Such a brilliant piece

I am very grateful to Lea Horvat & Ana Sekulić for creating Women* write the Balkans as a platform for conversation and experimentation, as well as for their masterful editorial guidance and patience. I enjoyed writing this para-ethnographic story and might do more of that in the future

Loved this piece from @charnab.bsky.social and this last passage in particular really hit and resonated with me, it's the core dynamic of so much transmisogyny, not just in the Balkans but everywhere. The idea that being a woman is so obviously shit that anyone *choosing* to be one is an abomination

Today, @charnab.bsky.social guides us through the lives and legacies of ostajnicas—a historical range of gender expressions that simultaneously reinforced and destabilized the heteronormative binary in the Balkan mountains. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/third...

"She told me we would be roommates when we moved to Zagreb. She promised we’d travel across Europe come summer. I knew we wouldn’t" www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/sleep... via @womenwritebalkans.bsky.social

We’re closing our winter special with a gem: Lejla Talić’s intimate exploration of bodily and sexual repression in 2000s Croatia, and the passion and love found beyond it. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/sleep...

In the penultimate part of our Bodies of the Balkans special, Dragica Mikavica explores the wardrobes of three generations of women and the (dis)comfort of cloth(e)s. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/milev...

Check out Growing Pains, a new essay in our Bodies of the Balkans winter special. Iva Jelušić explores parental expectations that eschewed words, living instead in bodies, gestures, and things. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/growi...

So I wrote something about ethnicity and gender, and the feeling of being "Other" in both. Thanks so much to @womenwritebalkans.bsky.social for publishing it, hope people find it an interesting read!

The third essay of our winter special Bodies of the Balkans is now on the website! @alexsaysstuff.bsky.social writes about bodies—national and personal—and costs of classification. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/on-cl...

In the second part of our winter special, Bodies of The Balkans, Magdalena Crăciun guides us through the river crossing between socialist Romania and Bulgaria, exploring the shadow economy and the delicious pleasures on the other side with a touch of life-changing suspense. tinyurl.com/3v24vamk

Our winter special, "Bodies of the Balkans," begins with a piece by Alja Gudžević that takes us to Ikaria, where stories of hunger and long life unfold.

An incredible piece to be read many times. Ena, thank you for writing it.

This left me gasping for air at the end. Magnificent and crushing. Thanks for sharing, @enaselimo.bsky.social

Remarkable, moving piece by @enaselimo.bsky.social!

This is an astonishing piece of writing.

My God, what a magnificent, thoughtful, heart-wrenching piece.

We're immensely proud to share with you "Airborne," a new story by @enaselimo.bsky.social: www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/airbo...

We’re looking for nonfiction—of any length or form—that dives into the many meanings and manifestations of embodiment in and of the Balkans. Send us your pitches (50–100 words) by October 1 and join us for our first-ever Virtual Open House on September 24: www.womenwritethebalkans.com/specials

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We conclude our seasonal shorts series Balkan Blooms in the fields of central Serbia, where Olivera Lazarević remembers the legacy of Bulgarian seasonal labor. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/when-...

What an observant essay, on home food, love, and gifting www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/mothe...

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🩷 We just talked about picking wild asparagus - which I've never done - last night!

Not all Balkan blooms are soft and fragrant—some are green, spiky, and delicious. This week, Rebecca Duras takes us to Istria for a hands-on introduction to the art of wild asparagus picking and shows us what to do with it once we’re back in the kitchen.🌱 www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/a-few...

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wonderful project

Spring is late and somewhat treacherous this year, but our first essay in the Balkan Blooms series is here, brought to you by Madeleine Corcoran. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/mothe...

Spring is late and somewhat treacherous this year, but our first essay in the Balkan Blooms series is here, brought to you by Madeleine Corcoran. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/mothe...

As spring approaches, we return to @rkrystalli.bsky.social luminous piece "Light Needs," which reflects on "caring for budding life" and being attuned to the many ways of sustaining it. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/light...

The pieces we publish at Women* Write the Balkans transcend our platform. They have roots, histories, vivid afterlives, and we love to hear about it all. Before Balkan Blooms blossoms, savor our past pieces like “Balkan Waters” by Rebecca Duras. www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/balka...

Only four days left to submit your pitches for the spring Seasonal Shorts series at Women* Write the Balkans! Consider submitting your ideas and/or share widely 🌿

A superb example of history as philosophy. This is so beautifully written and it has so many reflections on heritage and memory.

Beautifully woven together, this brilliant piece by @anasekulic.bsky.social is equally moving and unsettling @womenwritebalkans.bsky.social

"Nowadays when we know that progress didn’t so much enhance as it delegitimized and eventually erased entire worlds of human existence, we tend to look for redemption in the vanished ways of life. We seek wisdom in former hardships and discomfort." www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/the-w...

An amazing piece! Smart, knowledgeable, sad, beautiful…

This is such a fantastic piece by the immensely talented @anasekulic.bsky.social, and chimes with so much of my family's history in the same part of Croatia. Make yourself a domaća kava and get stuck in.

Our editor, Ana Sekulić, delves into her collection of heirloom clothing, unraveling stories of craftsmanship, labor, and impact of modernity. "Somewhere along the way, that unquestionable link to history was broken by progress, preponderance of synthetic fabrics, and violence." tinyurl.com/5eaa75er

Hello to our new and old followers! W*WB is a space for writing that weaves together experience and expertise, scholarship and storytelling by women, trans, and non-binary authors. Explore the essays and subscribe to our newsletter at www.womenwritethebalkans.com 1/2

I love reading their work, but I have to say I also loved them editing my work :) Consider submitting a pitch, probs good for the soul in the dark months ahead.