By The Editors

We hope you spent last night gazing at (or at least glimpsing) the Super Blood Wolf Moon! Writer and artist Nicole Clatterbuck, who lives in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley region, was kind enough to let us run a few of her photos of the eclipse. She says, "Yeah, I was out there....from the ascending until about 1:45 a.m. when I was no longer sure whether or not I had fingers. I wish I'd had a bigger lens, but no matter...it was such a beautiful experience regardless! I mean was [it] glorious or what!?" Yes, yes, it was!

By M. Alouette

If you never heard it anywhere else, you heard it here: Do not go into debt for your M.F.A. It doesn't matter if you're going for writing, visual art, or film. Don't do it. I'm not saying don't go. I'm just saying that you should do yourself a HUGE favor in a society that doesn't want you to act in your best interest. Realistically, you will probably never make enough money to pay back those loans anytime soon. Ensuring your own financial security and maintaining control over your finances is an essential form of self-care. We need money for just about everything in the United States. Not even water is free. If you really, really, really want your M.F.A., that's fine, that's great. But do it without acquiring debt. Again: Don't. Go. Into. Debt. For. An. M.F.A. Otherwise that debt will haunt you for the rest of your life. And it's not a cool supernatural experience; it's just an anxiety-inducing one. You will have much more room for magic and freedom in your life after your M.F.A. if you don't rack up debt.

Here's how to get an M.F.A  and bypass the debt:
​

By Kaytlin Nickens
Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Virginia — With art, music, dance and spoken word, a national organization that fights injustice is holding a two-day event in Richmond to reflect on the history of slavery in Virginia and to promote racial reconciliation.
​

By Kripa Radhakrishan

Editors' note: The following is an essay that stemmed from an email Q&A with the Indian artist Kripa Radhakrishnan, who is now a graduate student in New York City.

​The Unheard Voice is a collaboration between 3D sculpture and performance art. The creative process included the development of a concept, visual imagery, and performance. I have formal training in Indian Classical Dance that contributes to my sense of a narrative approach of storytelling in my painting, sculpture and performance art. That training informs my decision-making in the positioning of the figures in my works. Using that vocabulary, I narrate the stories I share through figurative drawings, colors, found materials, proverbs, and poems. I make artworks which eliminate caste, religion and cultural identity in the physical appearances of the figures in my art. The sounds that I generate from my vocal cords, my dramatic body movements with highly emotional facial expressions, and the variety of found materials I incorporate all work together to create dramatic ambiance in this piece. I have incorporated found materials and ghungroo (a musical anklet tied to the feet of classical Indian dancers) in my performances. My interdisciplinary works strive to evoke an emotion or thought process connected to themes of women’s oppression and survival. The Unheard Voice suggests new visual possibilities when combined with dance. 
​

By The Editors

It sounds fake—and honestly like the perfect start of a novel—but there's going to be a Super Blood Wolf Moon tonight! This will be the only total lunar eclipse we will get all year. Only those in North and South America can enjoy the full effect. So why the name? Per NASA: "super' because the Moon will be closest to Earth in its orbit during the full moon (more on supermoons here) and “blood" because the total lunar eclipse will turn the Moon a reddish hue." The beginning of the total lunar eclipse will occur at 11:41 p.m. EST, with the most dramatic moment set for 12:12 a.m. EST.

In honor of tonight's spectacular event, we wanted to bring you an illustration by artist Steven John Fuchs of Arlington, Virginia. The illustration depicts the artist and his son David observing the lunar eclipse in 2000. Learn more about Fuchs at StevenJohnFuchs.com and check out his science fiction graphic novel Soyuz Blue.

​Now go out and savor that Super Blood Wolf Moon!
​

By Ghia Vitale

​Trumpy Bear is the most unfortunate stuffed animal I’ve ever encountered. Here are seven ways to successfully destroy Trumpy Bear in case the unthinkable happens to you. That is, Trumpy Bear comes into your real, off-screen life.

By The Editors

​Cecile's Writers, an international magazine centering on diverse, intercultural voices, announced their temporary departure today.
​

By The Editors

Have you ever wanted to go with a friend or loved one on a night out in NYC? Maybe see Times Square or see a legendary or brand new Broadway show? Now is your chance! 
​

By The Editors

Last fall, Lashelle Johnson, Quail Bell's non-fiction editor, launched Watermelanin Magazine. Run by people of color, this independent digital magazine publishes work exclusively by artists and writers of color. Recent stories include titles like "Growing Up American When You're Yellow" and "A Hijab in the Classroom Won't Change You." The magazine also runs fiction and poetry. We wanted to learn more about Lashelle's new venture, so we did what we always do when we're curious: We asked her a few questions:

What inspired the founding of Watermelanin?
 
