She’s shy in an advanced
way, and holds up her
end the conversation
neatly arranged in a solitary
whorl, dismantling as you
hold her, sweating blood
and soft feelings.
This leads to improved
aggression, a black eye,
smashed ribs, rug burns;
an array of florets arranged
in a violet spiral circling
the limits of her cautious
urgency.
Olivia Grayson creates prose and poetry that combine pop culture with autobiography in an effort to explore the often times startling experience of being part of the family of women —alternatively thrust into, or dumbly participating with a culture that sells the promise of absolute beauty, sparkling romance, and ideal interventions; she finds herself writing from a tension that surrounds this system.
Olivia teaches Developmental Reading and Writing at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and lives in Brooklyn, NY with her two cats, Molly-Molly and Emily.