princesses

vintage-cutout-dolls

<div class="at-above-post-homepage addthis_tool" data-url="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/proof/"></div><p>By <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/contributor/jan-edwards-hemming/">Jan Edwards Hemming</a></p>
<p>It is my first Pride, and I’m nervous. I pull my hair back and wear a paisley-patterned sundress, the closest thing to rainbow that I own. I hope it will hide sweat; it is late June, and I’ve learned that summer in New York City feels just as much like hell as it does in my Louisiana hometown. I still don’t understand parades where beads aren’t thrown, but in the midday sun I clap and cheer and tear up watching all these people who feel comfortable in their skin. I am jealous of them. <a href="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/proof/#more-4269" class="more-link">Read more</a></p>
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Proof

Jan Edwards Hemming hails from Louisiana and lives in L.A. with her wife and two cats. She holds an MFA in Poetry from NYU and a BA in English from LSU. Her poetry and reviews have appeared in <em>McSweeney's Internet Tendency</em>, the <em>Mackinac</em>, the <em>Rio Grande Review</em>, the <em>Raven Chronicles</em>, the <em>Weirdlings</em>, and the <em>Exquisite Corpse. </em>