ARYA'S WRITING & READING BLOG

If there has ever been a time for inspiring true stories about women, this is it. LILLY , on Netflix, is a true story about Lilly Ledbetter , the factory worker turned national hero as she became a courageous advocate for fair pay, which led to the passing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 . Who better to star in this role than Patricia Clarkson , who has left another indelible mark in her acting career playing Ledbetter with characteristic unflinching emotional honesty, precision and grace.   LILLY is a film about a quiet, hard-working, southern gal, deeply sure of certain values, which include love of her family and the importance of fighting for what's right even in the face of great opposition. The film has a solid cast that also features actual footage of Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg sharing her dissenting opinion and lending insight into this important case. And once again, Clarkson steals the show with her sure portrayal of an undervalued woman who...

Dear Fellow Authors and Readers: For your interest, here are some recent and upcoming publications:  " Gloria ," prose poetry , in Thorn & Bloom , Issue 3 " Venus On the Rocks ," a noir-inspired short short, in Screaming Beyond Borders anthology " Sarah Vaughan Performing ," poetry, audio and text, in Jerry Jazz Musician , 11/23/25 " Night Swim ," creative nonfiction , in Rockvale Review , 11/30/25 Detailed postings about these and other forthcoming publications will appear on my website, aryafjenkins.com . Thanks. And keep the love and inspiration coming by doing what you do and love best.  Recipe for writers :  Write, review, let sit, revisit and edit . Re-write, review, let sit, revisit and edit. Do it until there isn't a word you disagree with on either your worst or best day. Then, submit . Happy day, all!                                       ...

I finally did the thing I've been told I should have done long ago, which is probably why I didn't do it. I have an author's website . Most of my books are available through it, and I have to admit, Tertulia did a pretty neat job putting it together for me, although, of course, authors still have to do some work. It's $9.99/month, if you pay monthly--I opted for that--and $7.99 if you pay yearly, which means 20-percent off, I think. (Let me never be the one who pays more cheaply for anything!) You get two weeks free at the start if you are undecided.  I really thought I could bypass the presumed pomposity of an "author's website" by keeping everything on this blog, but the wave of writerly opinion says otherwise. So I'm going with the flow. We'll see if it makes a difference for sales. Who knows. My new website is via a domain that is mine for a year, procured through Stripe . Price for that was $15/yearly. Am I wrong to think the whole author...

  I joined a couple of friends, one of whom has a late October birthday we were still celebrating, to see Deliver Me From Nowhere , the Springsteen biopic starring the unforgettable Jeremy Allen White (of THE BEAR series , and before that, SHAMELESS series). To be honest, my expectations were not that high, as biopics often turn out to be slathering portraits mainly composed of colorful heaps of praise and lacking an equanimous lens, neither of which turns out to be true here. In retrospect, low expectations is probably the best way to go see a film. White's performance as Springsteen and acting in general I cannot say enough about. Both he and Springsteen have that same grounded, gritty vitality and ooze a similar kind of unvarnished, sexy masculinity. White is 32 and plays Springsteen when he was the same age, working on his sixth album, Nebraska (which came out in 1982), a time when he was plagued by demons from his past and a nagging depression. Deliver Me From Nowhere is a ...

October 18, 2025 around America hundreds of thousands protested the trump regime and its injustices , declaring loudly and proudly, we want no king . The count of protesters throughout America on this day is approximately seven million. In Youngstown, Ohio , at least 1,000 people gathered with signs in front of the Mahoning County Courthouse to make their voices for American democracy heard while passing cars honked their support. The best takeaway from this day of protest is the realization that we are not, after all, being riven as a country as some government officials hope and expect due to their actions, but in fact, united in protest and #resistance against this regime's unjust laws and policies. Here are a handful of photos I took on No Kings 2 . First, Susie B., a longtime activist, with an up-cycled sign from the Bush years . Secondly, some guy in a funny getup with an achingly true sign. And finally, an artist who spent the day scrawling important sayings on cement wi...

I don't know anyone of my generation who grew up with the image imprinted in memory of a young, beautiful, starry eyed explorer on the cover of National Geographic alongside chimpanzees , which she was dedicating her life to understanding, who is not mourning the loss of this great teacher and helper now. That remarkable model of hope for young women who choose to take a unique and deeply personal route into learning about the world, who became a hero for animals in the wild, and for Mother Earth and all of humankind was Dr. Jane Goodall , and the impact she has left in her wake cannot and will not ever be able to be estimated.  If you have not yet seen her final message to the world on Netflix , please do yourself the favor and watch her deeply moving, personal message. Her lessons, like those of HH the Dalai Lama , are profound, universal and simple: Be kind to all. Appreciate Mother Earth and every sentient being on it. Be gentle.  There are other imperatives too, which D...