The Pleasures of Reading, Viewing, and Listening in 2019, pt.5: Christina M. Rau

The Pleasures of Reading, Viewing, and Listening in 2019
by Christina M. Rau 

Listening came easier than reading or viewing this year because of lots of fun projects and self-betterment. I became reiki-certified, I stayed at an ashram, I slept over at the Rubin Museum, and I went to Ohio to watch an Ironman race. These were highlights in a very productive year. Here’s what I was reading and watching and listening to all the while.


In sci-fi fem poetry:  

Unmanned by Jessica Rae Bergamino (http://www.noemipress.org/catalog/poetry/bergamino/);

Death by Sex Machine by Franny Choi (https://www.frannychoi.com/);

I Am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland (https://www.clairecholland.com/);

Glimmerglass Girl by Holly Lyn Walrath (http://www.hlwalrath.com/);

M Archive: After the End of the World by Alexis Pauline Gumbs (https://www.alexispauline.com/)


In other kinds of poetry:

The Voyager Record: A Transmission by Anthony Michael Morena (https://www.anthonymichaelmorena.com/);

Tasty Other by Katie Manning (https://www.katiemanningpoet.com/);

Celebrity Sadhana: Or How to Meditate With a Hammer by Vijay R. Nathan (http://vijayrnathan.com/);

Propagation by Lesley Wheeler (https://lesleywheeler.org/)

In nonfiction:

Make Noise: A Creator’s Guide to Podcasting and Great Audio Storytelling by Eric Nuzum (http://ericnuzum.com/);

Nikola Tesla: A Spark of Genius by Carol Dommermuth-Costa;

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik;

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle


In fiction:

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, a YA book (https://www.akwaeke.com/)

In fiction and poetry:

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, which is a YA novel in verse (http://www.acevedowrites.com/);

[Dis]Connected: Poems & Stories of Connection and Otherwise Volume 2 edited by Michelle Halket (http://www.centralavenuepublishing.com/book/disconnectedvol2/)

And I also read All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen. I don’t know how to categorize it other than Clever. (http://www.averymonsen.com/)


In progress:

Vanity of Duluoz by Jack Kerouac and The Journey Within: Exploring the Path of Bhakti by Radhanath Swami (http://journeywithinbook.com/)

On television, I watched a documentary about Patrick Swayze called I Am Patrick Swayze, and it made me cry. In theatres, I watched Toy Story 4 because I won free tickets—and it was outstanding, so hooray for serendipity. If Beale Street Could Talk was upsetting but beautiful. Joker was simply upsetting. Rocketman proved to be everything a movie about Elton John could be.

I don’t watch 90 Day Fiancee or any of its iterations, but I still listen to the podcast 90 Day Gays with Matt and Jake because they make me laugh (https://play.acast.com/s/90daygays).

Christina M. Rau is the founder of Poets In Nassau, a reading circuit on Long Island, NY, where she's lived all her life. She is the author of the chapbooks WakeBreatheMove (Finishing Line Press, 2015) and For The Girls, I (Dancing Girl Press, 2014). She serves as editor for The Nassau Review at Nassau Community College, where she teaches writing and literature.  Aqueduct Press published her Elgin Award-winning collection, Liberating the Astronauts, in 2017. For her blog, visit alifeofwe.blogspot.com. For everything else, www.christinamrau.com.