Earthbound Writers Radio

Griffy’s MFA classmate Michael Gold wrote a manuscript on ecology and religion called Building a New Earth Church. In this episode, he reads aloud two of its excerpts: “The Consumer Theory of Everything” and “What the Ancient Israelites and Christians Got Right, and Wrong, About the Environment.”Michael Gold was a corporate American for 17 years. He worked as a public relations writer and executive for industrial and technology companies, until he was kicked out of the business world because he was depressed by the emptiness of the work. He became an elementary school teacher in New York City and a freelance writer. Michael mostly writes about environmental issues and climate change because he believes we are destroying the environment we depend upon for our lives.Episode Art: Photo by Michael of "Hudson River—a spiritual touchstone for me." Get full access to Epistolary Griffy at griffy.substack.com/subscribe

In a park in Harlem, Madison McCaskey reads aloud her essay/story “Come Over.” Afterwards, she and Griffy discuss their philosophies towards the writing craft, the many contradictions of the “publishing industry,” and Madison’s unshakable optimism that people are hungry for good writing. Madison McCaskey is a writer and multimedia artist born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. After graduating from Spelman College, she moved to New York City to pursue a career as a writer. She is currently in the MFA Creative Writing Program at the City College of New York. In her free time, she enjoys live music, yoga, and reading Ntozake Shange. Her goal is to create work that resonates with Black women’s lives; exploring vulnerability, relationships, family, and self-determination. Though she is currently focused on completing her first novel, she hopes to continue to share her short stories, poetry, and create interactive experiences for Black women to tell their stories. She is the recipient of the Go On Girl! Book Club’s Unpublished Writer Award and her work has been published by Spelman College’s Aunt Chloe Literary Magazine. You can find her on Substack (Madison We know You) where she writes about self-discovery, grief, and New York City.Episode Art: Madison McCaskey photographed by Arieanne Evans (⁠@friendsonfilmduh⁠). Ukulele music written and recorded by Griffy. Get full access to Epistolary Griffy at griffy.substack.com/subscribe

Railroad worker and organizer Rachel Bergman reads aloud her essay "Empathy Training: A Young, Queer Femme on an Old, Man's Railroad." Some names in the essay have been changed.Afterwards, Griffy and Rachel discuss life on the railroad, organizing (and connecting) across personal and political differences, the joys and anxieties of writing non-fiction, and Spinoza's definition of "joy"—a felt expansion of one's capabilities—as described in the book Joyful Militancy by carla bergman (no relation) and Nick Montgomery.Rachel Bergman is a revolutionary socialist and railroad worker in Western Minnesota. A former PhD student in sociology, she has previously written about labor organizing and the financialization of international aid. She once wrote an innuendo-filled song for her college comedy group about a mortician falling in love with a corpse. It never made it to the stage. Get full access to Epistolary Griffy at griffy.substack.com/subscribe

In this very special Valentine’s Day episode, we will hear the text of F****t Heart Weep, a 4-part zine written and illustrated by chanci about love, queerness, growing food, and the future. It was originally created in 2024 for the book Playing in the Dirt, published by Combos Press about queer farming in the midwest.chanci is a painter, comic artist, zine maker, seed keeper, farmer, and educator, from and based in the Twin Cities. You can see F****t Heart Weep in zine form (from which this episode’s art comes), as well as more of chanci’s work, at chanciart.com.I, Griffy, wrote and recorded this episode’s musical interludes (“Praise the Yarrow”) alongside vocal harmonies from Minneapolis singer-songwriter Mary Traxler of the band Fruitform. Get full access to Epistolary Griffy at griffy.substack.com/subscribe

During Griffy's monthlong winter sojourn in Minneapolis, they recorded this episode with their friend Gabriel Rodreick, who recited and discussed his poem (and song) “Caged.” Gabriel is a Minneapolis singer-songwriter whose music you can find under the name Freaque on spotify, apple music, and youtube. The musicians who performed with Gabriel in the musical track are Ivan Cunningham, Anna Dolde, Matty Harris, Tarek Abdelqader, Jack Stanek, and Mitch Van Laar. Get full access to Epistolary Griffy at griffy.substack.com/subscribe

Griffy LaPlante used an old cassette player to record a poem they wrote and illustrated called, “Is / this / a / protest?” They dedicate it to Palestine, the people and the land. Get full access to Epistolary Griffy at griffy.substack.com/subscribe

Citrus abounds in this first-ever installment of Earthbound Writers Radio! The short story "Orange as Birthday Gift" was written and read by Ellie Zimmerman. Griffy LaPlante wrote and read the poem "My Heart Is Orange Now" (and made the episode's cover art with linocut materials). Dio Cramer lent their voice and musings on the color orange (and illustrated the show's logo). Nayana Gurung wrote and recorded the music on their friend's guitar. Get full access to Epistolary Griffy at griffy.substack.com/subscribe