On the Blink

Consider how my light is spent

Tag: beauty

  • Book Review: HOW TO BE A RENAISSANCE WOMAN by Jill Burke

    Professor Jill Burke’s How to Be A Renaissance Woman: The Untold Story of Beauty and Female Creativity (Pegasus Books, 2024)is an extraordinary confluence of Renaissance culture, women’s history, and cosmetic history. Jill Burke tracks Renaissance beauty standards, cosmetic trends,  and their cultural influences. Burke collects historical, literary, and artistic sources to create a fascinating exploration.…

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  • When a Blind Woman Loves Lip Gloss: My Pitch for the Accessible Beauty Project

    When a Blind Woman Loves Lip Gloss: My Pitch for the Accessible Beauty Project

    When it comes to lip gloss. I can’t get over the creamy texture, the cutesy names, or the shiny look. And I’m certainly not alone. The Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie talks about loving her “shiny lip gloss.” In “We Should All Be Feminists,” Adichie says she wanted to be taken seriously, so she didn’t wear…

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  • Defying Sense

    Some years ago at an outdoor art festival, I sought shade inside a booth that sold blown-glass jewelry. The artist, a kind woman in her late sixties, encouraged me to touch each of her creations and welcomed my tactile perspective. She placed earrings in my outstretched palm with a detailed description: “These are small rose…

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About Me

Emily K. Michael is a blind poet, musician, and writing instructor. She serves as the poetry editor for Wordgathering at Syracuse University. She is also a poetry mentor in AWP’s Writer to Writer program. Her work focuses on music, embodiment, teaching, and ecology. Emily is passionate about birds, medieval history, singing, and guide dogs.

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