everyday art culture & Magic
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By The Editors  Disnie Sebastien is an artist from the beautiful island of Dominica in the Eastern Caribbean, now based in New York City. A Jane of all trades, she dabbles in many aspects of art, from acting and directing to video editing and house managing. Disnie has a B.F.A in Multimedia Performing Arts from Lehman College-CUNY in the Bronx. She has been fortunate to work with influential people in the entertainment industry, such as Trezana Beverly, Tony Award-winner, and George Lefferts, an executive producer for NBC & ABC. Recent credits include Google, Condé Nast, and Urban Stages’ Tourist Traps Theater festival. She hopes to continue to excel in her craft and touch lives through her artistry.
We asked Disnie, who stars in our poetry film "Butterflies" (and has appeared in a few other Quail Bell video projects!), some questions about what it's like to be a NYC artist for stage and screen, before and during the pandemic. Here's what she had to say:
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By Alex Carrigan  There are many roles women are expected to fulfill in their lives, whether it's being a good wife, a loving mother, a hard worker, etc. But what's really upsetting is how much of it comes from relinquishing control over their role to others. Whether it's having to listen to older women for advice on marital roles, or putting faith in doctors in regards to bodily autonomy, it's shocking how much women must fit into a box, but also how much responsibility they are left to bear if they fail to live up to expectations.
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 Editor's Note: This piece was first published on Gayisfamily.com. Watch the companion video, an ode to womxn with body hair, here. Clam shells tweezers. Pumice stone razors. Flint stone hair shears. These were the varied, ingenious depilatory instruments that could be found adorning the grooming tables of the everyday ladies and gentlemen of yore. Even the likes of Egyptian Pharaohs and Roman emperors.
The Egyptians, though proud of their beards and bodily manes, shaved as a necessity, to fight the hot African sun. Alexander the Great, though initially aghast at their abject lack of body hair, soon realized how much more difficult it is for an enemy soldier to grab on to one's hairless, frictionless arms. So, he, too, shaved. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
 In a time when everything is about social distancing, wearing masks, and simply staying home, traditional theatre is impossible. There is no way to produce and create the live theatre that we all know and love with current restrictions and recommendations in place. Luckily, theatre makers are notoriously inventive people and where there’s a will there’s a way. At the beginning of March (before the major onset of closure and postponements) I was notified that I would be directing at a new works short play festival produced by the Avonlea Theater Company and Cobb & Co located in Spanish Fork, UT. This festival eventually came to be titled Six Feet Apart, a virtual and COVID safe festival. I was to direct two plays, but as the festival got closer and alterations hadn’t been made to ensure the safety of cast and crew I considered pulling out of the festival. I am so glad I didn’t.
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By Ghia Vitale  Photo Credit: Sofiya Alexandra and Nick Ross Sofiya Alexandra is a feminist comedian who creates and posts #saddadcards along with illustrator Nick Ross. These cards offer a new take on dad humor as we know it today.
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By The Editors  Here's a free sign to print, laminate, and stick on the floors of your public or semi-public space. Want to tip Quail Bell for this graphic? Send us some cash via Venmo @quailbellmag. We'd appreciate it and hope you can make good use of this sign! Download Here:
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By The Editors  Asano Agarie Gomez installation her work. See more work from this artist in Quail Bell. With New York City slowly re-opening, we're pleased to see the Queens Botanical Garden welcoming masked up visitors for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdown. QBG will be re-opening Tuesday, July 21st, with limited operating hours and social distancing guidelines in place. But this isn't the garden's only good news! This season also brings six new art installations curated by AnkhLave Arts Alliance, a non-profit arts platform for marginalized creators. (One just so happens to be our founder Christine Sloan Stoddard.)
We asked AnkhLave founder/executive Dario Mohr–previously featured as an artist here on Quail Bell—to tell us a bit about his organization, its Annual Garden Project, and what it has in store for Queens Botanical Garden guests this summer. Here's what he had to say: The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
By Susann Cokal Editor's Note: This piece previously appeared in Gemini Magazine.  Author's Introductory Note: The reason to write and read historical fiction is, I think, primarily to experience a story that couldn’t have been told at the time, one for which the historical record may be spotty. Such a story requires both research and leaps of imagination and emotion.
