Confessing Animals

A Softer Kind of Audacity: Jess Whetsel

Jess Whetsel is a poet, writer, editor, and public speaker based in Toledo, Ohio on Erie, Kickapoo, Seneca, and Odawa land. Her poetry has appeared in many literary journals, including Tulip Tree Review, Discretionary Love, and Sage Cigarettes. Her first collection of poetry, A SOFTER KIND OF AUDACITY, debuts on December 1, 2023. You can learn more about Whetsel and her work on her website, www.jesswhetsel.com, or by following her Instagram, @jesswhetselwrites.A Softer Kind of Audacity BOOK RELEASE:  Friday Dec. 1 www.jesswhetsel.comhttps://substack.com/@jesswhetselIG @jesswhetselwritesBOOK DESCRIPTION A Softer Kind of Audacity is an unflinching self-examination. Author Jess Whetsel’s poetry debut is “a book is for the little girl with wild curls and a poem in her heart; the teenager who scribbled lyrics in her notebook like her life depended on it; the twenty-something who swallowed her voice and didn’t think she’d ever write again; and the woman who finally came home to her poetry, her voice, herself.” Exploring themes of queerness, mental health, and generational trauma, Whetsel opens the door wide and invites everyone in.From identity falling in ineffable teenage love to mid-life polyamory, Whetsel does not turn away from the truth.Support the show

My Inner Rewilding: Kate Mapother

Kate Mapother  is the author of two poetry collections, Tell Me You Hear the Riot and carved. She has been published in the lit mag kerning / a space for words, and the book Signs & Symbols of Our Ancestors. She lives in Tucson, in a little adobe at the bottom of a canyon with her dog Riggins.BooksC A R V E D Tell Me You Hear the Riot IG/Threads: https://www.instagram.com/brightenuff/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateMapother SubStack: https://katemapother.substack.comEpisode Mentions: Tricia Hersey The Nap Ministry and Rest is Resistance. Support the show

Closure Is Not Justice: Andrew Johnson

In 1988, an explosion killed six Kansas City firefighters. Closure Is Not Justice is a public art project drawing attention to the 1988 explosion, and the public campaign that generated false testimony among residents in the Marlborough neighborhood, turning neighbor against neighbor, all for the sake of closure.Closure Is Not Justice Exhibition Opening - Friday, September 1 Vulpes Bastille gallery in the Crossroads, KC. Andrew Johnson is an author, essayist, and artist living in Kansas City, Missouri. His work has appeared in The Sun, Image, Commonweal, Crazyhorse, and elsewhere, and he is the author of two books: The Thread and On Earth As It Is. He is the recipient of a Charlotte Street Foundation residency, a Rocket Grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation, an ArtsKC Inspiration grant, a Vermont Studio Center residency, and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.Closure Is Not Justice https://www.closureisnotjustice.com/Andrew’s Substack https://thethread.substack.com/p/closure-is-not-justice?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=emailAndrew’s website https://www.andrewmichaeljohnson.com/FB: andrewjohnsonkc / IG: andrew.johnson.kcSeasoned and fresh-faced artists (of every genre) discuss how to make creativity work within the complexities and challenges of adult life. Confessing Animals podcast co-hosts Jen Harris + Vanessa Aricco, both working writers, unveil the secrets and struggles of creative living in a rapid fire capitalist society. One guest at a time, Jen + Vanessa ask, How Does Your Life Translate to Art?Intro and music by Ashley Raines https://www.ashleyrainesmusic.com/Support the show

On Endings and New Beginnings

On endings and new beginnings On disappearing On completely changing your personality, or learning to speak at a lower volume without the word fuck7 of Cups from Rachel True's True Heart Intuitive Tarot deckHigh Vibe, Choice, options, dream states, luxury, intuition, reflection, meditationhttps://truehearttarot.com/Ram Dass Here and Now Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ram-dass-here-and-now/id518366323https://open.spotify.com/show/3Dz4DL2ZMvnNQUnDSXqSdm?si=f07d2ea84ab142dcIntro and all music on previous episodes by Ashley Raines https://www.ashleyrainesmusic.com/Find Jen Harris at the Writing Workshop KC, online and in personhttps://www.writingworkshopkc.com/Vanessa's hanging on Substack at Death Bore Beautyhttps://deathborebeauty.substack.com/Seasoned and fresh-faced artists (of every genre) discuss how to make creativity work within the complexities and challenges of adult life. Co-hosts Jen Harris + Vanessa Aricco, both working writers, unveil the secrets and struggles of creative living in a rapid fire Capitalist society. One guest at a time, Jen + Vanessa ask, How Does Your Life Translate to Art?P.S. I, Vanessa, hate the word "creatives" and I didn't mean to use it so much. Art, artists, writers, people, "creatives" barf, it's a marketing term that doesn't apply to the kind of work we are exploring here.

BANS OFF OUR BODIES

In light of the impending overturn of Roe v Wade, Vanessa & Jen attended the Planned Parenthood Rally: BANS OFF OUR BODIES on May 14, 2022 at Mill Creek Park in Kansas City, MO. – But before we did, we interviewed Justice GatsonJustice Gatson is the Director at Reale Justice Network. An Intimate Partner Violence Advocate and Motivational Speaker. She works with Black Mama’s Bail Out with National Bailout.org to specifically address the needs of incarcerated black mothers. IG @reale_justice_networkhttps://realejusticenetwork.org/SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collectivehttps://sistersong.nationbuilder.com/donateDONATE NOW!https://abortionfunds.org/VOTE NO IN KANSAS AUGUST 2https://kansansforfreedom.com/Emily Wales CEO Planned Parenthood Great PlainsOther organizations @ Bans off Our Bodies KC rally Sunrise Movement Our Revolution KCPoor People’s CampaignBarrier Babes KCGreen Party KCSupreme Court Cases mentioned in Intro:Dobbs v, Jackson Women’s HealthRoe v. WadePlanned Parenthood v. Casey Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)Lawrence v. Texas (2003)Loving v. Virginia is the 1967Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857Fuck These Bishes:Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List, an American political organization that seeks to advance anti-abortion women in politicsRep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, Missouri District 097 Republican Correction:Sarah Huckabee Sanders was Trump Press Secretary (duh, Vanessa misspoke per the usual)REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE NOW! SHOW UP, DO THE WORK! Seasoned and fresh-faced artists (of every genre) discuss how to make creativity work within the complexities and challenges of adult life. Confessing Animals podcast co-hosts Jen Harris + Vanessa Aricco, both working writers, unveil the secrets and struggles of creative living in a rapid fire capitalist society. One guest at a time, Jen + Vanessa ask, How Does Your Life Translate to Art?Intro & music provided by Ashley Raines www.ashleyrainesmusic.comFollow us on Instagram @confessinganimalspodcastListen, Love & Support Us!Support the show