Newsletter: Smells on Parade

The latest DR. M. Leona Godin’s Aromatica Poetica Newsletter includes A new poetry/prose series that articulates the joys and difficulties of putting language to smells, 2 new books, a cosmic smelling dog, anosmia revisited—with a twist, a NYPL Fellowship, oh, and, sometimes, SIGHTED PEOPLE SUCK!     Dear Friends and family, Here in NYC, winter seems finally to be upon… Read more

Aromatica Poetica Summer 2023 Newsletter: Multisensory Explosion

After traveling to four states in two months, my spring speaking mini-tour ended with a final virtual talk and blog post for ACT (famous for their college entrance tests). The summer kicked off with a story at TALE: NYC’s Finest Storytelling, and we’re settling into summer in the East Village with Tompkins Square Park as our living room, so come… Read more

Smell Menagerie: ‘Aromatica Poetica’ Winter Newsletter

The AP Winter Newsletter features: Open submissions, talks and travel, exploring barnyards by nose, chocolates by touch, a soap/burgers story, and more… Dear friends and family, The new year always launches me into a gratifying state of cautious optimism. Thanks to a small burst of speaking invitations, I’m looking forward to connecting with some of you in person over the… Read more

Footnote on ‘Year of the Tiger’ by Alice Wong

Year of the tiger: An Activist’s Life (Vintage, 2022) by Alice Wong (editor of Disability Visibility) is funny and angry and silly and deadly sobering and so much more. It’s a collection of essays, interviews, and images on subjects ranging from accessible and inviting coffee experiences to the Chinese Lunar New Year, from media representations of disabled people to the… Read more

#HappyBirthdayHelenKeller and Hello #DisabilityPrideMonth!

About 15 years ago I first learned that Helen Keller performed in vaudeville. As I discuss in There Plant Eyes, I was moonlighting as a performance artist with the Art Stars of the Lower East Side when I stumbled upon the delicious fact that Helen and Annie did the vaudeville circuit for 4 years (1920-24), I instantly knew it would… Read more

NY Times & Inside Edition, Books & Bakes, Scent &Architecture, Hyacinths & Timberlines, and AP open for submissions!

New beginnings collide with old haunts in recent months as Alabaster and I settle back into New-York-City living. A sudden teaching gig landed me back at NYU, helping out a favorite former professor as the oldest TA in the world, . And on the other side of things, I was honored that the New York Times let me weigh in… Read more