My portrayal of J. Marion Sims comes directly from his autobiography, The Story of My Life, which can be read in its entirety online. In what follows, I’ve italicized passages taken directly from Sims’s book or from newspaper accounts. The lone exception is the paragraph that defines fistulae, which I’ve cobbled together from his descriptions. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
By Rebel Tipton
Not to point out the obvious, but the world has gone to shit. If your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak feels like the equivalent of thirty landfills, you're not alone. The CDC reports that bizarre sleep patterns, heightened anxiety and depression, chronic illness flare-ups, and changes in eating habits are all totally normal reactions to living in the middle of a pandemic. Just in case you still don't believe me, here's why feeling like shit right now is totally okay.
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Instagram/Banksy
The anonymous street artist Banksy took his artistic skills and coronavirus commentary to a London Underground train, only to have it erased hours later.
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By The Editors  This year's artists Everyone in New York City saw Spring 2020 get "canceled" and this summer is turning out to be unlike any other, thanks to COVID-19. But are we doomed to a year without stoop culture? No, we can still get a (safe) taste of it, thanks to savvy artists and community organizers like Kendra Ross and her creative posse.
Kendra is the founder of STooPS, an annual arts event and workshop series in Brooklyn's vibrant Bed-Stuy. The emphasis on local, accessible art and civic responsibility among different racial and cultural groups in this historically Black neighborhood always makes STooPS a beautiful summer highlight. We asked Kendra a couple of questions about how STooPS will unite Bed-Stuy's neighbors in a socially distanced fashion on July 18th. Here's what she told us over email: The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
By The Editors  We had a very safe, socially distanced email interview with poet Beth Gordon, managing editor of Feral to learn more about this new art and literary journal. Issue 1 came out on April 1st—yes, during a pandemic!–and poetry submissions just closed for Issue 3 (art submissions remain open). Here's what Beth has to say about this wild darling: How would you encapsulate what Feral is?
Feral is an online and print journal of poetry and art. Our mission is to publish emotionally engaging and well-crafted work from an eclectic group of poets and artists at all stages of their artistic journeys. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Interview: Cat From Hologender Talks Leftist Memes, Sailor Moon, #BlackLivesMatter, and More7/15/2020 By Ghia Vitale  Meme Credit: Cat from Hologender Photo Credit: Artwork of Usagi from a Sailor Moon x Riccimie Premiere Salon collab from 2016) Hologender is a popular meme page that’s famous for serving up leftist messages, an inclusive attitude, and vibrant imagery. Memes don’t get much danker than this! Check out this exclusive interview to learn more about Cat, the creator of Hologender as well as one of its admins.
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By The Editors
A few of the contributors to Her Plumage, Quail Bell's anthology of women's writings, got together to read some work from the book on Zoom. Tune in! P.S. This video is best watched from your desktop, but if you're on a mobile device, click on the Vimeo title to get redirected to the mobile view.
Like what you heard? Then get your copy of the anthology.
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By Pippa Abernathy
Editor's Note: This piece contains spoilers for Kindred and mentions topics such as abuse, slavery, and other potentially triggering topics. 
After an unacceptably long time, I finally had a chance to read Octavia Butler's Kindred. It was a telling narrative of the ways women, particularly Black women, are expected to support a white man without question. It also highlights the way that familial bonds are used to manipulate and further abuse those who are victims of it.
Though I am not Black, Butler's work finally helped me realize I couldn't help my own Rufus Weylin: my ex-boyfriend. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
 Dear Quail Bell readers,
It has come to our attention that "WACKOdemics!", a piece we published by Mick McGrath, was not quite the fiction the author claimed it to be. Rather, based upon insight from those who know him in person, it was more of a manifesto pushing his misogynist and racist beliefs—which he has shared widely in academic settings. We thought the piece was a work of fiction not only because the author labeled it as such but because of its absurd details. The narrator reports hearing voices from the TV, believes Jesus regularly tripped on mushrooms, and mentions a recurring dream about living in a padded cell. We thought the work meant to criticize real-life men like the narrator, not celebrate them. In publishing this story, we did not in any way mean to promote the narrator's vile views. We have since removed the story from our website and social media. We apologize for negatively affecting anyone by publishing this work. For a reminder of our publication's mission and values, please visit our 'About' page. Feathery Hugs, The Editors The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
A good book review, in my opinion, should lay out everything the reader should know before purchasing a book. Obviously, there are details the critic can’t explain in full, but they should give enough of an idea of the book’s plot, content, themes, and other details readers could find interesting. This primarily applies to fiction and nonfiction, since these are books that can sell based entirely on character descriptions and plot summaries.
