EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT:
I’ll write more about this further down, but in case this is as far as you get: The Chaffee Coalition for Palestine is hosting a screening of NO OTHER LAND, the Academy Award-winning documentary about Palestine, to fundraise for Jordan Valley Solidarity at the SteamPlant in Salida, CO on December 17th! It’s going to be a must-see, so get your tickets if you’re in the area, or donate to the cause! All of the information you need can be found here.
Dear Reader,
I got a lot of things done last week—cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc.—but writing was not one of them. Hopefully you were too busy basking in a post-Thanksgiving glow to miss me! Instead of writing something new for today, I’m going to let myself be lazy and share this (belated) anniversary round-up.
What to say about this year? I posted on Substack less, but I think I wrote more. I published my first short story. (Yay!!!) My writing group welcomed a new member and met almost every single week, which, in addition to being good for my writing, was good for my heart. All in all, a successful year. If you’re new to Loose Baggy Monsters, or if you’ve been here since day one and could use a refresher, here is some writing from the past two years that I think is worth a read.
Most Popular (According to Substack Metrics)
The top post on Loose Baggy Monsters is actually last year’s anniversary post. But it would be silly to reflect on a reflection, so instead we have:
It doesn’t surprise me that two of my three most popular posts have to do with Palestine. Palestine was the reason I started sharing my writing here in the first place—my real writing, not just my thoughts about writing. (This was “Turning Point,” a poem for Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda.) In this post, I wrote about Columbia University’s response to student protests against the genocide, which was and continues to be disappointing. Over a year and a half later, public opinion seems to be shifting in favor of ending the genocide (or even acknowledging that it’s happening in the first place).
On That Note . . .
The Chaffee Coalition for Palestine is hosting a screening of No Other Land, the Academy Award-winning documentary about Palestine, to fundraise for Jordan Valley Solidarity at the SteamPlant Event Center in Salida, CO on December 17th!
If you’re in Chaffee County, or you want to support this cause, please consider buying a ticket or donating! Or, click on that same link to learn more about this coalition and its goals.
Back to the writing:
I have mixed feelings about these two sad, summery poems being my most read ones. On the one hand, “On Being Asked to Be More Specific” is intensely vulnerable; it gave voice and power to my bodily insecurities in a way I feel kind of squeamish about now. On the other hand, maybe that vulnerability is what resonated with people. So I haven’t revised it. In her book Dear Writer, poet Maggie Smith wrote,
“I may not agree with all of the choices that my younger self made [. . .] but I respect her choices and I let them stand out of respect. Revising the poem would erase her choices.”1
I love that. I’m carrying that with me.
I have written happier beach-themed poems since this, one of which you can read here.
“Unsexy Sins” snuck into the top three this summer. It brings us back to Palestine—although that’s not where I set out when I started writing it. I drafted this poem in my head during a music festival, but didn’t make the connection to the Nova music festival attacks—and the resulting atrocities against the Palestinian people—until later. If you want to read some really great poetry about Palestine by an actual Palestinian poet, I recommend ONLY POEMS’ Poet of the Week, Basman Aldirawi.
Posts That People in My Life Reached Out to Me About
If you’ve ever texted me or talked to me about something I wrote only for me to respond like a deer in the headlights, know that I love and appreciate you! I’m just shocked that people actually read what I write! Here are some posts that people have (very kindly) reached out to me about.
After reading this “Behind the Monster,” my friend who works in healthcare reached out to tell me that experiences like mine would inform his work moving forward. Read this one if you’re passionate about reproductive rights and pregnancy justice.
This post prompted one of my most philosophical friends to chat with me about trickster figures and astrological symbols. Read this one if you like biblical imagery and/or want to have a dance battle with God.
A friend whose writing I have always loved told me that this poem gave her poetry envy, which made me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy. Read this one if you like fairytales and Slavic folklore.
And Finally, My Personal Favorites
In short stories:
This story inspired me to bust out the colored pencils!
In poems:
In which I rage at The Man (and a little bit at the Boss).
In essays (is that what you’d call this?):
A book report that I did voluntarily, because I love my children’s fantasy that much.
That’s all she wrote! Thanks for reading.
Fondly,
If you like Loose Baggy Monsters, consider leaving a tip! All donations will go toward submission fees for contests and lit mags, helping Jane get her writing out into the world.
and/or
Maggie Smith, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2025), 43.