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ROBIN GREARSON Posts

It’s a Happy Birthday

Published August 20, 2011 by Robin

Ten years ago today was the last time I got to talk with my mom. She was in a hospital. I dressed sort of cute to visit a hospital, and she asked me why and the reason was for her, for my birthday. Just the night before she’d been planning to make me a special dinner. But cancer had made her forget, so I just smiled and said, “no reason.” And then she died a few long days later. I spent most of the last 10 years not celebrating my birthday, shutting it out and pissing people off who wanted to make me feel loved, who wanted to help that wound heal. But my birthday reminded me of that last one with her, and I stayed attached to it–because it was the last one. I usually just avoided the whole subject.

Finally last year when I moved to New York and a lot of things in life were changing and opening up for me, and I decided I would celebrate life, affirm the day. Then I got bronchitis–the universe has a great sense of humor. This year, I’m fortunate and blessed to have a full day ahead of me. There will be laughing and champagne and friends, and, I hope, a celebration of all of our lives: a focus on what’s been found, not what’s been lost. I miss my family every day, but I am also a very fortunate girl who has found the love and support of a much larger family of friends–old and new, near and far. New York, you’re something else. Thank you.

 

 

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Party party!

Published July 3, 2011 by Robin

July 8, 2011: Closing party for Stay Gold at Curbs & Stoops, which opened during Bushwick Open Studios weekend (June 3-5, 2011). This show is going to be has been huge and awesome. And gold. Comments closed

Vahge x Stay Gold

Published June 28, 2011 by Robin


Vahge and I got together at the Wreck Room one humid day to compare notes on our beloved Bushwick, and the Stay Gold show. Check out the interview over on Curbs & Stoops. Comments closed

Co-published: Curbs & Stoops and 1441

Published June 24, 2011 by Robin

My newest essay, Bullet Points, was inspired by my experiences with street art and graffiti, and a dream I had which blurred and crossed many lines and made chasing the dream into real life possible. When I first moved to New York in 2010, I went to a lecture by Carolee Schneemann and she discussed a piece of art she’d made decades earlier. She asked the audience what we thought it meant. She considered each of our responses valid. Someone eventually asked her, “So, what does it mean?” And she replied, “When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.” The artist’s trust in creating something before she knew what she was creating, was an epiphany to me as a writer, and I’ve kept those words in mind ever since. This essay reflects my trust in the writing process, trust that there was something to be said, before I personally had my own ideas about street art figured out. I hope you enjoy it.

I’ll be reading this at WORD Bookstore along with the other members of my writing group, 1441, next Thursday, June 30, at 7 PM. It’s a reading as well as the release party for our first publication, which includes “Bullet Points.”

Thank you for your support.

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