Brooklyn Russell Publisher Newsletter

Brooklyn Russell

EDT 180A MS Publisher Activity Volume 1, Issue 1

Yours Truly A Newsletter ft. Me, Brooklyn Russell Hello! I’m Brooklyn Russell, I’m a freshman here at ASU studying for my BA in creative writing with a concentration in poetry. I’ve always loved writing and reading so my choice of degree is based entirely on that and has no indication of a career. For the time being, I’m using college to explore my interests, I hope to find a meaningful way to use my education to impact my community and the greater world around me. Some of the most influential people that have touched my life include: my mother, my sisters, Clarisse McClellan, Halsey and my mentor, Thomas Butler. (If you didn’t notice the people that most guide me in life are all women. This is not accidental and also the reason I am as strong as I think myself to be.) I always imagined I would serve my way through college, so outside of class you can catch me waitressing. Things I like to do for fun mostly include being with my loved ones– thrifting, eating, talking, or dancing, whatever catches our fancy that day. As an English major I always joke that I live my life by other people’s words. Quite literally by the quotes they leave, I am haunted and I am moved to use my everyday life gripped in the possession of great artists. To question everything like Bradbury’s darling Clarisse. To see beauty in innocence as William Blake, to carry mirth as Shakespeare did (with just as many inappropriate jokes). So I live in the consequences of words.

Inside this issue Intro...pg 1 Family...pg 1 Feminism...pg 2 Aesthetic...pg 3

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why” -Mark Twain I am a December baby, born to a family (maybe not the perfect family) but a family nonetheless. This first most important day of my life met me with an instant and enduring support network that has never failed me. Jennifer, Mackenzie, and Brynn are the three most important people in this small circle of life I have carved out for myself. They manage to both keep me sane and push me to the verge of insanity but I would spend my life trying to lasso the moon if they told me that it would make them happy. My mother has given me strength. My older sister has given me generosity. My younger sister has given me tenderness. They all have given me unconditional love and support.

The future...pg 4 Tattoos...pg 4 Conclusion...pg 5

“Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten,” -Stitch

“I am a feminist. I’ve been female for a long time now. I’d be stupid not to be on my own side.” – Maya Angelou. This is the part where I tell you I’m a feminist and you ask me why I hate men. Go ahead, I know you’re just dying to do it. My answer? I don’t hate men, but yes, I understand when privilege is all you’ve known, equality seems a lot like oppression. I do realize that I myself am standing in a place of privilege being a white and middle class woman, I try to be aware of that privilege and in doing so I include intersectional feminism as the only kind that is real feminism. My voice is to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves right now, but not to shout over others that are more relevant than my own. It being March right now, we are at a wonderful time of celebration for the women of our society that history has tried to erase. So I’d like to take this time and space to recognize Mary Richardson. A radical suffragette that really did have good intentions. Although her actions were heavily criticized, as she did slash the Velasquez painting ‘Rokeby Venus’ but with noble intent as she was quoted as saying, “I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government for destroying Mrs. Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history.” Mary Richardson, while radical, is quite the respectable woman, who is ready to fight. Tooth and nail (or axe) for what she believed in, and for that I commend and honor her.

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“There is no beauty without some strangeness.” -Edgar Allen Poe I’m very inclined to art for art’s sake. There are certain creators that have shaped me, who shed whispers of recognition within my own work. Some of these artist include: Ray Bradbury who inspired me to get my very first tattoo the night of my high school graduation. His novel. “Fahrenheit 451” and more specifically his character Clarisse McClellan who was within it, drove me to the conclusion that I want to spark something greater than myself. So I have a matchstick on my ankle to prove me a catalyst in something that will burn bright and quite possibly change the very nature of my being.

My Besties!

