Jessica Kantrowitz

@jfkantrowitz.bsky.social

1399 Followers 566 Following

Author, table draw-er, she/her Books: The Long Night, Blessings for the Long Night, 365 Days of Peace, Good Morning, Friends, Open Things

The Lovers Seize the Means of Production Jessica Kantrowitz First, there were riots in the streets. Some say they began with an agenda But such well-thought-out plans did not occur to us Our bodies simply claimed themselves again And we, soft-fleshed, warm-blooded, couldn’t bear another second Of cold, straight lines and punch clocks Our time became, again, our own And so we gave it to each other, and acted On that new belonging of hearts and chosen kinship Haven’t you always wondered if a dream Could become a living thing? Haven’t you fought the training Of your youth, the bedtimes and the forced wakings? So we did, and so the world became what we imagined it to be. I’m not saying it was easy. I’m not even saying we survived. But our deaths, like our lives, were ours, and our work, and our wages, and our art and our bodies, and our love.
A sign on poster board that reads, When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen. 1 Samuel 8:18
A tiny, blonde toddler in a car seat gives some serious side eye. Text reads: All the autistic folks who just did their taxes.
March 9th, 2025 Jessica Kantrowitz The birds are singing— what a grace! We are destroying the earth destroying democracy We hate and hurt each other— listen, the birds Are singing, and the sun sets later and later I should be filled with despair, should I not? But the house is filled with light and the birds are singing And my heart, despite everything my heart soars with hope Listen. I’m trying to tell you— The birds are singing Don’t be afraid.
A picture of a hobbit-like figure trudging along a weary, gray road. The caption shows that she is on day 728 of the journey, and has traveled 518 miles, and reads, “Each day the land looks much the same as the day before.”
A map showing my walk in red, but instead of the neat ovals of the track I walked it’s a chaotic tangle, as if a cat had played with yarn.
Peace to those who are lonely because they equate love with power and try to fill their empty hearts with adulation Peace to those who know that only love can drive out hate and who love each other fiercely Knowing that this love is the only true power despite all the pomp and circumstance
course catalog how to be sad (101) how to be sad and not fall into despair (201) how to be let others be sad and not try to fix them (311) how to be angry (102) how to be angry without hurting anyone (202) how to turn your anger into the fiercest of love (grad seminar)
Peace to that one thing tonight the thing that was too much on top of all the other things Right when you thought you were doing pretty well, making something of your day & life Peace to the thing that took you out for a few minutes & peace to the new, softer pace afterwards
Prayer for a Friend May you be given a goddammed break May the crises decrease to at least one-month intervals May you be able to breathe through your nose for fuck's sake May there be good news interspersed with the bad May you get back on your feet finally without yet another thing knocking you off of them And while you are knocked down may your community be there the whole time not just at first May we hold your hand and pick up your work as if our own hands and our own work were at stake.
A text conversation between me and Kate 🦮 Mapother., “I’m going to get an M – tattoo. Only writers will understand 🤣” I say it’s like the semicolon tattoo but more literary. “What does that line on your arm mean“ “oh it’s a “by Emily Dickinson.“
A starry sky background with white text that reads: Winter Solstice Did you know that the first day of winter is when the days stop getting shorter and your hemisphere begins to climb toward light and life again? So exactly the moment when winter begins it also begins to end. Just when things feel the bleakest is when they can turn around at any moment Or, to put it another way as my dear friend Laura says, “Hopelessly lost and nearly found feel exactly the same.” Hold on.
A starry night sky background with white text that reads: Peace to those whose hero has fallen from our pedestals, our hope, our grace Peace to those who don’t live up to their art who taught us something vital they themselves cannot yet understand Peace to those who mourn as if a real world was lost Your love is real Always Jessica Kantrowitz 365 Days of Peace
A photo of an orange with white background
Starry sky background with the following in white text: Peace to the happy whose brains are making good chemicals or at least adequate ones To you who have fallen in love or discovered the right size shoe (or friends) after years of wearing the wrong ones To you who cannot enjoy your happiness for fear you will scare it away Jessica Kantrowitz 365 Days of Peace
Starry sky background with white text that reads: Peace tonight to those in pain, the injured who are healing slowly, those who keep turning the same ankle, again & again. Peace to you who have been in pain for longer than this poem can describe, who wake in pain & sleep in it, & try to remember when you last took your meds
For Mary (and Nikki) Jessica Kantrowitz When a poet dies, her words brighten & fall like leaves We must run & gather them, press them in books Iron them between wax, preserve, but also reuse Rush to make poems of our own so we are not alone here for long Write, quickly, write We must all become poets.
A starry sky graphic with the following words in white text: Peace to those who have faith Peace to those who don’t Peace to those who had to chose between loving the God they were sold & loving themselves, & chose themselves Peace to those whose love of God lets them love others enough to trust their choice Jessica Kantrowitz 365 Days of Peace
A cartoon entitled Heralds of the animal Kingdom. There are four animals, the bear of bad news, the antelope of useless information, the penguin of glad tidings, and the seal of unsolicited advice. Each one has a small animal graphic to go with it. The bear of bad news has a speech bubble that says sorry.
New Anxiety Unlocked Jessica Kantrowitz Jessica, you’re never going to be nominated for a Pushcart Prize if you keep posting your poems on social media before they’re published.
What I’d do for love Jessica Kantrowitz Listen, I would give a million dollars If I had a million dollars— I would give my right arm— not literally, but I am trying to tell you how much I want— it is more than a want— or a need—I know I wouldn’t die— but what I’m trying to say is that I no longer know how to live— a hundred miles, maybe a thousand— not walk, because my feet hurt but I’d drive all night— yes, I could do that— drive with coffee and the blaring of the Beatles on my car’s old CD player— to hold you in the golden light of dawn.
lament  jessica kantrowitz we are holding ourselves and each other together with duct tape every day wrapping   our fractured hopes   broken hearts   rickety souls round and round   with gray gauze   and still they ask us to work pay the bills, shower   as if we were waterproof as if the glue on the tape would not quickly melt
Today, as every day Jessica Kantrowitz Today, as every day we are crying out in pain we are reaching out in desperate love we are suffering in loneliness we are trying to find each other Today, as every day we feel ill-prepared and ill-equipped we are trying to find resources we are trying to offer ourselves as a resource we are trying to listen we are trying to get someone to listen Today, as every day we are breaking under the pressure we are falling, we are rising we are holding each other up, and together we are trying to save each other’s lives
In Heaven, No One Has a Blue Check Jessica Kantrowitz In heaven, no one has a blue check next to their name Or, rather, everyone does Not a check so much as a kind of crystalline glow like the ocean (I imagine) in the Antarctic Sparkling so bright you can't even look at each other Because the true, pure soul of every human is more precious then the rarest gem & you say, "OMG, look who commented on my post Look who retweeted me They have billions of followers" & the angels gasp each time, & say, "Oh, man! You're going to be so famous now!"
An old photo of a five year old white girl with dark blonde hair. She is standing in front of a chalkboard on which she has copied the word BINGO. She looks very proud of herself. She is wearing a Polish peasant blouse.