Seeking folks interested in being in conversation with me about their relationship with pain and experimentation.
The Thing About Pain is a narrative project on daring individuals: think big body mods, extreme tattooing (hard spots, huge projects, experimental), stretching, implants, scarification, surgical removal, tongue splits, suspension. Outside of body mods: extreme sports, sexual practices. If it hurts and you partake, I want to know about it.
What I need: Your story! Consent to use your story (your identity can be changed or concealed), and any photos you submit or I take. If I take photos, I’ll ask your approval before use.
What you can expect: Being in recorded conversation with me in a way that feels organic, unlike a formal magazine Q&A or interview. I’m interested in getting to know you, and your relationship to pain, your journey before and after, and crafting those experiences into hybrid literary essays. Stories will be shared in physical print and digital spaces.
Who am I? More on me here. But in short, I’m a professional writer working in hybrid forms (blending styles and mediums–photos, writing, video), a social justice fellowship recipient (’25) for my work on Ukrainian war narratives, and maybe most importantly, that wild girl in Philly who blacked out her palms.
Volta 