Hi there!

I’m Jess (she/her), the next Campfire Fellow to grace the stage on Oct. 9. Together we’ll explore the season question, “What does the body know?” I came into the world 42 years ago, in a small helpless body that arrived two weeks earlier than expected. My dad was hosting a pig roast. He and his buddies would dig a pit, find a farmer to sell them a whole hog, and roast it on a spit all day over hot coals. On that hot summer day I, apparently, decided I was fully baked. The pig? Not so much. Bodies are funny: so intimate and so exposed. From the moment we emerge we’re learning how to respond to our body’s seemingly irrational needs and changes – leaking, longing, growing, feeling pain, knowing pleasure. I’m both excited and terrified to tell you some of what my body knows. We all think about our bodies, but it doesn’t always feel polite to talk about them. So, for this Campfire, we’re going to set aside “polite” for an hour and attempt to pick up “real” (in a safe and consensual way, of course). Please bring your unique and wonderful body and join me around the Campfire on Wednesday, October 9th for an evening of communal intimacy and warmth.

Yours,
Jess

Stand Out Stories

These are the stories standing out to the team this month
Our Content Strategist Amma is, weeks later, still captivated by the film Sing Sing. It chronicles the inner workings and impact of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program in Sing Sing Prison – in a fictional film that features many of the real actors who took part in the program. It’s a thoughtful, challenging, moving, and at times funny film that helps connect you to the plight of incarcerated individuals.

Special Projects Lead Mariah shared a personal narrative of community, love, and food justice last week as part of the annual fundraiser for City Greens, the nonprofit market she serves on the board of. It was really special (and a little intimidating!) to share a vulnerable part of herself on stage with strangers and ask for donations, but she’s still basking in the feedback she received from market employees and members about how her story made them feel.

Our Executive Director Steven fell deep into a story called “The Canary,” an opinion piece in The Washington Post. This specific article centered on the Department of Labor’s Chris Mark. Chris “devoted a lengthy federal career to preventing fatalities from roof falls and other underground mining disasters, saving countless lives.” Chris’ work “[lead] to the first year (2016) of no roof fall fatalities in the United States.” It’s a fascinating tale about a very niche line of work and an intriguing peek into just one individual that makes up our massive government.

And our Campfire Fellow Jess finally scored a copy of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver from the library. Kingsolver’s talent for channeling distinct and believable voices holds you captive, leading you to care deeply about the wellbeing of the protagonist, Demon, an Appalachian coal town boy growing up at the start of the opioid crisis. Kingsolver turns our eyes to systems of power and oppression using the unassuming tools of love, beauty and human empathy.