💛 Another First Chance - Robbie Couch 💙 The Only Light Left Burning - Erik J. Brown 💜 Keepers of the Stones and Stars - Michael Barakiva 🌈 A Little Kissing Between Friends - Chencia C. Higgins

[sophie-frm-mars]

Hi Sophie. I enjoy reading your longer Tumblr posts. It's been a while since I've read a leftwing essayist whose work has really grabbed me. Any recommendations for modern leftwing essayists whose work is worth reading? (articles, columns, editorials, online magazines, etc.)

Honestly most of my work (and long tumblr posts, which I suppose are still work kind of lmao patreon dot com slash sophie from mars) is informed by books and those tend to be older, like I wanted to say bell hooks for a second now and then I remembered that she died in 2021 (rip). Maybe it's just that there's so much good theory to get through that's already stood the test of time, but I appreciate the question so as much as I'm currently enjoying Kierkegaard's the Sickness Unto Death i know it's not what you're asking for in like 6 diffferent ways.

The problem with recommending contemporary stuff is that you can never recommend anything in gestalt and i wouldn't expect people to recommend me as always totally good either but I hope that's understood. I'm subscribed to Organise! magazine and I think they regularly publish really sound political analysis. If you are interested in books, I had Half-Earth Socialism on preorder and I've been enjoying that since it came out. Not writing, but I think the Seriously Wrong Podcast boys are the best ones doing it right now, their stuff is very well researched, written and argued and delivered in a fun and humorous style as well.

I like a lot of feminist authors at the moment. It was feminism that brought me to the left in the first place and I've basically always said that marxism (or equally anarchism) without a feminist lens is essentially useless. I think that feminists have been leading the charge in properly analysing and understanding systematic and structural violence and oppression for a long time, especially trans feminists like Julia Serano or black feminists like, again, bell hooks. but since your question is about contemporary writers who write articles / essays etc, I really like Amia Srinivasan (her essay collection The Right To Sex is utterly astonishing), Catherine Angel (Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again is a book that changed my life), Kai Cheng Thom (her substack is great and her book I Hope We Choose Love is fantastic too). I also quite like Clementine Morrigan, her articles explore quite uncomfortable conversations about anti-carceral approaches to social justice and trauma, and her podcast is actually where I heard an interview with Catherine Angel which is why I ended up buying her book.

I know you didn't ask for books but I can't let a recommendations post go by at the moment without talking about Abolition Revolution by Shanice Octavia McBean and Aviah Sarah Day because it is simply occupying SO much of my brain at the moment

thanks for the question