i hold my own hand to cross the street
and spend a few minutes too long
looking at the shape of your back.
the day opens for each person, cut straight
through the middle. i try my best not to watch
hello and happy new year’s eve. i hope everyone is doing as well as they can.
i have been overthinking about this newsletter, mostly because it feels silly to be updating about what i’m doing for a very small audience. for anyone taking the time to read, you are very kind and i appreciate you. moving forward, i am trying to work on not constantly feeling the need to be constantly completing personal projects and updates, and giving things the space they need before releasing them. that being said, some exciting things have happened recently that are important to me.
firstly, i have a very short album out today! it is seven demos, featuring vocals/lyrics from my friend melisa ferati on “proud of me” and vocals on “bodies again” + instrumentation throughout the album from my partner ry jacque. i never expect people to buy my work but if you’d like to, all funds go towards these fundraisers (you can choose an organization or i will divide funds.)
-funds for gaza
-national network of abortion funds
-indigenous women rising
-marsha p johnson institute
i am so thankful that people collaborated with me on this small project! my best friend jada bee designed the album cover/took the photo <3
i am grateful to have finished and released this album, but moving forward plan on pomegranate penguins being my main focus! if you would like to hear our works in progress, we are going to be releasing demos on patreon and substack. substack has a free subscription option; patreon is $1 a month. i am very excited about our first demo (out very soon…) a beautiful song written by ry.
the first online features for wishful thinking press were published last week! jada and i are so excited to have a space to share other people’s amazing art. you can view visual art by ry jacque and poetry by nat raum here, with more features coming soon.
lastly, i got the chance to be featured poet at honeymoon’s poetry open mic this month! it was very nerve wracking and not something i would have seeked out on my own, but it was a very kindly offered opportunity and i am so grateful for the people who listened to me read my sad poetry for thirty minutes. anyone in bellingham who may read this, check out pacific corner poets to see more great featured poets in the next few months!
thank you so so much for reading!
- hazel
independent artists who did cool things this year
Shawnee Kilgore - “Moon Song” - single
Ry Jacque - “theotherside” single
Bellflower - Looking for Signs EP
Izzy Jones - cornflower blues (demos) album
Dollarbird - Three Hotdogs and Two Beers EP
Girl Parallel - “LOSER!” single
Frail Talk - Little Al Elemental Suite EP
fromyourbed - live at lantern records album
Jada Bee - upcoming newsletter!
Olympic Speedwalker - poetry chapbook by Savannah Wolden
salt box - poetry collection by nat raum
Garden Palace - a very wonderful project/music venue in Bellingham by Scout Smissen
a few other things i wrote/made this year <3
Last Pieces - prose chapbook published by Bottlecap Press
In These Walls - Pomegranate Penguins EP! + article written by Kiara Almanzar
Q&A: SHAWNEE KILGORE EXPLORES SOFTNESS AND LONGING IN NEWEST SINGLE “MOON SONG”
Q&A: INNOVATIVE SOLO ARTIST GIRL PARALLEL DISCUSSES EXPERIMENTAL NEW TRACK “LOSER!”
SPOTLIGHT: INDIE-FOLK BAND BELLFLOWER EXPLORES GROWTH AND ACCEPTANCE IN DEBUT EP ‘LOOKING FOR SIGNS’
REVIEW: SAVANNAH WOLDEN’S NOSTALGIC POETRY CHAPBOOK ‘OLYMPIC SPEEDWALKER’