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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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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. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Editor's Note: This piece was first published in Pulp Magazine. I recently read an article that listed the “types” of orgasm a woman can have. My partner and I stared wide-eyed when reading through this list, confused at how someone would publish an article stating that further research is needed to decipher what causes a “nipple orgasm.”
Apparently, it couldn’t possibly be because it simply feels good. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
By Luna Lark We’ve all got the Quarantine Blues. But this is really the time to indulge in your sadness. Embrace your Sad Girl™ aesthetic. Cry but make it cute. Look pensively out the window, you know, in a cute way. Drink strawberry wine and other twee alcoholic beverages with an eye toward that downward spiral. Yeah, you’re going down hard, lady. Misery is your mojo. I for one am becoming the Sad Girl™ I’ve always wanted to be. Sylvia Plath and Frida Kahlo ain’t got nothin’ on me. I’m downright midnight blue. I’ve got the cloak to prove it. No, cloaks aren’t Emo; they’re Sad Girl™. Don’t get it twisted; this has a Free People tag on it. Not Hot Topic. Know your brands. Intimately. Sadly. Fashion is a large component of this. Drawing tears on your face and then decorating them with glitter is totally a thing. That’s another essay—one I promise to write after I finish weeping over this one.
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By The Editors
Marleen S. Barr is a sci-fi scholar, author, and unapologetic feminist. If you've read Her Plumage, then you may recognize her name among the contributors.
For today's Creation in Isolation, we talk about the "post-truth" world, predicting political disaster, and topics covered in her short story collection When Trump Changed: The Feminist Science Fiction Justice League Quashes the Orange Outrage Pussy Grabber (B Cubed Press). The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
By Margot Riddle
Before I really got invested into the makeup world, I just bought what looked pretty. I really only considered the power of my dollar recently, especially after listening to beauty commentary channels about the skeevy behavior of some of the most popular makeup gurus and their brands. Remember, money talks, and we have more power than we realize. Just recently, Kat Von D sold her problematic brand Kat Von D Cosmetics, which has since been rebranded as KVD Vegan Beauty, though its reputation still struggles. So if you've been following the events of "Karmageddon 3", then you'll know about how many people are disturbed and disgusted by the bad behavior of the people who run their favorite brands. While many people have known which brands to avoid for a while, there are always going to be people who go into the beauty world without any idea of how wicked things can be behind the scenes. Since so many people were duped by problematic influencers, here are some dupes of products to replace their equally problematic brands. To address their branding problems, some companies may take advantage of some effective branding and marketing strategies. One of them is the use of beauty products or lifestyle photography. It’s a type of photography that captures cosmetic products in a manner that consumers will want to buy them. In short, the primary objective of this type of photography is to present beauty products in the most marketable way possible. It is important to get as much good photography tips to achieve more desirable outcomes. Thankfully, there are many professionals out there who can help obtain the best photos possible. For instance, an experienced photographer can show what the target audience can see, use the brand motto in the images, show every important detail of the product, and capture the product in action. Whatever techniques they’re going to use, beauty products and lifestyle photography may mitigate the adverse effects of having problematic brands. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
This time of quarantine has been marked by such limited face-to-face human interaction. I recently realized that when I finally see most of my friends, family, and colleagues in person again, we probably won't match our memories of each other. Digital representations are never quite true-to-life. My days are filled with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and FaceTime calls—sometimes for work, sometimes for pleasure. I take screenshots as I go along. I don't want to forget how I looked at the beginning of the pandemic and how my appearance changed. Three and a half months into it and I am already a different New Yorker than I was before COVID-19 hit. Death, illness, and isolation have changed me. Something that hasn’t changed? My love of makeup.
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