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Articles by Kayla Vokolek
10 Actions I Took Because of ‘Parable of the Sower’
Actions I Took Because of ‘Parable of the Sower’ The dystopian novel Parable of the Sower has always been noteworthy, but comparisons between its depicted world and our own have only grown since the first Trump administration. Just after his second inauguration, sales of the book experienced a 118% increase over the prior week, having already experienced a 90.4% sales boost earlier that month, attributed to the Los Angeles fires. From Los Angeles County herself, Pasadena-born Octavia E.
Celebrate Women in Translation Month With These 5 Reads
Celebrate Women in Translation Month With These 5 Reads Did you know that as late as 2008, only 22% of translated fiction works were written by women? (In the U.S., at least). But in 2014, book blogger Meytal Radzinski created Women in Translation Month. The same year that University of Rochester’s Translation Database noticed a noticeable spike in the amount of translated books by female authors. Now?
Hey, NBC: Celiac Disease Means Absolutely No Gluten Kisses
At least for now — a sample size of ten isn’t good enough Recently, NBC News posted on Instagram that it’s actually safe for those with celiac disease to kiss partners who just ingested gluten. For about thirty seconds, I feared my past article about kissing with celiac disease was hyperbolic and unscientific. Then I looked at the comments.
Portland’s Trail of Coraline Cats
“Rose Kitty” by Seaton Drebitko. All photos by author. A temporary collection of 31 painted cat statues Kayla Vokolek · Follow Published in SNAPSHOTS · 4 min read · -- I live in downtown Portland. My first year here, I felt like I was in Gotham City. I was repeatedly warned to never walk alone at night. My sibling’s car — with nothing visible inside — got broken into after only two nights. This year, it just feels… empty. Other neighborhoods of Portland are much more interesting and populated.
You’re Punishing Bi Women For… Not Having Enough Game?
You’re Punishing Bi Women For… Not Having Enough Game? I’m lucky enough to sometimes forget how pervasive biphobia can be. I’ve had many bi friends, inclusive queer friends of different sexualities, and straight friends who I’d consider allies. And besides a couple thoughtless, yet relatively harmless comments, my romantic partners have been supportive. Or at least in regards to being bi… they’re past partners for a reason. Another thing they have in common? They’ve all been men.
Why ‘La Isla Bonita’ is the Greatest Summer Jam
Thunderdome Carefree imagery, uptempo beats, and wistfulness Thunderdome is a Fanfare series where our writers good-naturedly debate some matter of pop culture and then leave it to the readers to decide. Read each post and vote at the bottom! I eagerly jumped at the opportunity to join the Thunderdome challenge of arguing in favor of the best summer song. Surely something in my 134 Spotify playlists was up to the task.
Why *Wouldn't* Most LGBTQ+ People Support Palestine?
By Kayla Vokolek Of course a marginalized community is likely to champion human rights Refaat Alareer Memorial Library at Portland State University. Named after the Palestinian poet and professor who was killed by Israel in December. Photo by author. This week, I attended a die-in outside of the then-occupied, newly christened Refaat Alareer Memorial Library at Portland State with several fellow classmates and friends.
Interview with Writer Phillip B. Williams
Interview with Writer Phillip B. Williams Poet who recently released the surrealist historical novel ‘Ours’ Photo taken by author. Note: affiliate links are used through Bookshop.org, which helps support indie bookstores as well as myself. I had the pleasure of interviewing Phillip B. Williams back in 2018, when he was featured at University of San Francisco’s Emerging Writer’s Festival…
Death Valley in Spring
Last-minute camping trip with my ex? Why not? Taking a camping trip in the desert with your ex might sound like some people’s idea of hell… but for me and Jonah, it was a lot of fun. I knew little about what Death Valley had to offer, but knew it had to be a national park for a reason. Getting to visit the Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, was almost worth the price of admission all on its own. The basin is 282 feet below sea level.
“To Use Our App, Delete It Continually”
I want to support musicians more, but TIDAL makes it difficult My family and I had used Spotify for years but switched to TIDAL a couple of years ago. No $250 million deals with Joe Rogan, better music quality, and it’s “one of the select few streaming services which pays out more than 1 cent per stream.” “Spotify pays artists between $0.003 — $0.005 per stream on average.” TIDAL isn’t perfect, but neither is Spotify. Music quality and fairer payment models make a big difference for me.