Another novel that has shaped my worldview is Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”. A book I’ve extensively written about in my literary career as it is feminist literature that not only deals with women's sexuality, freedom, and individual identity but it also is written ingeniously. The author very heavily mimicked the styled and rhetoric of a French male novelist of her time period, but transfixed his misogynistic and androcentric structure of story telling. Whereas women were objects in his stories, Chopin shifted women to be subjects in her stories. Artists that utilize different mediums other than words have often moved me, Alexander McQueen being one example. A man, a fashion designer a legend. Being a girly and stereotypical white teenager I wanted to include my favorite fashion designer. This is a man I’ve only recently started to educate myself about, but with quotes like, “I want to empower women. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress.” it’s only natural for a person like me to fall in love with the fashion that seems so off putting at first glance. Another artist, if you would be so kind to extent that title to him, that has moved me is John Mulaney. He is a stand up comedian and is also trying his best. His bit about spending 120,000 on an English degree always gets me. Right. Where. It. Hurts.

A John Mulaney mood board

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Mes Chiens! Kids aren’t so much my style, I can have puppies though. Dogs are better than babies anyways. I’ve had four dogs in my life, but two of them I raised so they are my literal children. One is a pure bred boxer, who’s name is Taz. He is super dumb but I love him anyways. He is scared to go outside because he came from a puppy mill and spent his childhood in a cage, not being socialized with other dogs or people. He always sleeps on my feet although he’s gotten too big to really do so.

“The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.” -Seneca What’s next for me? I have no idea actually. Right now my game plan, which is the same game plan for most first year college students, is to survive. Work full time, alongside settling into a new apartment with my best friend, burdened with homework upon having people who are all shouting in my ear for attention, the future is a time that only exists if I get through all this. I can’t complain though, my life is stressful, sure. Yet, I honestly believe this will all work out like it does in a cheesy episode of a sit-com. Cue the laugh track.

My other child is Taco. Which is a

To be completely transparent, I do want to take the time to find a career that I will find fulfilling and I will have to make time to intern and explore exactly what industry will provide that for me. But for now, each day is always a new surprise.

ridiculous name, but I didn’t give it to him. He’s an English Bulldog who is ultimately smarter than his brother. He is very social and always goes jogging with me. He tries to pull me along but slows patiently when he realizes he’s doing so. He’s rough where his brother is gentle but they are both sweethearts.

“Tattoos have a powering magic all their own. They decorate the body but they also enhance the soul.” -Michelle Delio At this point I’m running out of ideas to fill up these text boxes. So, at this point I’m going to detail my tattoos and what they mean. Tattoo #1 I got my first tattoo on the night of my high school graduation. The idea spawned for the image from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, it also has a connection to my teacher from sophomore to senior year of high school, who I now consider a friend. He shaped my future as a writer, and quite frankly I wouldn’t be getting a liberal arts degree without the confidence he inspired within me. Simply put, a match because I am burning with passion. A small seemingly insignificant object, hoping to ignite something greater than myself. Knowing that it will forever leave me changed, maybe burnt out, and ultimately without a use anymore.

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Tattoo #2 The most recent addition to my collection is one half of a set. I got a simple outline tattoo of two hands interlocked in a pinkie promise with my best friend Amanda, who is also my roommate. There was not so much thought or planning into this tattoo as my first because 1. I’m just living for the aesthetic at this point and 2. the meaning I created after inking my skin forever is weighted with gold in the absence of measured thought. Impulsivity makes it art to me. Back to the story, we were at Chili’s, Amanda, her boyfriend, and me. We both were having a bad night, both grappling with our mental illnesses. We both struggle with depression and anxiety, just as some back story. We both thought we should be happy, our lives were great, but smiling at storm clouds don’t make them retreat. So, out promise to each other is symbolized in this tattoo. If we can’t love the mental illness away, then we can promise to love each other despite the mental illness. Tattoo #3 To be continued...

“Goodbye everyone. I’ll remember you all in therapy” -Plankton So that’s all folks. It’s been a ride. I tried to present to you personal yet impersonal facts to you that are not the boring and usual things you read in this type of get-to-know you type piece of writing. It may not all be relevant information, maybe not even good information. But it’s information and it’s here.

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