Reading of Rape Kits at the LIC Arts Open 13 - Poetry Festival May 2026

I read my poem, Rape Kits, at the LIC Arts Open 13 - Poetry Festival on May 17, 2026.

Youtube video below (courtesy of Mark, hubby extraordinaire filming it).

The Poetry Festival was curated by Queens Poet Laureate, 2015-2019, Academy of American Poets Fellow, Maria Lisella and held at The Local NY located in Long Island City (Queens, baby).

So many other poets read at the festival that my head is still a buzz!

Thank you LIC Arts Open & Maria Lisella for having me.

Rape Kits was originally published in Timeless Tales Magazine Pandora’s Box in 2019.

My poem – Rape Kits – was published in Timeless Tales Magazine’s Pandora Box Issue 8/15/19

I am honored that my poem Rape Kits was published in the 3rd edition of Pandora’s Box in Timeless Tales Magazine.

This poem was inspired by the HBO documentary - I am evidence and the appalling reality of the rape kit backlog remaining untested in the hundreds of thousands. I was horrified by the idea of these boxes in a warehouse where birds were actually making nests of the evidence, of these women’s bodies and pain, evidence that could put the rapists behind bars. And who better to open the boxes than Pandora?

Pandora opening the box is frequently seen as cataclysmic but in this case, she’s a warrior, doing what is necessary for justice. All the emotions from the collective violations released giving the victims hope.

A word about the moths – in some versions of the myth, the “bad” things released are described as moths and I thought what if these moths were avenging goddesses and in my internet sleuthing came across Theodore D. Sargent’s invaluable Working Paper of Attributes - Goddesses – Moths. I have always thought that moths were underrated.

Downloadable PDF

About Timeless Tales Magazine
Timeless Tales is a digital magazine exclusively publishing retellings of fairy tales and classic myths since 2013. Please be sure follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

My other stories published by Timeless Tales - Home is Where the Bone is and The World is Inside.

Goofing around in Queens Botanical Gardens

My short story, The World is Inside, was published in Timeless Tales' Snow Queen Issue

My short story, The World is Inside, was published in the wonderful Timeless Tales’ Snow Queen Issue on December 20, 2016. The whole issue revolves around The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.

You can read the whole issue here –
https://simplebooklet.com/snowqueen

I went futuristic for this one. I enjoy pushing myself into new genres and short stories are some of the best ways to approach a new genre.
 

A little bit of how / why I approached this fairy tale the way I did -- 
What captured my interest in Andersen’s original tale was how insular Gerda and Kai’s life seemed before the Snow Queen took Kai away. I wanted to exaggerate and emphasize that isolation. For my way into a new twist on an old story, I usually begin with the physical architecture, a visual scaffolding allowing me to build a new narrative. I started to imagine where they lived as two ultra modern high-rises with their communal connecting space as a suspended garden house pod. I’ve always been fascinated by pedestrian bridges and with the idea that they could be retooled as a living space. The original tale is from Gerda’s point of view, so I wrote a story where Gerda was part of the problem and Kai’s need for escape was understandable and necessary.

About Timeless Tales: 

Timeless Tales is a digital magazine exclusively publishing retellings of fairy tales and classic myths since 2013. http://www.timelesstalesmagazine.com/

Be sure to follow them on Twitter  - https://twitter.com/timelesstales1
And like them on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TimelessTalesMagazine