Feels Blind Literary, Issue #9
Summer 2023

Summer 2023 Contributors

Note from the Editor in Chief

Dear Readers,

We’re thrilled to share with you Issue #9 of Feels Blind Literary. So much has happened since we last spoke, both out in the world and with our team. First, the world. Between Barbie and Taylor’s The Eras Tour, this has been the summer of celebrating smart, talented women and demonstrating in a mainstream, global kind of way just how much people will show up to do that. And even though I wish I never had to say his name again, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Trump’s four indictments given I launched this magazine in protest the night he was elected. While I sought to create space for voices that are typically marginalized in the publishing community and definitely would be marginalized by the Trump administration, I didn’t realize how this would lead to building such a strong community of writers and artists from across the country and globe.

Over at Feels Blind, Senior Editor Delaney Burk successfully defended her thesis and now officially holds a MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University. Literary Intern Cailin Bownas graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University and will start her Master’s in Literature at UVA this fall. Tiffany Marcus who was one of the founding editors welcomed her first baby, Marceline Bean. I remembered what it’s like to fall in love again. Every place I’ve lived or visited or thought about living or thought about visiting throughout my life I compared to Philly, and Philly always won. Basically, in my mind Philly >>>>> the entire world. But after spending my whole life wildly in love with Philly, I also fell in love with my new home, Baltimore. Hard. Part of this love comes from some of the incredible work I’ve done over the past year including launching a free campus thrift store to de-stigmatize poverty that has since expanded to include pop-ups around city. More of it comes from the people I’ve met.

That’s not to say this past year wasn’t rough. We saw unprecedented attacks on women’s reproductive freedom from Republican-controlled states and the Supreme Court. To quote the words of a wise friend: “I’ve had Taco Bell Crunch Wraps more supreme than this Court.” We also got a closer glimpse at the level of corruption of some of our Supreme Court Justices. Hi, Clarence Thomas. My first boyfriend who counted had a patch on his backpack that read “I Still Believe Anita Hill,” and I immediately recognized that any boy who thought Clarence was as big of a douche as I did was meant for my high school heart.

Two of my childhood heroes also died— Sinead O’Conner and Paul Reubens. I have an affinity for brilliant, misunderstood women like Sinead who call out bullshit no matter the consequence or how big of a machine they’re up against. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure will always be my favorite movie of all time and Pee-wee’s Playhouse will always be my favorite Saturday morning television show. Pee-wee was for me as a kid what David Bowie was for me as a teen and young adult. He created space for and celebrated kids who were arty and weird and thought just a little bit differently than those around them. He made me believe that there is magic just about everywhere if I look at it right, and that if there isn’t, it’s up to me to create it. I was challenged and stretched in ways I’ve never been before over this past year, but I’m emerging more confident than I’ve ever been and ready to create that magic.

We hope you enjoy Issue #9. We’re already busy building Issue #10, so please send us your best!

XO, Lindsay
Editor in Chief 

PS I’ve decided to start a new feature in these letters, recommending a new or new to me band. Run don't walk to see Birthday Girl. My favorite tracks right now are “Ibuprofen” and “Chess, Not Checkers,” but they have a few sick new songs they’re about to drop. <3 <3 <3