One of the most influential moments of my development as a writer was in undergrad when I had access to a group of diverse voices at Amendment Literary Journal at Virginia Commonwealth University. I had the opportunity to helm the publication for a year and started to understand how important it was to have a space to learn, experiment, and grow as an artist. There weren’t spaces like that in the proverbial real world. Once I started submitting work to journals outside of undergrad, I realized I was supposed to have everything figured out already. There was no room for coaching, no guidance—my writing was supposed to be in its final form.
​

By The Editors

Yes, it's true! All around the world, people celebrated their favorite Gothic author's 210th birthday on Saturday, January 19th. 

By Virginia Sánchez

There are tons of different jobs out there. It almost cruel how many jobs exist, especially when you compare that number to how many you're actually considered "qualified" to do (probably a much smaller number.) We hear a lot how to apply for job. Libraries and bookstores have entire job search sections. "How to get hired" is in the title of dozens of books. Don't even get me started on Google or LinkedIn and the plethora of job search articles and essays online. My point is that we hear much less about the different pay structures and contracts that exist. This lack of information can be confusing, scary, and even dangerous. After all, we live in a society where almost every adult must work at some point in their lifetime. Why is it so hard to de-code job postings, get a read on what managers mean in job interviews, and parse through the language in office letters? 
​

By Christine Sloan Stoddard

Like every "good" graduate art student in New York City, I saw "Andy Warhol—From A to B Again" at the Whitney. And like many fellow women artists, it left me feeling angry. I applaud Warhol for his gusto, but for all of his innovations, he was still a white man. A gay white man, of course, but a white man nonetheless. That meant that he could move through the world in ways that people of other genders and races could not. A black woman artist of Warhol's time could not have had a "factory"—the name of Warhol's fantastic New York studio, where he reportedly exploited plenty of folks. A recent Observer article noted, "He expected free labor or failed to pay those at the factory, while [the Factory's] culture of drug addiction spent the lives of many who were part of his entourage in the 1960s." Bam. As if Warhol's habit of turning every art object into a mass-produced commodity didn't make me sick enough already. I like a technicolor Marilyn Monroe print as much as the next guy (or gal or unicorn) and yet I can't look at one for more than a few seconds before resentment starts to wash over me.

Andy Warhol could only succeed as a white man. Here are 7 reasons why ​his equally talented female contemporary, given 1960s social mores, could not have run her own art factory:

By Corrine Fizer
Capital News Service

​WASHINGTON, D. C. — Waving signs and chanting loudly, hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of the nation’s capital. The crowd, drawn from across the country, made its way to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue to march for the rights of women and minorities.

By The Editors

Back in Quail Bell's fledgling days, our founder Christine Stoddard* and her husband and collaborator David Fuchs created The Persistence of Poe, a 24-minute documentary about Poe's legacy in Virginia's capital city of Richmond. 
​

By The Editors

The Internet has given us a bounty of content, but as of late, we've been tuning in to Feminist Hotdog, a funny and uplifting feminist podcast. With the second season beginning in March, Feminist Hotdog will continue to spotlight news, culture, humor, and lifestyle for women. This is a podcast that will make you laugh, not cry, even when serious topics come up. The founder and host is Adrienne van der Valk, who curates a bevy of dynamic guests—and they never fail to keep the conversation going. We asked Adrienne a few questions about the podcast over email. Here are her thoughtful, honest answers:

What was the push behind starting your podcast? 
​
Feminist Hotdog was a direct result of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. The last few years have been hard on a lot of women, I think, and since Trump’s election every week feels like a game of oppression roulette: Who is he going to target now? It’s all been exhausting, but the Kavanaugh hearings really broke me. I watched my social media channels on the days they aired, and my female friends were all just in despair. Witnessing that despair really made me feel like I had to do something to help my sisters, and that something turned out to be a podcast.
 
The name itself just materialized in my brain. I was looking at Mitch McConnell on TV during these hearings and thinking, “That guy does not represent me or any woman I care about. I would rather take advice from a hotdog than listen to Mitch McConnell. As long as it was a feminist hotdog.” And that made me laugh and feel better for a minute. And Feminist Hotdog was born.
​

By Paisley Hibou

We get it—You're wide awake because you feel some supernatural urges stirring in your soot colored soul. Honestly, we've all been there. It's hard to sleep when you're electrified with black magic. Inside of resisting, you might as well give in to the call of the witching hour. Feeling lame because you're all alone and have nobody to be witchy with? It's okay, really. You're still cool, even if you're flying solo. In fact, you're probably cooler because you're flying solo. But if you feel self-conscious about it, here are 7 perfectly normal things to do when you're alone at the witching hour:
​

By M. Alouette

Self-care is as much about loving ourselves as it is improving ourselves. It is not a mindless love. It is a focused love. We should relax, reflect, heal our wounds, aim for growth, and radiate in the change. We deserve all of this because we are enough. We do not deserve self-hatred and we should aspire to more than pure decadence. We should strive for pleasure that nourishes us. All of this is a choice, but self-care is also a privilege. Our race, ethnicity, religion, health, social class, economic status, and other identities and circumstances have a large say in how society allows us to experience self-care. The less privilege we have, the less time, money, and opportunity we have for self-care. The more privilege we have, the less judgment we will face for "indulging" in these "selfish" and "vapid" acts. No two people experience self-care in exactly the same way.

