Studies have shown that there's a powerful link between scent and memory. I have personally found this to be profoundly true. One breath in and suddenly I'm transported into the past. I have smell triggers. Lilies remind me of funerals. The smell of matches reminds me of burning candles late at night in my room … Continue reading “The closing walls and the ticking clocks”
Author: Leah Kent
Writer. Researcher. Analyst. Queer.
Denver, CO
Transcendental confusion
I was in high school when I first read Walt Whitman. I remember being introduced to the idea of Transcendentalism, finding something about it intriguing, and liking something I read by Whitman. He's lumped in with both the Transcendentalists and Romantics, but if you think of Transcendentalism as the American spin on Romanticism, or as … Continue reading Transcendental confusion
Stepping out of my burrow
So I'm in my late 30s. This is an age that I think a lot of people dread, because 40 marks the beginning of middle age, the no-good, very bad slump that follows young(er) adulthood where we're all suddenly used-up malcontents who are either beaten down by life or on the verge of launching headfirst into … Continue reading Stepping out of my burrow
To PhD or Not To PhD
I'm a PhD candidate, and have completed almost all the requirements to be able to walk with a Master's. And I have to admit, I'm very seriously considering it. I love grad school - I honestly do. Despite the stress it causes, I actually really do love being a student. I love class, I love … Continue reading To PhD or Not To PhD
Constructing identities
I spent some time at the Denver Art Museum last week, and one of the current exhibits is a landscape exhibit which, according to the DAM, will show how various artists have blurred "the distinction between 'observed' and 'constructed' imagery." Observed vs. constructed is an interesting binary. Has the artist who took this simple (yet … Continue reading Constructing identities
Throwing out sparks
For many of us who live in the U.S., this is a frightening time. I feel the ball of anxiety tightening in my chest everyday, triggering a queasy feeling, an uneasiness that hovers around me. My concern for this country and the people in it is at unprecedented levels - I am, at times, actually … Continue reading Throwing out sparks
Word gardener
Grad school is out for the summer, which means I finally have more time to decompress...and think, and write, and read about things that aren't part of my grad program. Someone once described grad school to me as intellectual boot camp, and I think there's a truth to that. I would actually call it emotional … Continue reading Word gardener
Dangling
I enjoy reading about words and phrases that exist in other languages, but don't have perfect English equivalents. It's a fascinating insight into what shapes the experiences of people in other cultures, and also sometimes helps me to think about things in ways I haven't done before. I read an interesting article a few months … Continue reading Dangling
You have the ocean
I'm very much a 90s child; I careened through my tween and teenage years in the last decade of the 20th century. Grunge and alternative music ruled the radio back then, which I now nostalgically regard as the backdrop of my adolescence. But in my heart, I was more of a Lilith Fair and Tori … Continue reading You have the ocean
I came to explore the wreck
I remember spending summers on a small island where my extended family members lived. Off one of the piers where we used to go, a ship had once wrecked. You could still see parts of the wood sticking up out of the water, blackened and weathered. As I got older, it started to disappear. The … Continue reading I came to explore the wreck
Mental Wanderings: Art, Nature, Life 