or experiencing hurt as regeneration A heart torn asunder, a wound holding stitches in place; A sky cracked open, glued shut with streaks of liquid gold Flawed, and barely short of full — like faulty literature and the faultlines of your heart. How long does it take to break apart; break through, break even? Body built of thread-bare necessities, deconstructed under downpour Woes shed like water-weight

I first learned of liminal spaces in an introduction to anthropology class in my first semester of college. I do not fully recall what was being discussed — something about sacred spaces and thresholds in cultural rituals — but I have visceral memories of being in the front row, second…

This essay was originally written as a university assignment. Since the term was first coined in 1925 by Franz Roh, magical realism has come to encapsulate and transcend a variety of genres and media of expression. While Roh’s conception of “magic realism” specifically referred to Post-Expressionist German art, the popularity…

This review was first written as a university assignment in May 2019. In her poem “Acquainted with Grief,” Helen Hunt Jackson asks: “Dost know Grief well?” This is a question of importance, for it aptly translates the need for grief, like all human emotions, to be acquainted with in order…

Can you find belonging within the contents of your plate? An edited version of this article was first published on 18th January 2019 in the Kyiv Post as a food review. Stepping in through the doorway, you are sucked into a vacuum; all connection to the bustling street outside is…