the beautiful worst

12.15.20 vol. 6 - issue 8

In 2014, Tom Fruin built his plexiglass "Kolonihavehaus" under the Brooklyn Bridge for the DUMBO Arts Festival. I was so enamored of this piece, its color and its light. I found myself thinking about this installation as this year's winter solstice approached--and how it took new meaning during this year at home, socially distanced and doing our best to create some good out of the worst. This issue shares a little light during these short days. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season. I'll be back with new issues of The Beautiful Worst in 2021. I don't doubt we have brighter days ahead xo.Katie

Our December Mornings

In 2019, author Corinne Cunningham started the #OurDecemberMornings hashtag prompt and intention for folks to carve out some time for ourselves during this busy time of year. She continued the initiative in 2020. Since the start of the month, people across the internet have shared photos of their mornings as they take a moment to slow down and reconnect with their surroundings. It's a beautiful pause that the comunity gets to share together. Here are a few of my contributions from my little corner of the world. Follow Corinne on Instagram to join in!

A Small Ritual for Letting Go

This Fall, I took a workshop that included an assignment for students to come up with our own "Letting Go" ritual. I typically favor routines over rituals and I wasn't sure what to do. Some of the suggestions were to gather stones representing each idea that had been holding you back and throwing them into a body of water. Or writing the ideas on slips of paper and burning them. A ritual burning felt more accessible than driving to a lake outside the city, but when I saw the dried leaves in my backyard that still needed to be raked, lighting scrap paper on fire didn't seem like a great idea. Then I thought of something that had more meaning to me.

When I write, I cut and paste my revisions with scissors and tape, discarding any excerpts I don't use. I took the scrap papers of insecurities and coping mechanisms I wanted to let go of, cut each one down the middle, and swept the scraps into the recycling. I was surprised that the ritual helped--a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

There's so much we learned this year, and so much to let go of. Do you have a ritual to help put 2020 behind you?

2020 in Memes

"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver

A Beautiful Worst Throwback + Preview: Tarotscopes

For the past few years, intuitive healer Rosemary Barria has contributed tarotscopes for The Beautiful Worst. Rosemary will return next January with a new round of readings for 2021! You can also check out the 2020 readings here.

Coming Soon! New Books!

After this year that felt like a lifetime all on its own--when I so often needed to remind myself, 'Don't worry about tomorrow, just get through today'--it's been a little surreal to get ready for a new calendar year.

Surreal, but also really exciting.

Two years of writing one story at a time and sharing them each month with my story subscription program has culminated into a body of work that I can start preparing for wider publication: a chapbook of short stories and a collection of essays on mixed race identity.

Join my story subscription program to help fund these projects and to read my newest work as it's written. I can't wait to share more updates with you in 2021!

Stay Safe + Be well!

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