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“But, then again, what if they were role models?”
–Sarah Gailey, In Defense of Villainesses

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Green

I greet the day with a stretch and a yawn.
Half a continent away
a house tears off its foundation in a cyclone.

I trot down the stairs in my nightshirt.
The news reports earthquakes
stretching to both poles.

I’ve heard people claim I shrunk them small with a spell.
That I fly on a broomstick surrounded by an army
of winged monkeys.

Lies all, but I do not blame them.
My upbringing did not prepare me either for the sight of a woman
flying, her wings as terrifying and tender as any man’s.

They say I am the color of envy.
I say it goes the other way round.

~a.i.

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Speaking of the Green One, are y’all familiar with Todrick Hall’s 2016 visual album Straight Outta Oz? Was recently introduced to it by a friend, and I am OBSESSED.

You can watch the whole thing here, but for a quick taste, here’s one of my favorite numbers:

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THE VILLAINESS SERIES is part of an ongoing collaborative project between a playwright friend and me, in which we explore how to use myths & fairy tales as tools to interrogate gender norms and to critique, resist, and heal from the impact of gender & sexual violence.

For more from my half of the project.

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And now for something completely different:
I just gave Coffee and a Blank Page its own Facebook page!
Please follow and come out to play with me there if you’re interested.
Snacks may (or may not) be involved.

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[Detail: John Singer Sargent, Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau). Public Domain.]