as though it were the artist’s duty to create hope, but out of what? what? —Louise Glück, from "October"

Gentle Company: It's [almost] my birthday and I can have an existential crisis if I want to. jessjanz.substack.com/p/its-almost-m…

Gentle Company -- Monday Prompts 05: there is a brutality to waking and being awake. jessjanz.substack.com/p/monday-promp…

Gentle Company: 'Writing From Your Story' starts on Sunday! jessjanz.substack.com/p/writing-from…

Gentle Company: Instagram is launching my career and also currently killing my creativity. jessjanz.substack.com/p/instagram-is…

Gentle Company: Last-minute writing workshop anyone? jessjanz.substack.com/p/last-minute-…

Gentle Company -- You're invited to The Collective Conversation: what seeds are you sowing? jessjanz.substack.com/p/youre-invite…

Gentle Company -- Monday Prompts 06: 'move it out into the sun. It will warm.' jessjanz.substack.com/p/monday-promp…

Gentle Company: The question under the question. jessjanz.substack.com/p/the-question…

Gentle Company -- Monday Prompts 07: meanwhile, your joy is a gift to me. jessjanz.substack.com/p/monday-promp…

It’s not the drag queens. It’s not the pot, not the porn, not the trans kids, not the video games, it’s not the locks on the doors, and it sure as shit ain’t the books about Rosa Parks. You wanna PROTECT OUR KIDS? Then do something about the motherfucking guns.

I don’t care what political party you belong to, 129 mass shootings in 84 days is a crisis.

Gentle Company: On apocalypse, and how we've already figured out how to survive. jessjanz.substack.com/p/on-apocalyps…

Some Good Friday wisdom from Barbara Brown Taylor.

when we write “I” in the personal essay it is a philosophical act as much as it is a creative one. It is an investigation, and an excavation, of the self but also our shared existence. —Sarah Viren

I would never drive a manual transmission car. It is simply not for me to decide what gear a car should be in, it is none of my business.

jessjanz.substack.com/p/writer-on-he…

can’t believe i am, once again, full of longing

we all got a little Barbie in us (the microplastics)