JJ Carr
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JJ Carr
@jjcarr.bsky.social
340 followers 740 following 39 posts
Writer of fiction, poetry, essays, screenplays, even a cookbook, frequent ghost, creative writing instructor at Chapman University. Words in Writing the Golden State: The New Literary Terrain of California pub. by Angel City Press out now.
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jjcarr.bsky.social
This Thursday, Feb 13, I’ll be participating in a virtual lunchtime discussion about Writing the Golden State at the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West with the amazing Romeo Guzmán, Wendy Cheng, David Helps, and David Ulin—here’s the link to register: usc.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Flyer for Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West February 13, 2025, 12-1 pm PST HUNTINGTON-USC ICW Presents "Writing the Golden State" Join ICW for an engaging discussion with the contributors to "Writing the Golden State," a collection of 25 essays that reimagines California beyond clichés. These essays highlight the state's complexity, diversity, and unique history, exploring the people, communities, and events shaping California.” “Join the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West for a discussion about California's past and present with Jennifer Carr, Wendy Cheng, David Helps, and David Ulin, contributors to the new book Writing the Golden State: The New Literary Terrain of California. The book explores California through 25 essays that look beyond the clichés of the "California dream," portraying a state that is deviant and recalcitrant, proud and humble, joyful and communal. Join us for a multifaceted and exciting dialogue as we explore the individuals, communities, and events that have made California a richly diverse state.” WRITING THE GOLDEN STATE: C THE NEW LITERARY - TERRAIN OF CALIFORNIA CARRIBEAN FRAGOZA ROMEO GUZMAN SAMINE JOUDAT About the Speakers Jennifer Carr is a writer from San Pedro, California, and a USC alumna (class of 2001). Her fiction and nonfiction grapple with what life in a globalized, automated world means for union towns like San Pedro, where immigrant families have come to live, work, and stay for generations. Aside from her essay in Writing the Golden State, Carr's work has appeared in Zócalo Public Square, Boom California, and the Baltimore Review, among others. She teaches creative writing at Chapman University.
February 12, 2025 at 6:41 AM
jjcarr.bsky.social
Qfwfq’s moonrise:
Very, very low moon, very orange, like half of the most delectable egg yolk in history, barely rising above the Los Angeles Harbor lights, making it easy to wax poetic about the moon. Very, very low moon, again, slightly higher, still very orange, like half of the most delectable egg yolk in history, barely rising above the Los Angeles Harbor lights, making it easy to wax poetic about the moon. A squidge higher shot of the very, very low moon, very orange, like half of the most delectable egg yolk in history, barely rising above the Los Angeles Harbor lights, making it easy to wax poetic about the moon, and inciting poetry found in Italo Calvino’s story, “The Distance of the Moon,” from the collection Cosmicomics, which you should definitely read.
November 21, 2024 at 6:10 AM
jjcarr.bsky.social
O vulva tree, O vulva tree…
wie treu sind deine yoni.
Simone Leigh at #LACMA.
Simone Leigh sculpture at LACMA of a tall tower made up of large Cowrie shells of various earth tones that deliberately look like vulvas, which are on theme for the exhibition. Simone Leigh sculpture at LACMA of a wire mesh stand that looks like the wiring for a hoop skirt topped with a large Cowrie shell that both duplicates a head and a vulvas.
November 17, 2024 at 8:00 AM
jjcarr.bsky.social
So excited to announce Writing the Golden State is available for pre-order! I am honored and frankly beside myself to have my work alongside such a great list of authors (seriously, check out the list of contributors here!)
Cover of Writing the Golden State: The New Literary Terrain of California, edited by Romeo Guzmán, Carribean Fragoza, and Samine Joudat.
July 18, 2024 at 6:24 AM
jjcarr.bsky.social
Behold, the French taco, which is… a burrito?

This will never not be funny to me, a Southern Californian, whose partner is a dual Swiss/US citizen. (The Kebab here, however, are phenomenal, and really, how does Los Angeles have a dearth of Turkish stands?)
Restaurant display that reads: “New: French Taco” at a Turkish fast-food restaurant in Switzerland. The French taco is basically a burrito. Maybe you could get away with calling it a “wrap.”
January 8, 2024 at 7:14 PM