By The Editors

April was going to be a big month for Kim Vodicka. Her poetry collection The Elvis Machine (CLASH Books) premiered at AWP earlier this year, but Vodicka voluntarily decided against seeing the copies of her book for the first time it due to safety concerns. Today, she is still fighting against the shadow of COVID-19 amidst cancelled book readings, meet-and-greets, and other crucial events for a book's success, including the New Orleans Poetry Festival and L.A. Times Festival of Books. 

Like many writers, she's turned to the internet's writing community for support. While we're not thrilled with the circumstances, it's still pretty badass to talk to her about 1950s dudebros, how to carve out a poem, and the intersection of poetry and performance. 
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By Ghia Vitale

​Kawaii self-care and skincare makes you glow. That’s why I recently tried the Rilakkuma Blemish Treatment Patch with Hydrocolloid by Rilakkuma Beauty.

By Alex Carrigan

By The Editors

Like many workers, Brianne Agnizle found herself on the sidelines after the club she works at closed indefinitely due to the pandemic. But filing for unemployment, the advice given to many furloughed and laid off workers, isn't a possibility for Agnizle. Like many other dancers across the country, there are limited to no protections for any type of sex worker, regardless of their essential role in clubs across the county. 

​Even during these times, Agnizle's voice is far from silenced. Her piece, "I'm Sorry I Said Your Other Name", was featured in South 85's Fall and Winter 2019 issue and she is currently working on her memoir. We speak with her about the memoir, the stigma against sex work, and the Italian Mafia. 
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By The Editors

People say they wish they could live during a historical event...until they do. But historians know it's a lot of more observing from a distance. 

David Perlmutter, the author of two history books and a freelance writer, knows this firsthand. He worries that a world with COVID-19 is a world that makes an already tough livelihood tougher. We ask about his past writing about the history of animation, the essential roles libraries and bookstores play in supporting indie authors, and more in the latest segment of Creation in Isolation. 
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By Alex Carrigan

By Ghia Vitale

Self Worship is a short film that features Che Che Luna, a queer, Mexican American dancer/artist who embraces body confidence and sexual freedom. In this film, they use dance to reclaim their body after experiencing sexual trauma during their childhood. It’s the ultimate testament to their personal journey towards self-love and self-empowerment.

By Nancy Wick

By Danielle Arze

Many men have romanticized me as being the manic pixie dream girl they’ve been waiting for their whole lives. I call it Scott Pilgrim Syndrome. I don’t care what most people think, I love adventure, and I stubbornly continue to express myself through my clothes and hair choices even into adulthood. Sprinkle in a few odd interests and this recipe adds up to a person who struggles to date. ​
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By Alex Carrigan

It’s easy to dismiss punk as dirty and rebellious for the sake of rebelliousness, but there’s a real glamour and craft to the look and the lifestyle that’s easy to miss if one ignores the work behind it. At the same time, glamour, while more socially-acceptable, is able to hide its underlying murkiness with clean hems and crisp, neutral tones, presenting an image that can be meticulous, but also just as frustrated and restricted as those punks it scoffs at. Marrying punk and glamour is the sort of thing that can expose a real severity and beauty of humanity that can expose just how wide a person’s emotional spectrum can be.