Other Selves

You Mean More to Me Than Any Scientific Truth

A poet wrestles with grief and the multiverse.

Oct 06, 2021
Falling in Love With a Balloon Artist Taught Me I Never Wanted to Be “Normal”

My future was uncertain . . . A balloon dinosaur was tangible, even if it withered away in a week.

Apr 14, 2020
How Being a Child Elvis Impersonator Helped Me Find My Non-Binary Self

Each performance provided a hit of adrenal love. I lived on it. I survived off of it. Until, that is, that moment in the bathroom when I was thirteen.

What I’ve Learned About Outrage

There’s a lot to be outraged about. But when my anger is visited on people close to me, something needs to change.

Jul 02, 2018
Stay Wild, or How to Keep Your Hand

To call these acts wild, to see them as separate parts of consciousness, is to be a tourist in your own city.

May 17, 2018
How to Live Without Ecstasy Every Day

On chasing ecstasy, finding tenderness, creating art, and experiencing motherhood.

Mar 15, 2018
The Old Man Who Fought Boko Haram

“Who was this self-appointed vigilante of this street of ours? Why was he so invalid? No one seemed to have a story about him.”

Jan 04, 2018
How a Cabin in the Woods Almost Killed Me

“You tell the real estate guy it’ll be your weekend place. You tell yourself you’re going to get a lot of writing done here.”

Sep 06, 2017
Pinecone Man

She thought she was probably hugging a murderer.

Jan 13, 2017
Some Girls

“I made Ryan feel like his New Balances were snakeskin boots.”

Jun 03, 2016
The Fierce Triumph of Loneliness

“Living alone as a woman is not just a luxury but a refusal to bend.”

May 18, 2016