This page is an ever-growling archive of my popular work. I’ll be adding to it as I publish pieces at The Brea k
2024
Update: reveries of a lush year in a troubled land
I’m currently working on a book-length essay about a time when everything seemed to be straining to become something else, pushing limits, breaching boundaries in every sphere of life, the effects of which we are still feeling today. I can’t say too much more right now , but make sure to check back and share this metamorphic year with me.
2023
2022
ESSAY (two-part), The Break 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir by Ai Weiwei: Less Book Review, More Critical Reflection (Part One)ESSAY , The Break Into the Wild: A Reflection on Cosplay in Public Discourse— Notes on an Unfolding Semantic Shift ESSAY , The Break The Jeopardy of Genderswap Storytelling: Un/Becoming Captain Nemo BOOK REVIEW , The Break An Incomplete Archive of Activist Art: The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation ESSAY (three-part), The Break Ambivalence: A Reclamation Story Part One: Changing Times: Regarding the Modern Mediascape and Representation Part Two: Weathering Cultural Storms: Reimagining the Specter of Ambivalence Part Three: Channeling Ambivalence: Creators, Activism, and Truth-Telling Postscript: Steve McQueen and the Burden and Blessing of Creating “Small Axe” BOOK REVIEW , The Break Sláine! The Warped Warrior: The Secret History… Kiss My Axe! by Pat MillsESSAY (three-part), The Break Lost Inside a Monster: The Batman, Fridging, and Some Problems with Hero Stories Part One: Falling Out of Love with Batman Part Two: Making Legends of Monsters: Heroes, Vigilantes, and Patriots Part Three: Stories Matter: The Transformative Power of Counterstories, Or Why We Need to Keep Speaking Backwards
2021
BOOK REVIEW , The Break The Ravine: A Family, A Photograph, A Holocaust Massacre Revealed by Wendy LowerDISCUSSION SERIES, “Confessions of an Aca-Fan” Global Fandom Jamboree: A Conversation between Ellen Kirkpatrick (Ireland) and Julián de la Fuente (Spain) ESSAY , The Break Scrolling Through the Pain of Others, or Losing Sight of the Firebrand Art of Seeing ESSAY , The Break Revolting Alchemy: When Dirt Becomes Agency, or How To Protest When You’ve Nothing Else to Lose (or Use) BOOK REVIEW, The Break Things Are Against Us by Lucy EllmannESSAY , Northern Slant Troubling Solidarity: Belfast’s Vandalised George Floyd Mural and the Radical Power of Confrontational ESSAY (two-part), The Break Part One: Youth vs. Adult Activism, Battling the Dominant Narrative Part Two: Hierarchies, Heroes, and Helplessness: Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Effective Movement Building ESSAY , The Break George Floyd and the Urgent Matter of Changing the World: The Radical Power of Bystander Footage, Monument Activism, and Effective Movement Building BOOK REVIEW, The Break Apeirogon: A Novel by Colum McCann
2019
Ellen Kirkpatrick. 