Miyako Pleines

Miyako Pleines is a Japanese and German American writer living in the suburbs of Chicago. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Northwestern University, and her work has appeared in Electric Literature, The Rumpus, the Ploughshares blog, and others. She writes a column about birds and books for the Chicago Audubon Society, and you can follow her on Instagram @literary_miyako. Links to her work can be found on her website, miyakowrites.com.

Stories

Cover Photo: An image of Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega , Morticia Addams played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Luis Guzmán who plays Gomez Addams in the latest Netflix show Wednesday

Wednesday Addams Is the Ultimate Outcast

Wednesday Addams does not want to play with you.

Dec 08, 2022

Arts & Culture | Television

Cover Photo: An image of Ginger and Brigitte from the film ‘Ginger Snaps’

Despite Its Dark Ending, ‘Ginger Snaps’ Still Made Me Want a Sibling

My preoccupation with suicide was less about actually dying and more about grappling with my own sense of agency in the world.

Aug 26, 2021

Columns | The Curse

Cover Photo: Screencap via Vortex/Bryanston Distributing Company

Shades of Yellow Heighten the Horror of ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’

In Tobe Hooper’s famous horror film, the color yellow is a visual catalyst for the evil that is to come.

Jul 26, 2021

Columns | The Curse

Cover Photo: actor Tura Satana in a bright pink dress with cutouts, one hand resting on a propped-up leg, the other pointing a gun offscreen

Tura Satana Taught Me to Find Power in My Asian Identity

At times, I’d like a woman to be the one in pursuit.

Jun 24, 2021

Columns | The Curse