The point of what you are about to read is not meant to change or shape the way you think about anything at all. These poetic essays are meant to offer the perspective on a myriad of modern-day trials and tribulations of a 30-something-year-old, queerish, female-ish human living in New York City, following a global pandemic. As I indulge this impulse to get creative in other ways aside from my usual dance vomits and improvisatory selfies, I find myself wanting to document the inner workings of my mind. “Perhaps, this could help someone”, I hoped aloud to myself at midnight on a Sunday morning. You might think it’s magical thinking, self-indulgent even. Have you ever “hoped aloud”? I highly recommend it. I am reminded in the last few days of the meditative mantra, “I am not my thoughts”, and I question this a thousand times over… regardless of its validity. How am I NOT my thoughts?
Be that as it may, our thoughts are often all we can control. Especially, in the midst of a year-long drought of connection and human touch. Hugging the way our nervous systems are longing to be soothed, talking in close proximities, in tight dimly lit, and poorly ventilated indoor places… this is New York living. Aren’t all these things we thought would never become commoditized? I do hope you will find something uncanny, unrecognizable, and thoughtful about this endeavoring of literary form. I, also, hope you find it predictable in some ways. C’est la vie. For just a moment, these thoughts became yours.
About the Writer
Alyssa Forte was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and has called Downtown Brooklyn her home since 2011. She/they is a multidisciplinary artist whose work hones in on vulnerability, virtuosity, and introspection. Her work is derived through text, poetry, movement, dance, sound, film, and installation.
As a dance artist, she has had the privilege of performing with prominent dance companies and choreographers on stage, screen, and gallery in NYC, Europe, and Northeast Africa. As a choreographer and movement director, her work has been presented by the Queens Museum, Times Square Arts, The Guggenheim, The Kitchen, and others.
Follow Alyssa on IG: a,forte (@alyssaforte)
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