Author: Chris Cocca

Journal of the Day: Paperbark

~ Chris Cocca ~ Leave a comment

From the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in collaboration with the School of Earth and Sustainability, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, and the UMass Libraries comes Paperbark Literary Magazine. It has a very clean and modern-looking website and a compelling mission:

“Paperbark Literary Magazine is an expression of the intellectual and artistic currents working to shape collective consciousness about issues of sustainability in the information age. Born in New England, Paperbark draws on the unique heritage and culture of the region to support and stimulate creative engagement with progressive ideas. Rooted in themes of stewardship, innovation, and possibility, Paperbark’s content is motivated by a desire to trace the connections between science, culture, and sustainability. Paperbark lives at the confluence of imagination and critical inquiry, and is an integral tool for the promotion of sustainability initiatives on the University of Massachusetts campus. The magazine strives to illuminate the impacts of human society while nurturing our intrinsic capacity to catalyze positive change.”

Check them out. Send them love!

A Literary Mag for Undergrads

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Intent on taking my own advice, I am rather slothfully uncovering new opportunities for publishing poetry and short fiction. I’ve shared a few of those discoveries in recent posts.

Here’s one I can’t use: Sink Hole is a journal that only publishes undergraduates. If you’re an undergraduate and you’ve got the time, send them your best work. My first published poem was in my college’s undergraduate journal, and I’m still pretty proud of it.

Go spill that tea, or something. Key key?

Will Our Priorities Change?

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A few years ago, the idea of Universal Basic Income was a complete nonstarter. Medicare For All seemed almost as unlikely. Since the last presidential election (even before the coronavirus began to lay bare the gross inequalities of so many of our systems), UBI and M4A had gained serious traction, with support for the latter becoming mainstream.

Now, of course, the world economy is on the brink of complete disaster. The idea of healthcare as a commodity instead of a right seems not just cruel but also patently absurd.

What would something like M4A mean for you in your current circumstance? What kind of world might we build when this pandemic is over? How can we be sure we’re ready for the next one?

Stay safe. Stay home. Stay engaged.

Get some rest.

This Isn’t a Writing Retreat

~ Chris Cocca ~ 4 Comments

I’m not sure, but I think a lot of people who follow this blog are writers.

If you are, I’m curious: do you find it harder to write right now?

It’s true that people can do incredible things in isolation. There’s a sort of romanticism, too, in the trope of the artist, alone in the woods, emerging with some Great Work.

I doubt most people reading this have the luxury of using the current situation as a working vacation. I’m assuming most of us have day jobs and family responsibilities. Children to help and be present for, parents or siblings or friends we’re worried about. Bills to pay.

Don’t be too hard on yourself when this ends and you haven’t produced The Great Gatsby or Leaves of Grass or Death of a Salesman or Rent.

Do what you need to do for you and the people you need to care for.

The work will be here when this is over. The slush pile will be here. The acceptances will be here, too — still fewer and farther between than we’d like.

Some things will change. At least I hope so.

What do you hope will change? What do you long to go back to?

What needs to be left behind?