✍️
When I first moved to New York, I made friends with poets by frequenting a little library off the Morgan L called Mellow Pages. Back then poets were obsessed with calling anything a poem: tweets, blogs, videos, facebook event invites. Irony hadn’t died yet and new sincerity was just beginning, which made it all a bit insufferable, but I stuck around for the poems. A lot of those people either moved away, moved on, or got canceled, but one thing that remains from that time is cunny4. For over ten years, Bunny Rogers has been posting her poetry to her Tumblr. Her writing is explicit, private, tender, funny, perverse, and intimate. She is the greatest poet of our generation. It’s poetry, just poetry, no bullshit.
Related Recs
Stroking (my) imaginary dick part 1 of 3 on my substack POETRY SLUT RODEO [poetry, performance, art]
Sep 22, 2024
I came across a rec on here a few days ago about life being so serious yet unserious, because sometimes you eat a McChicken and everything’s okay for a moment or two. Silly, simple things can bring joy and laughter amongst the struggles y'know. It made me think about this poem.
But I'm so so sorry, that’s really fucking awful. You didn't deserve any of that. It can be so hard to put yourself out there in the first place, I'm sorry you got nasty folks. Like it's terrible that people even need to preface their work with “hey I'm not claiming to be a good writer, not looking for critique, please don’t come for me, this is just for fun” and are still met with absolute plonks saying “you have committed irreparable sin against my eyes for posting this, actually. I must inform you of this.”
And I don’t even know what to say about people criticising you for writing in English and Spanish. I mean, other than that’s fucking stupid. I’m sure your writings are very very lovely. If it's any extra help, just thinking about the idea of your silly fish poem made me smile (:
Years ago I wrote and shared a poem about me not cleaning the floor for a long while after we had to put our dog down - because, if I stood in a certain spot, tilted my head just right, the light coming through the kitchen window would hit the tiles, and I could still see imprints of his little paws that had been left behind. There were nice comments, but someone said something along the lines of “hmmmmm. you should actually mop the floors once a week at minimum. that’s gross. also your rhyme is clunky”
Like oh. Okay. I know, but...that wasn't why I-- I poured my grief and love into this and you're like "here's the best floor cleaning liquid to use. kys."
I shared a poem about my first *real* crush too, and there were a few comments like "this is juvenile. cringe." I remember the hurt of "oh. ow. I was being really sincere there. that feels kinda soul eroding to read. Might fling myself into the sun now, cya"
But hey, all of this to say:
Heck yeah, keep writing! Even if it's only just for you. I've personally found having a writing outlet for myself again in general great. I also like having pieces set aside that I don't start off with intending to share with anyone - that’s been super helpful too, for like, my brain in general. Whether they're personal reflections or silly thoughts, it helps to play around and get feelings out (:
Sending you kind vibes, keep on keepin' on 🫡
Feb 13, 2025
👠
poem I wrote after the new taylor swift album came out thank god
I haven't seen the sun in four days and my dad just said he was proud of me for finishing the leftovers.
mailing letters is a great way to feel like you're from before
when no one could google you and see that you did acapella in college
one time I wanted so bad to fall in love that I did it
what's it called when you have a sixth sense that your ex is engaged?
- Cat Cohen (2020)
Jul 1, 2024
Top Recs from @arjun
🗽
In 2006, a YouTube account called Artssiren uploaded a series of clips for an amateur documentary called “New York City Subculture ‘96.” The doc is set in the East Village and mostly features downtown squatters hanging out on St. Marks stoops talking about tattoos, philosophy, and love. Characters include Kia, a topless punk who confronts a pig, Bernie, a squatter who wants to convince you he doesn’t look like a squatter, and Randy, the most emo boy in America. The film was made by Nia Janeen Brown, who now goes by Chloé Le Roux. She deserves a retrospective.
Sep 13, 2022
🔒
It’s a weird way to end a recommendations list, but there are things you should just keep to yourself. Also, you should be comfortable with the fact that there are things from which you’re gatekept. Anyway, thanks for reading my recommendations lol.
Sep 13, 2022
🎶
If you don’t have a DAW like Ableton you can use Audacity, an open source music software, to slow down time. Audacity comes with an effect called Paulstretch, named after an old program called Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch that was used to make this iconic YouTube video. It allows you to slow down audio files by inordinate amounts, turning silly little love songs into monumental drone landscapes. You can discover hidden melodies buried in the waveform and imagine life outside of time.
Sep 13, 2022