Breaking Up While Long-Distance
“Maybe we should just call it now,” Jonah had told me as we sat together in the late summer night, soon after I found out he had been lying about wanting to move to Portland with me. (I had never asked him to; he had offered, to my delighted surprise, two months into dating, and kept up the pretense).
5 Book Recommendations Following University Press Week
I've been taking a book publishing course in grad school (if you couldn't tell by my recent surge in posts about the publishing industry), and while poring through too many articles for my research paper on university presses, I discovered that November 17th was actually the last day of University Press Week! So instead of focusing on the paper due Monday, I of course had to post about this while the week was still relevant. Or at least as relevant as University Press Week can ever be.
Are Travel Guidebooks Dying?
Between accessible online travel tips and a global pandemic, one might guess that there is no future, or even a present, for travel guidebooks. Granted, there has been a significant decrease in sales, especially following the 2008 recession and the proliferation of smartphones. However, all is not lost for the publishers able to " meet the increasing demand for trusted curation amid the dubious quagmire of ... TripAdvisor ratings.
Silver Falls State Park
A couple of the things I looked forward to most about moving to the Pacific Northwest were the beautiful nature and having "real seasons," unlike my native Los Angeles. Luckily, my new university has an active outdoor recreation program that organized a trip to Silver Falls State Park, considered the "' crown jewel' of the Oregon State Parks system. " I like Portland, but I was excited to get out of the city for a day. Watching the leaves felt like witnessing a first snowfall.
Opting Out of Diversity
Note: affiliate links used. In response to book bans and related legislation targeting librarians and teachers, the Scholastic book fair has now made it easy for schools to affirm that they do not want corrupting books such as You Are Enough, a picture book celebrating our differences and inspired by Down Syndrome advocate Sofia Sanchez. This book, along with about 60 others, are compiled in a collection that schools have to opt in to receive.
Getting Another Writing Degree
Usually don't share life updates on here but I'm too excited (and nervous ) for my next step to keep quiet. In a few weeks, I'll be moving to Portland to pursue an MFA in nonfiction writing, and to work as a teaching assistant to cover tuition and some expenses. In this economy, just getting an undergraduate degree in the liberal arts seems to guarantee perpetual financial struggle.
No One Owes You Info About Their Sexual Orientation
I know, there are already too many online criticisms about the recent final season of Ted Lasso. But the show's trivialization of anger as a response to discovering a close friend is gay deserves discussion, if only because it perpetuates a too-common way of thinking. Isaac avoids Colin, shuts down attempts at communication, and shoots him a dirty look after unintentionally discovering that his friend is gay.
I Actually Like Having the Choice to Tip
By Kayla Vokolek But tipping culture isn't a long-term solution for workers Photo taken by author. A recent Los Angeles Times article examined how tipping culture feels out-of-control for many in the United States, with more "tablets with quick-tap default tip options" and increased societal pressure to add a gratuity.
'Beau is Afraid' and 'Alice in Wonderland'
Although different in about a million ways from Alice in Wonderland, Ari Aster's three-hour horror film Beau is Afraid reminded me of the Disney classic in its unpleasant surrealism and ultimately unsatisfying endings. Though the animation of the 1951 Alice is wonderful and the story widely beloved, to someone who is evidently overly sensitive, it fills me with a deep sense of dread, even more as an adult than as a child.
Not Going to College Isn't As Viable for Women
A U.S. News article cited the surprise of many that college enrollment didn't rebound after the pandemic, but is that really a shock? Tuition rates have only become more unaffordable and many fields...
The Idealization of Traditional Gender Roles Cannot Be Feminist
By Kayla Vokolek There's a difference between being a proud housewife and unequivocally promoting it as a lifestyle Don't get me wrong: the traditional model of the man working and the woman staying at home has as much potential as any other to be healthy and beneficial. When both partners agree that this...
Airport Forces Two Disabled People To Choose Who Gets One Wheelchair
I have a cousin with Niemann-Pick disease, a rare condition that "can affect the brain, nerves, liver, spleen, bone marrow and, in severe cases, lungs," mainly in children.