​Regardless of how much or how little privilege we have, we should ask ourselves honest questions about self-care and our rituals. Here are some to inspire a heart-to-heart with ourselves:
​

By Daniel Berti
Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Virginia — The Virginia Senate on Friday passed a bill to repeal a Jim Crow era-law that legalized wage discrimination against many African-Americans.
​

By Leah Mueller

​One of the most pervasive myths about poetry is its reputation for being inaccessible to the masses. Verse is considered the province of academic elitists or wild-eyed starving artists and is often ignored by the rest of humanity. This is an amusing dichotomy—elitists often favor abstract poetry that is hard for the layperson to understand, while starving poets tend to be drawn to a more meandering, freeform style. Either way, the average person can find it hard to relate to the poetic form.

​The United States is notorious for its vast disparity of wealth. Underfunded, overcrowded public schools do not possess the resources to devote to an extensive study of literature. Fourteen percent of adults in the US are functionally illiterate. This amounts to a staggering figure: 32 million people over the age of 18 can’t read. The average citizen’s reading comprehension exists on a 7th to 8th grade level. Such individuals usually do not have the luxury of time to improve their literacy skills. Many of them work at dead-end, low-paying jobs which leave them exhausted at the end of the day.

By Paisley Hibou

Dating is hard and apps don't actually make it any easier. You may or may not want to further complicate an already complicated thing by dating a magical being. Take a mermaid, for instance. Hot or not? You decide! Though, let's be honest, you might never be faced with that choice. Of course, it's not impossible. What are your chances of actually matching with a mermaid on OkCupid? Probably greater than you think. Just remember all of the other surprising matches you've ever had. That buffalo herder-acrobat? Definitely a surprise. So if day ever comes that you match with a mermaid, you need to be prepared. Because the fact is, you might not realize you've matched with a mermaid until it's too late. First, you have to be a super sleuth. A mermaid isn't going to reveal their mermaid status right away. (Please note: mermaids' preferred pronouns are they/them.) You must study their profile and be sure not to overlook any of the details. Here are 7 signs that, when found in combination, mean your OkCupid match is actually a mermaid...probably...maybe:
​

By The Editors

Facebook is good for some things. Honestly, it's how we find many of the artists we feature here. Recently, Facebook gifted us the work of Essam Eskander. Enchanted by Essam's watercolors, we asked if we could publish a few on Quail Bell. Imagine our surprise when this gentleman's daughter, Ms. Marina Eksander, answered our email. (If only we had someone to answer all of the emails in our submissions inbox!) We zapped over a few questions and Marina zipped her father's no-nonsense answers right back. Here's what Essam had to say:
​

By The Editors

Tin House magazine is closing its print magazine after 20 years of printing top quality poetry and prose.

​By Daniel Berti
Capital News Service

Editors' note: An earlier version of this story erred in stating that the five largest energy-related political donors had given more money to Democrats than to Republicans in 2018. Specifically, the article erroneously reported that Dominion Energy and Virginia Natural Gas had contributed more to Democrats than to Republicans; that is incorrect. In fact, only two of the top five energy-related donors gave more to Democrats than to Republicans last year. The initial story was based on numbers from the Virginia Public Access Project’s website before they were updated Friday with the most recent campaign finance reports. We have revised the story and the infographics to reflect the correct information. In this revised story, we looked at the top eight energy-related donors; four of them gave more to Democrats than to Republicans in 2018.

RICHMOND, Virginia — In a break from past years, some large energy-related political donors gave more money to Virginia Democrats than to Republicans in 2018, according to campaign finance reports posted Friday by theVirginia Public Access Project.

By Mari Pack

I thought Mary Oliver was Canadian. I had to ctrl + F her Wikipedia page when she died to make sure. She was actually from Ohio. Outside of Cleveland. A quintessential American city. A once major manufacturing center. A place I have never been. Unlike Canada, where I lived for two years.

Being Canadian carries with it a moral imperative. It is my own personal bias. That Canadian things are good. Even when some of them are bad. When perhaps many of them are bad. When Doug Ford exists. When pipelines are built over indigenous land. The times when Canada is objectively not good. ​
​

By The Editors

Today our founder Christine Sloan Stoddard received the full cover—front and back—for her forthcoming book, Belladonna Magic, forthcoming February 5th from Shanti Arts Publishing. Here is the public message she posted on Facebook:
​