My Writing – Page 2 – Stories, Dreams, & Spaces

The Other Side

I’ve been to the edge of the world before. I know it seems like every other post I talk about some weird island or boat I’ve been to. Yeah, we get it, Ella, you like the ocean and lighthouses and schooners but what’s the point? What’s the point besides their aesthetic beauty or shiny galore.Continue reading “The Other Side”

So Where Do We Go Now?

I sit here knowing I shouldn’t write about school stuff or the things that make my eyebrows squint downwards so the images in my head can replace my vision. The creases on my face tighten almost rhythmically at the thought of anything abstract. Yet all that spirals around in my brain are the things I’veContinue reading “So Where Do We Go Now?”

Map of “Somewhere”

m I am free On an island far far away from here, where sailboats toss and roll in the surf, and seagulls soar like a soprano’s song Lines destined for a diary or at least a schooner’s topsail becomes the indicator of land where inlets become infinite, coves abundant A land where I am free,Continue reading “Map of “Somewhere””

Last Resort

I have this backup plan that if my life turns out to be a total failure, devoid of success, passion, and whatever else I determine subconsciously to be continuous with my evolution. Then, if all else fails, I can run away and start all over with mountains and bushes of blueberries and an old banjoContinue reading “Last Resort”

Swan’s Island

One of my favorite movies of all time undoubtedly has to be Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson. It’s the kind of movie where no matter how many times I drink in its scenes soaked in a yellow tint of childhood nostalgia and accompanied by a soundtrack you absorbed from your grandma’s record player- no matterContinue reading “Swan’s Island”

Midwestern Marx Publication: Delimited Spaces in Marxist Revolutions

Delimited Spaces in Marxist Revolutions. By: Ella Kotsen A piece I wrote for Midwestern Marx was recently just published. I would love if my readers here at SDS went and checked it out.

My Home

I’ve written fairly extensively on this idea of “home”. Between my reflection on voluntary and involuntary spaces in Laura Ingalls Wilder books, my take on houselessness during the covid19 pandemic in a response to an article published by N+1 “No Shelter”, in my own novel’s premise is an examination of the feeling of belonging, and myContinue reading “My Home”

Doomed Love for Queer Youth

(or mostly) Having a crush in high school is already hard enough. Add a layer of compulsive heterosexuality and a drop for one’s inability to safely be out and a perfect creation of doomed queer relationships arises from the ashes. This is the hardest and most vulnerable piece I’ve written for my blog, so bearContinue reading “Doomed Love for Queer Youth”

Miss Rumphius and Reflecting on the Violence and Romanticization of Childhood Stories and Memories

I’ve had the privilege of academically diving into the idea of recognizing the violence in so many of our most beloved childhood stories at Bryn Mawr College. In some of my English classes, we’ve analyzed the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lucy Maud Montgomery, all three Brontë sisters. Now outside of my usual academic setting,Continue reading “Miss Rumphius and Reflecting on the Violence and Romanticization of Childhood Stories and Memories”

Writing (His)Stories as They Happen

In the same way that we see history as the study of the past, I sometimes wonder about the ability to tell stories without later reflection. If we can think so intensely and fondly of memory does that mean that in the moment, while the action was taking place, an equal relationship occurred? Or perhapsContinue reading “Writing (His)Stories as They Happen”