Writing the Apocalypse is a weekly series featuring the poems, essays, and recollections of Puma Perl, with subject matter influenced by her experiences as a NYC resident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Past and Pandemic | BY PUMA PERL I was a child of Tenth Street Police locks and bodegas Open hydrants, rooftops, cerveza on credit We were […]
BY TRAV S.D. | For Black History Month, we present you with weekly slices of the Tenderloin, the now-defunct New York City neighborhood that at its furthest extent ran between 24th and 62nd Streets between Fifth and Eighth Avenues, thus overlapping with modern Chelsea. The Tenderloin was so-named by a local police captain who relished […]
BY ELIZABETH ZIMMER | Chelsea has, per capita, a high percentage of creative artists; we’re surrounded by dance theaters, and within a few blocks of my Penn South apartment I found four contemporary choreographers. They’re all, of course, challenged by our yearlong pandemic restrictions. I asked each a few questions about what they’ve lost and […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Most of us have logged more time sheltering in place during the past year than all the rain and snow days we’ll have if we live to be 100. Sure, you can get a new shower curtain or rearrange the shelves—but it’s just a matter of time before the same old same […]
Writing the Apocalypse is a weekly series featuring the poems, essays, and recollections of Puma Perl, with subject matter influenced by her experiences as a NYC resident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clarity | BY PUMA PERL As the snow purifies the streets, my apartment turns inward, like a cave. Huns stride across the screen trampling […]
Writing the Apocalypse is a weekly series featuring the poems, essays, and recollections of Puma Perl, with subject matter influenced by her experiences as a NYC resident during the COVID-19 pandemic. After Inauguration| TEXT AND PHOTOS BY PUMA PERL After Inauguration There will be poems. Images recalling Michelle Obama Purple, Jill Biden Periwinkle […]
Writing the Apocalypse is a weekly series featuring the poems, essays, and recollections of Puma Perl, with subject matter influenced by her experiences as a NYC resident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Everything is Something | BY PUMA PERL The world as we knew it has ended. Early in the mornings, I take pictures to […]
BY MICHAEL MUSTO | I love a good drag name because it not only encompasses clever wordplay, but it can also be refreshingly incorrect, because it’s only a name, after all, and drag queens are supposed to shake up societal norms. I’ve written for years about the best drag names, and now I’ve dreamed up […]
BY PUMA PERL | The first time I saw Joey Paulina, he was clad in a tight royal blue dress and stilettos, executing perfect backflips down the center aisle of the Bowery Poetry Club. Once onstage, he hit more octaves than I could count and managed to be both operatic and hilarious. Whether at his West […]
Writing the Apocalypse is a weekly series featuring the poems, essays, and recollections of Puma Perl, with subject matter influenced by her experiences as a NYC resident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Third Street Christmas | BY PUMA PERL The apartment was drafty and full of poems. There were three eggs in the refrigerator. Gypsy had stuffed […]