what it’s all about 🌙
Dear Starry-Eyed Romantic,
I’m so glad you’re here, tuning in from the very beginning! As soon as I had the idea for this newsletter I knew I had to make it a reality. I’m already so excited to share behind the scenes, unpublished work, creative processes, updates, and musings weekly or bi-weekly, as time permits. Maybe even some videos or audio clips if I’m feeling like it.
I want this space to feel a lot different from Instagram – quieter, more personal, and thoughtful. I’m so grateful for all the support and love I’ve gotten on IG, and sharing my poems has been very successful so far… but the platform itself often makes me feel unworthy. I can spend hours re-recording a single poem, just never satisfied with how it turns out.
This newsletter is meant to be less rehearsed, more real, and ‘imperfect’. Who knows, it might even help me get out of my own way a little bit and finally start putting more of my work out there. In fact, might as well share a poem about just that. I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter and stick around for the rest of them!
❝ ART ❞
(February 13, 2025)
make art!
make so much you can’t keep track of it
can’t over analyze it
can’t refine refine refine redesign it
make more instead
more ideas
more mistakes
more collaborations
more out takes
don’t wipe the tears
as they fall
let them tell a story
watch your pain draw
paint them across your wall
sing them in the car
write them out
write write write
until it’s all alright
pages and pages and pages
someplace for all that rage to exist
☕ Currently Brewing ☕
I have a podcast. I’ve never been very consistent with recording and posting episodes. One of the problems being that I could never make a topic cohesive and concise enough to offer much value in an episode. I started it years ago as an experiment meant to capture my thoughts in an unstructured style. I’m doing away with that approach. I want to rebrand it, give it a new name, some cool cover art, and reimagine my creating process. This has been a really exciting so far. I’m still a long way from the official rebrand but it’s something I’m hoping to announce soon! Stay tuned 😉
📁 From The Archives 📁
I used to make printed, individually stapled, and hand delivered newsletters for my friends in elementary school. They were a big hit if I do say so myself 😆 Here’s an exclusive look at the June 2018 Edition. (Proof that I’ve been doing this forever.)
📚 Off The Bookshelf 📚
MORNING STAR BY PIERCE BROWN! AHHHHHHHH! You’ll be hearing A LOT about this series. I’m obsessed atm. Red Rising stole my number-one-favourite-book-of-all-time-ever spot, knocking Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson down from its long held podium. Pierce Brown is on something else, let me tell ya. If dystopia + sci-fi interest you, Red Rising is a must. The only sad thing is, I was chatting with a coworker who read the series and apparently it gets difficult to follow the storyline after book three. I guess I’ll have to see for myself!
Morning Star / Red Rising Saga / Steelheart
🎶 Stuck In My Head 🎶
🎵 Easy – Commodores
🎵 Killed For Sport – Baby Nova
🎵 The Great War – Taylor Swift
✨ Stardust Thoughts ✨
I can see myself writing many more of these 😌
Thank you for being here at the beginning! 🤗
If you know someone who’d enjoy this letter, forward it to them. 💌
You can grab a copy of my poetry book Supernova 💫, find me on IG @tayashokkerwriter, or check out my website www.tayashokker.com.
Until next time,
Taya