The utterly lovely oracle of a human Lauren Eve is with us in the Podfort today, and we are deeply in love. Lauren is the first poet we’ve had grace the Podfort, and we jump right into structuring a poetry collection so it has a narrative, putting your heart on the page, and her process of introspection and journaling leading to her poems. We then dig into being a word geek, writing work that inspires others to create art, and how confidence as an artist and person leads to braver and more intimate art. We end up talking about creating art about becoming, the vulnerability and ethics of writing sex and intimacy autobiographically, how life imitates art and art imitates life when it comes to writing sex, and finally, we talk about the process of writing prose. Then, Lauren reads some poems for us before we get into her big threes! This podcast was nothing short of a delight and listening to it again had my (Macon) hands itching to create. Do yourself, and the world, a favor and GET INTO IT - then get into making some art.

Lauren’s Poetry Collections:

• A Graceless & Flourishing Heart
• A Fractured & Luminous Soul

Big Three Albums

• Lungs by Florence and the Machine
• Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful by Paloma Faith
• Light Me Up by The Pretty Reckless

Big Three Books

• Tulip Church by Anne Fine
• The Road Home by Erin Zak
• Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Also, we will be at ReadOUT Literary Festival in Gulfport, FL from February 16-18, 2024. You can get tickets to attend both in person and online here. It’s going to be such an awesome time and we really hope to see you there! 

Find Lauren: TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Linktree

Follow Strictly Sapphic on Twitter and Instagram.

The brilliant and wonderful and deeply kind Carrie Byrd is with us in the Podfort today and wow do we have a big ole lesbian crush on her. This is an exceptionally special conversation that you’ll want to revisit over and over again. Centering on Loser of the Year, Carrie’s debut novel, which drops in the Summer 2024, Carrie talks to us all about writing fire queens, having a goal of liberation rather than merely representation in her writing, and how her ethnoreligious identity influences her and her writing. We then get into writing good sex well. Next Carrie teaches us about developmental temporality, and we talk about what it means to write a realistic and worthy happily ever after that understands pain and joy live together. We dig deep into how shame and repression are touchstones of queerness in American culture, the role of art in freeing ourselves from that shame and repression, and how the job of the artist is to write into the hard stuff. Finally, Carrie talks about what it is like to be married to another writer and the joys of creating together. This episode is so special. It made me (Macon) a better writer and thinker and person. It also made me want to sit at Carrie’s feet and let her be my great mentor. Do yourself a favor and GET INTO IT!!

Carrie’s Big Three Books:

Emily of New Moon by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair

The Promise of Happiness by Sara Ahmed

Carrie’s Big Three Albums:

Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple

Wasteland, Baby! by Hoizer

The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen

Carrie’s Big Three Poems:

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

Flirtation by Rita Dove

Since You Asked by Carl Phillips

Find Carrie: Instagram, Twitter, Website, BlueSky, Threads

Follow Strictly Sapphic on Twitter and Instagram.

We did it y’all! We finally have a non-writer in the Podfort and it’s none other than the reigning queen of sapphic fine art Halie Torris. It was such an honor to get to talk to Halie about painting from the sapphic gaze, multimodal storytelling, art as a distillation of queer joy, and simply forgetting men exist. We also dive deep into queerness and religious trauma, beard drawings, the importance of sapphic artists taking up space, how the artists’ job is to stand in wonder at the world, and just so much more. This is an incredibly wide-ranging conversation and we really think you are going to love it - we such as hell did. Halie is kind, thoughtful, and making art that forges new ground for all kinds of sapphic artists. This conversation was a gift to be a part of and we think you’ll find it’s a gift to spend time with Halie as well. GET INTO IT!

Also, we will be at ReadOUT Literary Festival in Gulfport, FL from February 16-18, 2024. You can get tickets to attend both in person and online here. It’s going to be such an awesome time and we really hope to see you there! 

Halie’s Big Three Albums:

• Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
• Come on Over by Shania Twain
• evermore by Taylor Swift

Halie’s Big Three Books:

• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
• A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

People, Books, and Articles Mentioned:

JJ Arias

Jerry Saltz

Liz Gilbert and Big Magic

Georgia OKeef Letters

Sophia Bush

The Artists Task by Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

JJ Arias’ Destination You

Haley Cass’ Those Who Wait

Find Halie: TikTok, Instagram,

Follow Strictly Sapphic on Twitter and Instagram.