At the beginning of May, I finished a semester-long sabbatical. I know, sabbaticals sound like complete privilege—and they are. I had the time to revise a novel, send a nonfiction collection on submission, write the proposal for a new book called Writing the Hard Stuff for Bloomsbury, travel to D.C. to advocate for reproductive freedom, write a few reviews and a couple of grants. If this sounds like a list of activities I would submit to the Faculty Activity Review Board, you are right. With a sabbatical comes a lot of need for justification. Oversight, if it’s self-imposed, is the key to making your sabbatical count. I submit this list so that a) no one thinks I just sat around and b) as a bit of evidence that if everyone had a sabbatical, we would rise to the occasion and make it count, as we would if Universal Basic Income existed.
I also committed to a few other projects: 1. Befriend a raven. 2. Pet the cats and dogs two hours a day. 3. Learn how to speak with an Irish accent. Unfortunately, because of the cats and dogs, no ravens visit. I did pet the pets and even brushed their teeth. And, I changed Siri to speak as an Irish-accented lady. That will have to suffice.
My former student went to see the Subhumans in Phoenix late last fall. I’ve loved this punk rock band since I was twelve-years-old. Their dark point of view satisfied me. Their song “The Cradl… Read moreImpossible individualism: Us fish must swim together
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I have a confession to make. I adopted two new kittens. After Zane the cat got lost last April, I couldn’t stop missing him. Zane, half Maine Coon, half koala bear, was my person. He slept bet… Read moreNicole's Impossibly Possible Ideas: Impossible Hospitals
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I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. The nouns in that sentence define nearly all of my writing. My hometown, paradoxically named, shaped my aesthetic. I write from a first-person point of view… Read moreNicole's Impossibly Possible Ideas: One and done
Newly elected governor Katie Hobbs, in her inauguration speech, vowed to repeal the universal vouchers, officially known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) â€� double-speak for if you’re… Read moreNicole's Impossibly Possible Ideas: Boot Straps
It was precisely 97 minutes ago that we wrapped up Spring Semester 2022. By the time you’re reading this, it will be September 1 and Fall Semester 2022 will be well underway. They say there’s … Read moreNicole's Impossibly Possible Ideas: A wormhole summer