Katherine J. Zumpano
pnw | pisces | poet
wwu grad
IG: @kjzwrites
Fish Out of Water
Carmel, California. 2006. The first time I remember seeing the ocean. The first memory not on faded photographs, but in my mind. I wear a yellow sundress, brand new and already stained with ketchup. The water is clear, cool, and blue. The sand is hot under my bare feet; it clings to my toes. The sun is blinding. I squint at Grandpa Jim as he takes my picture, pose for the disposable camera. I stand in the ocean, hands about my head, thrilled to be standing in the Pacific Ocean – the real one, like you see on maps. I am ten years old and wish I could stay here. I don’t want to return to Ontario, to somewhere so far from this beach. Or any beach.
Katherine J. ZumpanoPublished about a month ago in Wander
How Moving to the PNW Made Me Take Ocean Conservation Seriously
I’ve always loved water. Born in Minnesota, I remember exploring Minnehaha Falls as a child, and I enjoyed visiting my grandparents in California because we would spend time in Monterey. I’ve always felt connected to the water, and everything in it.
Katherine J. ZumpanoPublished 5 months ago in Earth
What to Read During National Poetry Month
Happy National Poetry Month! Each April, I immerse myself in poetry: I write poems every single day and read as much poetry as I possibly can.
Katherine J. ZumpanoPublished 6 months ago in Poets
What the Stars Wrote About Me on the Day of My Birth
I am a traditional Pisces: an empath, who explores the world through my emotions; a creative, who often gets lost in daydreams; an idealist, who would rather find joy in my work than financial success. I am intuitive and indecisive, imaginative and introverted. I love romance and poetry, and I feel the extremes of all my emotions.
Katherine J. ZumpanoPublished 7 months ago in Futurism
Dear Donald – Goodbye
Dear Donald, So this is it. In just a day, the United States of America will have a new president. A couple of years into your term, I wrote you another open letter. In it, I talked about the hate I have felt towards you and the members of your administration. I’m almost twenty-five years old, and I have known more hate than I would like. There are mornings I wake up and I can already feel it pulsing in my heart: rage, frustration, hopelessness. There are days I have to defend myself against personal attacks by ignorant people, questioning the kind of daughter/partner/person I am. There are nights I cry myself to sleep because I am exhausted and scared. Sometimes I struggle to find a balance between exerting necessary energy and wasting valuable energy. It’s been tricky to navigate my emotions during the last four years.
Katherine J. ZumpanoPublished 8 months ago in The Swamp
The Beginner's Guide to Free Speech
If you’ve been following the news lately, you probably already know that Donald Trump has been permanently suspended from Twitter. On January 8, 2021, the social media company posted the following statement to their blog:
Katherine J. ZumpanoPublished 9 months ago in The Swamp
Quarantine Snapshots: My Year in Photos
I think it’s pretty obvious that this year was nothing like I’d anticipated. I had all these plans — people I was going to see, places I was going to go — that never came to fruition. I was unable to see my family or friends for much of the year, instead relying on iMessage and FaceTime to keep us connected. I started my final year of college online, desperately wishing I could wait in a long line for campus coffee or get lost in Miller Hall one more time. I spent August in bed, recovering from a surgery I never thought I’d need.
Katherine J. ZumpanoPublished 9 months ago in Humans
By Women, For Women: A Gift Guide for the Girls
We live in a world of instant gratification: we want our purchases to be delivered as quickly as possible, we want the ability to search for literally anything on a single site, we want to be presented with the highest number of options so we can find the best one. Consumerism is all about convenience, and big companies like Amazon Prime have made that convenience the norm, leaving small businesses struggling.
Katherine J. ZumpanoPublished 9 months ago in Viva
