An episode of literary games and  gossip

Are you even gay if you can't differentiate between Debbie Harry, Deborah Digges, and Debora Greger? Are you even a writer if you don't know which poet won 4 Pulitzers?

Loyalty Bookstore, a black-owned bookstore in DC, is a great place to buy books by authors we discussed today.

If you need resources to cope with some mental health struggles, we recommend visiting the National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/help 

Deborah Greger (Leo) does not have a book with the word "animals" in the title. You can read more about this incredible poet here. James's favorite Greger poem is "Head, Perhaps of an Angel" which you can read in New England Review here.

Deborah Digges (Aquarius) wrote poetry and memoir. Read more about her here. Digges’s second memoir, The Stardust Lounge, is a portrait of her younger son, who by the time he was 13 was involved in gangs. The book details how Digges decides to "shadow" him to try to understand him better. The book Aaron references overhearing a conversation about might have been The Stardust Lounge. You can read Digges's poem "Rough Music" here.

Debbie Harry is the lead singer of the band Blondie. She's a Cancer (July 1). 

Slash of Guns 'n' Roses has donated his time, energy, and money to animal welfare and children's music education causes. In 2008, he donated to Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Robert Penn Warren's racism and his attempts to educate and enlighten his ignorance remain a topic of conversation. One incredible essay in the discourse is this one by Natasha Trethewey, delivered when she was U.S. Poet Laureate.