Friends,
You need joy and so do I, damn it. This summer has been a whopper, including the announcement of the passing of beloved poet and human Andrea Gibson yesterday (7/14). Rest in peace, Poet Laureate.
I declare it’s too much in the year of our Lorde, 2025.
I’m not going to ask you to do a lot of reading, but a lot of enjoying this go ‘round. Maybe in honor of Andrea Gibson. Maybe because we just all need it so much.
I’ve been head down at my desk working my butt off on assorted projects I hope to get off the ground this Fall and about to travel soon for a wedding — yaay! joy! — so here’s a little poetry video from one of my favorite Democrats, John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg who also goes by Jack Schlossberg and JackUno on IG. He also happens to be a journalist and the grandson of John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy. Some good blue breeding there. And he’s a real Renaissance dude who dances, makes hilarious, vicious, viral video content, and as it turns out, can recite the classics. Why not enjoy him here, on wheels, reciting Byron? We call this Poetry in Motion (har har har) here at The Comma.
That was fun, right? Even joyful? Yeah, that felt good! Poetry can do that, or a goof who likes sharing poetry can do that and sometimes we need just that in our lives. And that leads me to our new segment, The Comma Quickie! This week, we’ve got internet queen
(AKA Mary Oliver’s Drunk Cousin) from who graciously agreed to chat with me. I’ve reached for her book, A BIT MUCH, which is filled with modern quips and universal truths, countless times to lift me up since I got it last October. (What I’m saying is you should get it if you want some big laughs and big feels, too!)
So, let’s go!
ME: Lyndsay, first and foremost, thank you so much for spending your time on my questions. I truly appreciate it! Okay, when did poetry first come into your life? Was there a particular poem that was shared with you that made you say "AHA, I connect to these words/these words mean something to me!"?
LR: Rupi Kaur gets lampooned these days because of her virility, but when I read Milk & Honey in 2014, it blew my t*ts clean off. No, but seriously I was enamored with how she could say so much with so few words.
ME: Is there a poem or collection that you go back to for comfort, inspiration, or creative stimulation? Do you have an all-time favorite poem?
LR: I will forever be a Kate Baer fangirl. I could read her work over and over again and never get sick of it. Of course, my cousin’s work is a staple form of inspiration (FYI Mary Oliver is not actually my cousin; people get confused because of my handle haha). Cat Cohen and Chen Chen are both modern poets whose work is so loose yet tight, it almost makes me mad. I read them when my words start feeling too formulaic or clean.
ME: Which poets/poems are you currently reading or have just read? Who would you recommend to reluctant poetry readers, people who want to read poetry but are scared they aren't smart enough for it? (I hear this complaint/confession a lot.) I recommend your work as a gateway drug lol - it's accessible, fun, and hits just right.
LR: I wrote my book for people who didn’t know they liked poetry, so that makes me so happy! I describe myself as an accidental poet but I’m also an accidental poetry fan. So I understand the intimidation or lack of interest in a category that has often felt stuffy or unapproachable. In addition to the folks I listed above, I think a great gateway is Victoria Hutchins work (her debut book, Make Believe just came out this year). As an added bonus for the auditory learners among us, she reads a ton of her work on her instagram.
ME: One bonus question: If you have one, what has been the poem that challenged you the most as both a writer and a reader? Or annoyed you? Like, did a poem ever take you a year to complete? Or did you ever read something that really stumped you? And how did you finally understand it - if you did? (It's okay if you didn't!)
LR: I find that poems either take me 30 minutes to write or 30 days haha. The first poem I ever wrote is called My Boyfriend is from Alabama and it is definitely the one that took me the longest to “get right”—I probably feel overly precious about it because I’m a sentimental bish (complimentary) and it feels symbolic as my first poem + one about something really personal. It was the poem I most didn’t want to share, which also felt like a reason I should. It originally had the p word in it and my editor and I went back and forth about if that felt like “me” and/or if I wanted that in print for my debut collection. We ended up removing it and now that my in-laws have read my book, I’m very glad. FWIW it’s less about the incendiary word, and more about the purpose it served. It didn’t move the piece along or add value or surprise in a way that felt worth keeping. Maybe next book I’ll write an entire poem just called P*ssy. Who knows! lol
Thank you, Lyndsay!!! I really really really want you to write that poem just called P*ssy!!! Also, I’m a huge fan of Chen Chen and Cat Cohen, too. I want to see Cat at one of her shows one day.
If you want to order your own copy of A BIT MUCH, why not shop Bookshop.org?
I hope this week’s issue cheered you a bit (much) if you needed some relief from the real world!
Before I go, I want to shout out my brain-breaking-funny, brilliant love Josh, who is not on Substack, but is over on IG, writing up movies and music. He also happened to have a movie come out last week called Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires on the Disney Channel and Disney+ — and drum roll please, it’s currently the NUMBER ONE FILM on Disney+ Worldwide!!! If you have young ones in your family, check it out. It’s got catchy tunes and it’s filled to the gills with joy. Get it.
Until August - hang in there, stay cool, find joy, help others,
Kayla
xoxoxo!
I’ve been needing some joy, thank you so much for the sparks in the dark.