For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice.

— T.S Eliot

No creator pulls the mercurial grace of inspiration from a void. We all read a book, hear a song, or see something that we put to the lips of our subconscious in the hopes of creating something magical and worthy of sending out into the world to inspire others.

These were the biggest inspirations for me in 2019.

POETRY

Poet of the Year: Mary Oliver (Mary Oliver: New and Selected Poems: Volume I & II)

~Sappho (If Not, Winter; Come Close)

~Maya Angelou (Maya Angelou: Poems)

~Sylvia Plath (Ariel, The Bell Jar)

~Topaz Winters (portrait of my body as a crime i’m still committing)

NOVELS

Fiction Author of the Year: Madeline Miller (Circe, The Song of Achilles)

~The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

~The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

~Chocolat by Joanne Harris

NON-FICTION

Non-Fiction Author of the Year: Roxane Gay (Hunger, Bad Feminist)

~ I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

~The Secret Life of Introverts: Inside Our Inner World by Jenn Granneman

~The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More by Arin Hiscock-Murphy

MUSIC

Musician of the Year: Lizzo (Coconut Oil, Tempo, Truth Hurts)

~Heartbreak Magic, Nightmare, and Prom by Riah

~Bilingue and Gaslight by Snow Tha Product

~Long Way Home by Norah Jones

~Why Try To Change Me Now (cover) by Fiona Apple

~Your Song (cover) by Lady Gaga

~My Baby Just Cares For Me by Nina Simone

~Moon River by Audrey Hepburn

~I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston

~Brown Skin Girl by Beyonce, Saint Jhn, and Wizkid

~Beautiful and Mine by Bazzi

VISUAL ART

Visual Artist of the Year: Charles White (Love Letter III)

FILM & TV

(I didn’t explore film or television very much this year, but these are the highlights of what I did watch.)

~American Son: Heart-breaking, anxiety inducing, important piece about the African American experience in modern America.

~Bohemian Rhapsody: A film for creators and dreamers.

~Jane the Virgin: A young woman with aspirations of being an author set in a telenovela-esque life? All the good vibes.

~Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: A life long feel good show that got me through some low periods this year.

~Grimm: Fairytale lovers rejoice!