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How being both Black and white helped me embrace all aspects of myself

Loving my biracial identity

Daralyse Lyons grew up in a place with no flexibility for racial identity, but appreciating the duality of her own background opened the door for other kinds of radical acceptance in life and love.

Daralyse Lyons

Feb 11, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

Need advice from Cupid? Dana Suleymanova had plenty in her ‘Dear qupid’ at the 2019 Fringe. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

A queer girl’s guide to love…for everyone

For most of her life, Michelle Nugent was still in the closet, and dated accordingly. But exploring romance in the queer community brought her new perspectives on finding love (or being happy solo) that apply to people of all orientations.

Michelle Nugent

Feb 11, 2020 Essays 5 minute read

Better than alright. (Photo courtesy of the author.)

This Black History Month, I’m just saying it: I deserve to feel love and happiness

I’m alright

February is a good time to say it: we’re smart and assertive. We’re complete in our own selves. We’re striving for what we want. Andrea Smith stays honest.

Andrea Smith

Feb 11, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

Hitting all the wrong notes in just the right way: Janaka Stuckey performs his ‘Ascend Ascend.’ (Photo by Eric Frommer.)

Atlas Obscura presents Janaka Stuckey’s ‘Ascend Ascend’

The edgelord poet

Atlas Obscura presents a mildly amusing performance of Janaka Stuckey’s necrophilous ritual poetry. Aaron Pond Reviews.

Aaron Pond

Jan 20, 2020 Essays 3 minute read

It’s a good time to remember what Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank had in common. (Image via Wikimedia Commons.)

Kellman Brown Academy presents the Anne Frank Center’s ‘Letters from Anne & Martin’

Portrayals of promise

As both MLK Day and National Holocaust Remembrance Day approach, the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect presented its ‘Letters from Anne & Martin’ in South Jersey. Daralyse Lyons was there.

Daralyse Lyons

Jan 19, 2020 Essays 5 minute read

The men behind ‘Music for the New Revolution’: Rodney Whittenberg (left) and David Heitler-Klevans. (Photo by Rodney Whittenberg.)

Philly podcast ‘Music for the New Revolution’ spotlights today’s protest music

The sounds of change

Musician David Heitler-Klevans and filmmaker/composer Rodney Whittenberg bring the 'Music for the New Revolution' podcast to Philly, getting everyone ready for the 2020 election and beyond. Suzanne Cloud chats with the creators.

Suzanne Cloud

Jan 14, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

The world is not always what you were taught, and that's just fine. (Photo by Aaron Pond.)

On facing the music: A post-educational diversity statement

The meritocratic mythos

Music-maker Aaron Pond tried to fit in with students of the "masters," but learned he was expendable and illegitimate. So he found his own way. What’s yours?

Aaron Pond

Dec 30, 2019 Essays 5 minute read

What do you do when it feels like you’re balancing an upside-down world? Kathy Ruttenberg’s ‘Topsy Turvy’ was part of an installation between New York's Barnard College and Columbia University titled 'Dreams Awake.' (Photo by Anndee Hochman.)

A Barnard College parent in Philly grapples with the death of Tessa Majors

A mother in the aftermath

News of a fatal stabbing in Morningside Park rocked Anndee Hochman’s family—her own daughter is a classmate of the victim. How do parents and their children cope with the nightmare of violence?

Anndee Hochman

Dec 27, 2019 Essays 4 minute read

Oh come, all ye not-faithful… Enjoying a post-Catholic Christmas in Philly. (Photo by Michelle Nugent.)

What do former Christians hold dear over the holidays?

Christmas and the post-Catholic atheist

Sure, there are plenty of reasons for a queer feminist atheist to look back bitterly on a Catholic upbringing—but exiting a life of faith isn’t so simple. Michelle Nugent considers.