Cristiano Mangovo (Angolan, b. 1982)

The repair of ecology, 2021

Acrylic on canvas

The Shepherd (2020) - Tom Bagshaw

Afeni Shakur & baby Tupac after Panther 21 trial. Photography by Barbara Caress.

The Animus

By definition, when we talk about animus we are referring to the male aspect of women’s psychology. This is the part of psychology proposed by Carl Jung that has to do with the correlation of the female mind in connection to that of a man’s. Since it is from the Psychological perspective we arent just talking about physical traits, we are talking about the whole personality of the person being studied. The animus is the opposite to the anima, where the female aspect in men is studied. Like many of the aspects of Freud’s Psychodynamic theory, the animus of women is said to be the result of the woman’s perception of men in her childhood. This animus is said to come to life during the early adulthood of the woman. It is said to come out during this stage because we have strengthened our ego. This is because it is said that the woman’s animus can’t be expressed at a full extent until she can successfully use the shadow. Using the shadow properly means that the woman is able to limit the animus up to the extent where the ego restraints it.

Ursula K. Le Guin, Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places

— Richard Wright, Black Boy

Modern man has transformed himself into a commodity; he experiences his life energy as an investment with which he should make the highest profit, considering his position and the situation on the personality market. He is alienated from himself, from his fellow men and from nature. His main aim is profitable exchange of his skills, knowledge, and of himself, his “personality package” with others who are equally intent on a fair and profitable exchange. Life has no goal except the one to move, no principle except the one of fair exchange, no satisfaction except the one to consume. Erich Fromm, page 97, The Art of Loving

Sonja by Karmazid

1) Carmen Gimenez Smith from Milk and Filth

2) Katrin Hanusch

3) Jorie Graham from “Orpheus and Eurydice”

4) Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Testa di Medusa

5) Helene Cixous 

6) Catherine Clement and Julia Kristeva from The Feminine and the Sacred

7) Anish Kapoor , Descent, 2015

Fitoor (2016)

Litany of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

NIA LONG Love Jones (1997) costume design by Shawn Barton

Vintage Black Stars Magazine Covers

Art by Lin Chang

Narrative Botox: Filler Words and Phrases to Look Out For

If you’re planning on publishing traditionally, chances are you keep a sharp eye on your word count. Literary agents and publishing houses are on the hunt for the best quality stories that they can print for the cheapest price (using the least paper and ink), so you have a higher chance of gaining representation if you can crank your novel out in the least words possible.

However, filler words and phrases aren’t only the enemies of aspiring traditional authors; every writer—fanfic, novelist, journalist, you name it!—should try to eliminate filler from their stories to assure more concise and high-quality writing. Oftentimes, filler contributes nothing but clutter, and without it, your narrative can flow smoother and in a more sophisticated manner.

But how do you know what’s filler and what’s not? Here are some tips on how to Ctrl+F and kick this narrative botox to the curb!

I compiled these lists with the help of Infusionmedia, BDR Publishing, and ResetEra !

Filler Words

1. Just

A writer’s worst enemy, and the bane of my manuscripts’ existences. Eliminating all the ‘just’s can cut down your word count by hundreds.

2. “That” as a conjunction

It’s an unnecessary addition to a sentence, which will be more streamlined without it.

3. “Now” as an adverb

“Now” is essential if you’re talking about the past and present, but when you’re using it to draw attention to a particular statement or point.

4. Redundant adverbs

These adverbs serve no purpose because the verbs they’re describing already imply the way the action is performed.

5. “Telling” words

These words are redundant, especially when using first person, because in describing an event, we can already assume that the characters are experiencing it.

6. “Clarifying” words used to portray definiteness or indefiniteness

Although these are meant to help out the readers get their bearings on a situation, all they do is come across as wishy-washy! Be concise and sure of yourself!

Filler Phrases

1.“Let out (vocal noise)”

Use the verb instead!

2. Using passive voice

Passive voice inflates your word count by including various “to be” verbs into the prose. Passive voice involves actions happening to a subject rather than the subject performing an action, and as a result isn’t as riveting to the reader as active voice; even if it wasn’t a matter of word count, you’d still want to get rid of it anyway!

Still don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out this article from Grammarly.

3. Describing the wrong noun

Many writers will be as specific as possible about what “thing” is affected by the event they’re describing, when it’s much simpler to take a step back and write about something more general.

4. Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are the combination of two or three words from different grammatical categories—a verb and an adverb or a preposition—to form a single action. Usually, these phrasal verbs can be replaced by a single-word verb.

5. Clarifying phrases

Same reason as clarifying words. Get to the point!

6. Remember your contractions!

Even if your story takes place in olden times, I can guarantee that if you never use any contractions ever, your story’s gonna be a clunky mess. But sometimes you’re in the moment, consumed by the poetic power of the muses, and forget that this isn’t a soap opera; so make sure you check that you’ve been using your contractions!

7. Inflated phrases

These phrases can be replaced with more concise words.

Hope this helped, and happy writing!

some company

This is my pretentious cinephile moment but I always thought American slasher movies were so overrated when I first watched them. Halloween, Chucky, Saw, Scream, etc just left me cold. But after I started watching Italian giallo I was like oh wow Hollywood just stole everything from Italian gore movies and made it worse!

Case in point is the 1980 Friday the 13th, which for some reason gave birth to a ton of low quality sequels. They blatantly stole kill scenes from A Bay of Blood 1971 (top pics). As u can see in the bottom, Friday the 13th ripped off the classic shish kebab-by-a-spear murder scenes

Also they stole the costume design/vibe of Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th 2 from the 1973 giallo Torso (top). Only in the 3rd sequel did they finally give Jason the iconic hockey mask

So yeah I mean I don’t hate slashers but they’re so inferior to giallo bc they have no style or glamour or exotic locations 😅 just American backwoods w a 5$ mask which is cool in its own way I guess but it’s very commercialized and repetitive and poorly executed ☠️

[“The misconception about generosity is that you should be willing to do pretty much anything, and if you aren’t, you need to change your attitude and expand yourself somehow. This is backwards. The secret to generosity is to tend to your limits. When we can say no, we no longer have to guard against what someone may ask us for, so we relax and become generous within our limits. It’s limits first, and then generosity and joy arise from there. Like any form of giving, if you feel resentful or hesitant, you have not yet noticed or communicated your limit. When you feel tense about giving, look to your limits. Ask yourself, What am I afraid they will ask me for? Which is to say, What am I afraid to say no to? You also might find that when you trust yourself to stay responsible, your limits themselves relax somewhat. You learn you don’t have to keep your guard up and that you can change your mind at any time.”]

Betty Martin, The Art of Receiving and Giving: The Wheel of Consent

[“It’s hard to say no for the same reason it’s hard to ask for what we want. It is trained out of us and becomes heaped with shame, fear, and self-doubt. Shame because it’s “selfish” to set a limit. Fear because we fear being shunned, punished, or abandoned. Self-doubt because we wonder what it means about us. Am I not generous enough? Enlightened enough? Good enough? Do I really know myself? To ignore our inner no or overrule it, we had to shut down our way of knowing what we felt. We get trained out of trusting our inner signals, so now when we need them, we can’t hear them.

(…) “No” is a complete sentence. It needs no reason or explanation. In real life, it can be considerate (and helps maintain the connection) to give context or more information (without apologizing for having a limit). In the practice, experiment with saying no and leaving it at that, and see what you notice about yourself. No is a yes to something else. If you are in the mood to stay home with a good book and your friend invites you out, if you can’t say no to them, you are saying no to yourself. By saying no to going out, you are saying yes to staying in. Getting clear on your yes and what you want makes it easier to notice your no. The other person deserves the truth from us. The kindest thing we can do is give them accurate information so they can navigate their world successfully and make choices that work for them. Neglecting our no is essentially a lie.

(…) If you speak up, if you actually say, “No” or “Stop,” you may feel shame, fear, or guilt, so you have to make a choice. You do what makes you feel shame and fear, or you go along with what is boring, unpleasant, uninspiring, or even awful. At least you don’t have to feel that fear and shame right now, though you probably will later. We endure things because it feels safer than confronting them. We lie because it feels safer than the truth. Sometimes it is safer, and sometimes it just feels like it. Sometimes fear of confrontation keeps us hiding all our lives, but it’s not sustainable. Eventually we dry up or blow up. Or we endure because we believe the activity is more important than how we feel about it. We believe our feelings don’t count and whatever is happening must continue. We ignore ourselves.”]

Betty Martin, The Art of Receiving and Giving: The Wheel of Consent

Vintage R&B Concert Posters

Aaliyah by Robert Paul Maxwell. Vibe Magazine ~ 1996