Monday Matter: Valerie's web, Swifties and immigrant lit

Your biweekly Foreign Bodies roundup

Every other Monday, I send subscribers and gift recipients of immigrant mental health and storytelling newsletter Foreign Bodies stories I recently inhaled and adored. This is also a chance to do some housekeeping and give shout-outs and all that jazz.

First things first

A little housekeeping

A manic May 🫠

Evening, Foreign Bodies readers! I have so much going on right now that I think I might burst if a stranger doesn’t return my kindness. Does this have a name? Anticipated anxiety? A pre menty-b? Trying to get whatever I can in order so I don’t fall into a ball of overwhelm. For me, that includes prioritizing a tidy home, making sure prescriptions are filled, getting pets’ vaccinations up-to-date, squeezing in daily walks and workouts, and making sure I’ve extra time to meet work and school deadlines, see loved ones and enough alone time to recover between high-energy events and meetings. If you’ve got a busy May, too, I’m rooting for us!

A musical start to your Mondays 🎧

One song to groove to, cry to, drive to and share

As a late-blooming Swiftie and former naysayer, I just want to apologize for my wrongs. Had the absolute time of my life at the Atlanta show with two of my college besties last night and can’t stop thinking about Taylor Swift’s performance of “Marjorie,” an ode to her late grandmother.

Resource(s) of the week

Something helpful and interesting and cool (*storytelling opportunity)

• Creativity is Boundless: An inclusive guide from Define American outlining recommendations and next-steps for making artist support opportunities (like fellowships, grants and residencies) more accessible to immigrant, migrant, and undocumented artists.

• *The 2023 Real People, Real Struggles, Real Stories: Writing About Mental Illness fellowship at The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow is offering a two-week residency to a writer working on a short or long work of non-fiction focusing on how they (the writer or another) have managed, and continue to manage, their mental illness. Fellowship applications must be accompanied by a writing sample and a non-refundable $35 application fee. Deadline: July 17!