MAGA HAT IN THE CHEMO ROOM

Sharing a new poem with you today

Hi Sweet Community,

Today I’m sharing a video of my poem, MAGA HAT IN THE CHEMO ROOM, which I just today submitted to the NPR Tiny Desk Contest. If you’ve never watched a Tiny Desk concert online, check one out today. They’re absolutely incredible. I’ve seen many of my favorite artists perform their most intimate sets in that space. 

I wrote MAGA HAT IN THE CHEMO ROOM at the end of treatment last year. As I’ve only been able to perform it live a few times I’m so grateful to finally have a video recording of the piece. Though the poem has far more humor than my usual writing, it dives deep into the many emotions that surfaced while watching people with wildly different politics than my own navigate illness and mortality in the chairs right beside me. I had so many feelings about this experience, some of them so contradictory it was hard to fit it all in one piece. 

You can watch the poem here: 

Speaking of the chemo room— I recently did scans and blood work confirming there is currently no evidence of disease in my body. Though I (like all of us)  have no idea what the future will bring, I’ve been celebrating the wonderful news, and am beyond thankful for your support throughout this journey. I can’t point to any other period in my life where I learned so much in such a brief amount of time. Of course there have been tears, but most of them have been tears of love. Thank you for being a big part of what opens my heart, daily. 

One more note on the poem I’m sharing—-In the piece you’ll hear a pretty funny rant about my sister’s no-hate hat project, HatX. My sister is an extraordinary person and my role model for resilience. As part of her recovery from heroin addiction she started crocheting hats a few years ago and gifting them to friends and family. When I figured out that she could cross the E out of Hate and spell simply “HAT”  her little hat business was born. You can check that out HERE.

Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter, y’all. I love having a group I can share my new work with. I’m so nourished by what you write in the comments. Your words always remind me how connected we all are. How we are forever and ever in this together. 

Love, Andrea 🖤