EJ Washington

“By verbally identifying an object, by giving it a name, we alter it. And at the same time we prevent it from changing. A name is like a forked stick that we use to hold a snake on the ground.”
― Marina Dyachenko, Vita Nostra

“I was lonely for her even though she was right in front of me.”
― Marie Rutkoski, The Midnight Lie

“The planet is on fire and everything is random.”
― Mary H.K. Choi, Yolk

“Fernweh is rooted in pain, or sickness and sadness,” says Gina. “It’s directly translated as ‘far pain’ or ‘far sickness’ as opposed to ‘heimweh’ or ‘homesickness.’ But it’s also longing for the unknown, since the familiar is stifling or challenging. The foreign can seem fantastic, exalted, since its possibilities are infinite. We have no data or experience around it. But once we arrive and the faraway is known and becomes familiar, then what? You’ve got all that energy and longing and possibility that no longer has anywhere to go. It’s got nowhere to be invested, nowhere to live.”
― Mary H.K. Choi, Yolk