Essay

Essays

Ru Paul the Drag Queen as Source of Contemporary Stoic Wisdom @Modern Stoicism
An essay challenging Stoic philosophy to consider the wisdom of the drag queen, Ru Paul.

“After Attack, Coming Together” @The Philadelphia Inquirer
An op-ed calling for unity after a violent gay-bashing attack occurred a block from my apartment in Philadelphia’s Gay Village.

Falling Out of Love with Facebook @Electric Literature
An opinion piece on challenging how Facebook alters our understanding what it means to “like” and even “love.”

Already I Lay Snug @New York Peristalsis
An essay reflecting on what happens when a New York identity collides with notions of home.

On Reading ‘And the Band Played On’ + Episode 117 @Chelsea Station Magazine + @The Drunken Odyssey [Podcast]
Rereading a classic AIDS memoir in the age of Twitter.

To a Bed I Read in One Drunk Stride @Medium
The meaning of home gets complicated after a baby is born and my family’s house burns down in the 2013 Colorado Black Forest Fire.

When We Return What Will We Find? @Medium
In this piece, I look at quarantine through the spaces, objects, and ultimately people with whom we interact.

Language Need Not Be Spoken @Dietrich Diaries
A short reflection on finding harmony while working-from-home during COVID-19.

What I Learned from 365 Consecutive Days of Headspace”@Medium
A reflection on sitting with the app for 365 consecutive days, from December 2019-December 2020; a block of time covering the pandemic, my Ph.D. defense, and so much more.

Book Reviews

Wanting to Write Your Body Again @BOMB Magazine
Review of David Groff and Angelo Nikolopoulos’s divergent work centering on the poetics and politics of the gay body.

Meat and Media: A Conversation Between Two First Book Poets @Boxcar Poetry Review
A conversation between myself and another first-book poet on how we experienced each poet’s first work.

Trespassing into Hunger @Bookslut
Review of Thomas Dooley and Mark Bibbins’s poetry exploring rules as things to break and things that restrain.

Journalism

The Millennial Trains Project Starts its Engines in Pittsburgh [broken link] @Innovator's Point
Coverage of a transcontinental journey of innovation and social change.

Pop-Up Recreation Lands in Wilkinsburg [broken link] @ Innovator's Point
Story of a pop-up summer-camp started in one of Pittsburgh’s oft-neglected neighborhoods.