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 The scene: A large dinner party, two or three years ago. Mostly 20 and 30-somethings crowd the table over a decadent, very Instagrammable meal.
Character: A loud white man in his early 30s. Dialogue: “I just look at single people and say, “Haha, you’re single! I’m married!” Needless to say, he was not my favorite person at the party. Do you really need any more context to know he’s obnoxious? The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
By Melissa Schack
Author Gila Green is a novelist of four books living in Israel. Herlatest novel, No Entry, is a testament to the author’s perseverance. Not only did the release get hampered by Australian wildfires, but COVID-19 has complicated matters as well. Hopefully, the sequel to No Entry will gain a smoother path.
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 "Masked Beneath the Stars" by Christine Sloan Stoddard You know how some teachers plant words in your head? And you remember exactly what they said weeks, months, and even years later? Many elderly folks can recall exact lessons and phrases from different teachers throughout their formal education. Just ask one…in a socially distanced approved way, of course. One of my photography professors seemed orgasmically obsessed with the work of photographer Lucas Blalock. He couldn’t shut up about him. So, as a bright-eyed MFA student, I made plans to attend Blalock’s March 2018 artist talk at the School of Visual Arts as soon as I heard about it.
My professor had shown us dozens of Blalock’s photographs and described them as pieces that betrayed their labor processes. Blalock is strongly influenced by Bertolt Brecht, the German theatre dude who believed theatre must reveal its labor. Typical Socialist stuff, much of which I can get behind, at least in theory (practice is another matter). Unfortunately, I did not learn much more about Blalock’s work after attending his artist talk. His content only reinforced the fact that white male artists can produce mediocre, or at least one-note, work and get lauded for it. Like I’ve written before, only a white guy could get away with being Andy Warhol. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
By James Brownold  I have to start by apologizing: I’m currently in a beach house on the coast in Puerto Rico with my girlfriend Julie. Okay, I can see the nasty looks and hand gestures you’re giving me from here, thank you very much.
We came from New York just when the virus was about to arrive in the U.S. It was a fortunate accident of timing. We planned on staying for 10 days. (Insert hysterical laughter here.) Now the plan is to stay here until the COVID-19 pandemic begins to subside there (Thanksgiving?) or until we run out of money. I know that what’s going on in the continental states is much worse than what’s happening here and I don’t want to seem like I’m gloating, so take comfort in the fact that I won’t include any sunset photos. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
By Melissa Schack
Courtney LeBlanc is a poet based in Arlington, Virginia. She has released two chapbooks All in the Family and The Violence Within. The Pushcart Prize nominee’s latest Beautiful and Full of Monsters is a collection of poetry full of raw emotions and imagery. Her views on love and relationships are relatable and enlightening.
You can catch her writings on her blog, or read her poems right here in Quail Bell Magazine. Follow her on Twitter @WordPerv, Facebook, or Instagram @wordperv79. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
 The gentle lull of lazy summer days hasn’t hit yet and it won’t this year. It’s an anxious lull. In quarantine, I’ve resorted to taking baths like I’m a newborn again. I even use baby bath and pop a rubber ducky in the water. Bubble baths are part of my new normal. I indulge in other little ways as I can, mainly through eating decadently and watching movies without my former art school snobbery. But it’s not just my downtime that has taken a shift; it’s my work, too.
One specific shift I have noticed in my creative practice is my output of repetitive artwork. I don’t mean redundant artwork, where I harp on the same themes or visual imagery from piece to piece (though I’ve certainly been guilty of that.) I mean repetitive artwork as in visual art created by repeating the same motions or tasks over and over. |
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