Dating Sucks for Women Online and Offline
By Kayla Vokolek Don't blame women for men's bad behavior Photo by Good Faces Agency on Unsplash. Men: don't come for me in the comments - there are unfair dating expectations for all genders. But one key difference is you're a lot less likely to get assaulted on dates. Also, write about your own negative experiences. I can't speak for men and you can't speak for women.
Gender-Neutral Terms Don't Dehumanize Women
By Kayla Vokolek How can we normalize non-gendered terms? Photo by Kai Bossom on Unsplash. I was already considering writing about gender-neutral terms. But a recent TERF-y post mocking the CDC's use of inclusive language for "pregnant men-in-progress" motivated me to actually get writing. But oh, she claimed she was "all for transgender rights." Hm.
Hold Celebrities Accountable for Their Environmental Waste, Too
I'll defend Taylor Swift's dating history, and her music for the most part, but I draw the line at her ungodly amount of private jet carbon emissions. The Twitter account Celebrity Jets, which...
I Want Money, Not Old People, Out of Politics
By Kayla Vokolek Unfortunately, they usually go together Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash. I was chatting with a similarly-progressive friend about politics recently and they bemoaned elderly politicians ruining a future that they won't even live long enough to reap the dire consequences of. "There should be an age limit for politicians," they said.
Switching From Spotify to Tidal
Not a perfect switch, but worth it for me personally to better compensate artists Photo by Fixelgraphy on Unsplash. I spent over 150,000 minutes listening to Spotify from Jan.-Oct. 2021. I devoted an embarrassing amount of hours making hyper-specific playlists. (Celtic folk? I never even listened to that one. A Leo rising-centered one? Okay, I’ve listened to that one a lot but I’m not proud). Point being: I was obsessed with Spotify.
Indie Picks
By Kayla Vokolek Worthy books that are not from any publishing conglomerates. Wendy C. Ortiz $15.00 $13.80 Piercing and vivid memoir about a woman who was preyed upon by her eighth-grade teacher in 1980's Los Angeles. (Future Tense Books; Portland, OR).
Band Highlight: Kikagaku Moyo
A must-listen group that’s redefining psychedelic rock music Kikagaku Moyo set list from 2019 concert in San Francisco. Photo by author. I can’t try to explain Kikagaku Moyo without sounding like an obnoxious hipster. “Well, they’re an indie psychedelic rock band from Japan with some Indian influences.” Yet I don’t really care; partly because I love the band so much and that’s reason enough.
The Inefficiency And Indifference of the Peace Corps
Anecdotes I wish I had heard before applying. Photo by Ro.cio Ramirez on Unsplash. Pros and Cons of the Peace Corps There are many valid criticisms of the Peace Corps — white saviorism, American exceptionalism, and neocolonialism, as members of the grassroots group Decolonizing Peace Corps have noted. Those are all are more harmful than its bureaucratic hassles, but it is also worth considering that it can be frustratingly callous to those willing to volunteer for two-plus years.
Why Can’t Evil Characters Just Be Evil?
Complexity shouldn’t always equal redeemability. Photo by Gita Krishnamurti on Unsplash. I never watched the full-length How the Grinch Stole Christmas because my parents were Dr. Seuss purists. (They even denied me permission to watch The Cat in the Hat with my first-grade class, as Mike Myers’ portrayal was too crude). “That takes away the whole point of The Grinch!” they’d say.
Yes, It’s OK to Wave at the End of a Zoom Call
For all the ways we communicate, there are different ways to greet people, and different ways to say goodbye. These social norms evolve over time. By now we’re comfortable saying “bye” to someone at the end of a phone call. But newer technologies can still leave us feeling awkward at the transition. For example, video calls. The farewell question really comes down to one issue: Am I a dork for waving goodbye? Because, really, why do we wave?
Looks Aren’t Reflective of Character
An obvious yet oft-ignored sentiment, at least online. Photo by Feeh Costa on Unsplash. Bringing Your Looks Upon Yourself? Countless posts have pointed out how some celebrities don’t seem to age — in particular, Andy Samberg and Paul Rudd — with the implication that they appear younger and still attractive because they are unproblematic. Not entirely serious, but still so frequently repeated that it almost feels believed.
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