How I Founded the Bi+ Book Gang and Built a Thriving Writing Community
In 2023, I was at a crossroads. I needed to do something. I needed the Bi+ Book Gang.
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Bailey Merlin
Bailey Merlin
Jun 284 min read
Mental Health in Communal Living: How Writing Helped Me Cope
Are you someone who finds solace and strength in your connections with others?
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Bailey Merlin
May 254 min read
5 Lessons Learned from My First Year as a Debut Novelist
A Lot of People Live in This House is celebrating its first birthday! Now that I’m an expert (ha), here are 5 things I’d do differently.
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Bailey Merlin
Nov 18, 20233 min read
Exploring Communal Living and Its Portrayal in A Lot of People Live in This House
Having lived communally for many years now, I’m always pleasantly surprised when people respond with fascination when I tell them that I...
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Bailey Merlin
Dec 1, 20221 min read
Poem #33
Striped I fell from a dock in the summer, split my hand open like a ripened fig, blood drip-dropping to ruddy the waves while I gulped...
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Bailey Merlin
Nov 9, 20222 min read
Life Update: The Big One
This year has already been so busy. Marriage. Grad School. Research Project. Promotion. And now, at last, I can put my dream on that...
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Bailey Merlin
Oct 20, 20222 min read
The Postcard; The Tiny Window
With school in full swing, creative writing has taken a back seat outside class. However, readings about illness narratives have...
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Bailey Merlin
Sep 9, 20221 min read
Poem #32
Dry Socket I’m bad at being an invalid, so I keep angel teeth in my pocket and crunch them up into dust so I can commune with the dead...
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Bailey Merlin
Aug 4, 20221 min read
Poem #31
Double Helix Breakdown She’s waiting for spiders to crawl from her fingernail ridges and ride into battle, feeling their history as they...
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Bailey Merlin
Jul 7, 20223 min read
June Writing Challenge, pt. 2
Creative pursuits are a practice, and you have to show up for them or they won’t show up for you. Last month, I made sure to answer a...
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Bailey Merlin
Jun 16, 20223 min read
June Writing Challenge
For the month of June, I’ve challenged myself to answer one prompt out of 642 Things To Write About. So far, so fine. Writing short form...
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Bailey Merlin
May 15, 20221 min read
Publication Alert
My flash fiction piece “Wellspring Wandering” was published by Bait/Switch, which is a unique journal because it is intensely...
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Bailey Merlin
Apr 21, 20227 min read
Madonna & Child, Delayed
Her knee jiggles. Incessant anxious energy has made its home in her veins, moving through her as steadily as blood. Today, though, the...
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Bailey Merlin
Mar 3, 20223 min read
The Least
For Paul Farmer: You lived a life full of good works. Though you now rest, your work lives. Thank you. The young man who lives above the...
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Bailey Merlin
Feb 4, 20225 min read
How I Used to Play the Cello
This is an old piece I always thought of doing something with. Looking back at it now, I’m happy to let it be. It’s been such a long time...
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Bailey Merlin
Dec 2, 20211 min read
Frank
In the attic there lives a ghoul. His name is Frank. He is not loud. He does not take up much space. He does not eat food. If you didn’t...
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Bailey Merlin
Oct 22, 20212 min read
Slivers
In Salem, there are a lot of doors. There are a lot of doors to be seen and a lot of doors to be seen by the right pairs of eyes. Not...
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Bailey Merlin
Oct 8, 20212 min read
Projects in Progress, pt. 1
Every year, the master’s students I work with at Harvard give a five-minute presentation on the work they’re doing out in the field. It’s...
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Bailey Merlin
Aug 20, 20212 min read
Walnut Street Stories, pt. 2
Madelyn sets the crossword to the side. None of the answers are right, but she still managed to make everything fit. Making yourself...
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Bailey Merlin
Aug 6, 20212 min read
Walnut Street Stories, pt. 1
Madelyn finishes The Plain Dealer’s daily crossword puzzle in thirty minutes flat. She gets up from the kitchen table for a second cup of...
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