Essie

“Nothing came or went out of the tower that Gothel didn't bring herself-- or that Rapunzel did not create out of the things she had brought. And usually the things she created took days or weeks and were obvious in their coming into existence. Gothel always complained about the sawdust, the paint flecks, the experimental cheese curds...”
― Liz Braswell, What Once Was Mine

“Because penguins are so beloved, they are uniquely capable of teaching us about love for the natural world.”
― Charles Bergman, Every Penguin in the World: A Quest to See Them All

“If we are on the outside, we assume a conspiracy is the perfect working scheme. Silent nameless men with unadorned hearts. A conspiracy is everything that ordinary life is not. It's the inside game, cold, sure, undistracted, forever closed off to us. We are the flawed ones, the innocents, trying to make some rough sense of the daily jostle. Conspirators have a logic and daring beyond our reach. All conspiracies are the same taut story of men who find coherence in some criminal act.”
― Don DeLillo, Libra

“If I am going to be afraid, I might as well do it honest. Arm in arm with everyone I love, adorned in blood and bruises, singing jokes on our way to the grave.”
― Hanif Abdurraqib, A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance