#30 - Poetry, Maybe

Plummet down a cold, distant mountain

Source, prepare, and consume a quiche made of larvae and organic vegetables

Watch a video of my first instance of trauma

Zoom in on the tears

Write letters to those who have wronged me asking for money, food, support

Move back into my first apartment, but in the condition I left it

Quit everything that ever brought me joy

All things I’d rather do

Than write about how much you hurt me

If you happen to be in Oklahoma, Dallas Comedy Club’s all-queer improv team will be performing at the Blue Whale Comedy Festival in Tulsa! Come see us at the LowDown on Saturday, 8/16 at 3:30pm — we’re sharing a block with the incredible Mama Tried and probably catching Hannibal Buress down the street later that night (wow!).

Recent Gigs

Since my last update, I have provided additional voices for the following projects:

• One Piece: Egghead Island Arc, Episodes 1130, 1131, 1133

• Nyaight of the Living Cat, Episode 3

Consume!

In 9th grade our incoming freshman class was assigned Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” as summer reading, and I didn’t think another graphic novel could kick me so hard in the solar plexus ever again. Then I read “Feeding Ghosts”.

Tessa Hulls has built a map of her family’s inherited trauma with the precision and grotesque beauty of an anatomy textbook. Alternating between dispassionate, factual analysis and poetic ruminations, Hulls ties tight, tremulous threads between the sweeping ramifications of China’s cultural revolution, the decline of her grandmother’s mental and physical health, and the gradually worsening relationships between her and her mother — all bolstered by evocative illustrations giving tangible form to the fear and anxiety surrounding three women and their loved ones across generations. It is the product of years of research, self-analysis, and hard conversations, and the effort shows in every line. An ESSENTIAL entry into the canon of comic art that won’t leave my brain anytime soon.

Performance of the Week

Y’all, I gotta be honest with you; I’m in the middle of a move right now, and as a result I’m WAY behind on my media list. I’ve got like three shows in the current anime season that I’ve barely started, so instead of binging stuff just so I can compliment my friends, I hung all my hopes on an animated feature I hadn’t yet seen and my one free evening before publishing this newsletter.

“Dog Man” was…fine? The animation was gorgeous, every time things were in motion I was having a blast, but this film is a perfect example of how high-profile studios misuse leading industry talent (you gave KATE MICUCCI a three-line role?) while shoving celebrities into less-than-perfect fits (Pete Davidson was OKAY, for example).

The exception was film director and screenwriter Peter Hastings in the title role. Dog Man…doesn’t speak. Or he doesn’t have dialogue, anyway. But he does use a mix of barks, arfs, whines, and growls, like a real dog. And I don’t know, in 2025, they could have easily just used stock sound effects or brought a dog into the studio and had him do some stuff, but instead they had a guy do it, and the movie has a lot more personality as a result. And I think that’s pretty neat.

Accordian

Hear

Uneven bursts of air

Shunted by shaky hands

To land on the ears of a noise-stung crowd

Graining towards a clearly spoken “come one, come all”

Clearing the aging fabric and whistling through unspotted tears and holes

Unattuned to the time, unattuned to the crowded street

But even through this tired, beer-stained morning

Under the shouts, the grumbling, and tears

An undisputed truth of our time

This awkward, broken sound

Is still somehow

Music

Hollis Beck is a performer and writer who crafts narratives about queer identity, found families, and people who try very hard. More information can be found on her website.