This is a horrifying cultural moment globally for many reasons. Something very strange erupted in a corner of the internet I happen to frequent and it really underscores for me the self-centered nature of many supposed progressives and allies, which I think is what inherently underlies a lot of atrocities committed in the world. Queer … Continue reading Transactional allyship
Author: Leah Kent
Writer. Researcher. Analyst. Queer.
Denver, CO
“The misprint seemed meant for me.”
I've been thinking about Elizabeth Bishop's poem The Man-Moth, which is a really interesting poem but also has interesting origins: A typo from a newspaper- the writer meant to use the word mammoth. "The misprint seemed meant for me," she later explained. Inspiration is a slithering thing - you never know where it might be … Continue reading “The misprint seemed meant for me.”
Like a bayou
When I think of revision, for some reason I always imagine a bayou. And I never really thought about why a landscape jumps into my head instead of paper or pens the eye-piercing glare of the computer screen. I think because it's brackish, and there are things that hide and lurk, and it's slow moving. … Continue reading Like a bayou
Spring flowers
Narrative prosthesis
As someone who has a chronic illness that technically qualifies me (by law) as disabled, I think a lot about how much I dislike fighting language - I'm not a fighter or a warrior, bravely battling this disease. If anything, I'm an ally. We have to live together, so we need to get along. Really … Continue reading Narrative prosthesis
Things I’ve learned that have served me well
I had a birthday recently, and I was thinking lately about things I've learned at different stages of life. It's funny, getting older - things that seemed important or urgent when you were younger no longer matter. Things you used to fall for you now see through. I thought about the big lessons I learned … Continue reading Things I’ve learned that have served me well
Portrait of the Artist Mid-Revision
In a love / hate relationship with this story. It tugs at me. I shove it away and it crawls back in, sneaking through the cracks. I try to ignore it but it screams. I love it achingly and intensely but it overwhelms me. Can't sleep because it talks to me constantly, but when it … Continue reading Portrait of the Artist Mid-Revision
Blow, blow thou winter wind
I remember being a choirgirl in the early 90s learning melancholy songs about winter and snow and slumber. 60+ kids from 9 to 18 years old would meet in a college classroom on Saturday mornings, but when we got closer to our concert dates, we'd meet in a rather non-descript chapel on a college campus … Continue reading Blow, blow thou winter wind
A Very Proper Table Setting (art installation)
Poetry!
There's a lovely literary journal called Arkana - "a literary journal of mysteries and marginalized voices." And Issue 13, which I've linked to, features one of my poems entitled Sleeper. This poem actually started out as more than one poem that found their way together and merged into one. It was inspired in part by … Continue reading Poetry!
Mental Wanderings: Art, Nature, Life 