Palah Light Lab Reflections of 23 - 25
March 6, 2025
by bec ritchie and Eric Weck
Every two years, The Palah Light Lab welcomes graduate student research assistants and fellows to help lead our media lab, which focuses on queer feminist new media, poetry, and activism. Currently based at The New School, our cohort of research assistants and fellows consists of exceptional queer feminist artists, activists, and leaders who have provided the texture, depth, and possibilities for our collective work.
This special blog post highlights the insights shared by two lead research assistants bec ritchie and Eric Weck, and the dynamic work accomplished by the lab over the past two years. Congratulations to our graduates, and we invite you to join us in celebrating their contributions to creating queer feminist new media and literary spaces together.
— Dr. Margaret Rhee
As we move into another year of Palah, quite a few of us are saying goodbye to our graduate programs. Margaret, our fearless and loving leader, insists that we’ll be part of Palah in one way or another forever, and we’ll be holding onto that sentiment as we move into the big bad unknown of post-grad art, work, and fun. Individually and as a unit we put together some really incredible events, readings, and research projects that not only helped spark conversation in and around the experiences of the queer and trans communitie/communities of color that we’re part of here in New York, but also that brought us an essential reprieve during these tumultuous political times and the general chaos of grad student life.
There’s a lot to love about our time the past two years collaborating with each other, but here are some of the more material accomplishments put down on paper. This post is a flat, free bench on the side of the road — a moment to stop and look back at all we’ve done together, catch our breath before we get on with the next steps ahead in our own lives, as well as together. And as we welcome in the next cohort of Palah Light Lab!
—bec ritchie and Eric Weck
A Year in PLL Highlights
Debut queer sci-fi author Bethany Jacobs deigned to grace us with her presence for the follow up to her book launch here in New York — a coffee hour and conversation for grad students on her novel, These Burning Stars; first in a new trilogy from Hachette imprint Orbit. The insight gleaned on forming genre craft, constructing radical POVs through narrative, and putting sci-fi lesbian strap-ons to page from Jacobs cannot be understated, queer fantasy writer or not. Plus, hosting was just plain fun! I’d never MCd anything outside of undergrad before, and Bethany, Margaret, and my cohosts and cohorts made it as fluid and fruitful as possible.
The sequel On Vicious Worlds is out this fall — check it out (and marvel at how she wrote it so fast)!
Unghosted! Virtual Reading Celebrating Asian Diasporic Trans, Nonbinary & Gender-Expansive Writers
On Saturday, November 11, 2023, after the cancellation of the 2023 Asian American Literary Festival, “Unghosted!”, a virtual reading in celebration of Asian trans, non-binary, and gender-expansive voices was held by KUNDIMAN, curated by Ching-In Chen, Noah Arhm Choi, Chrysanthemum, and Yanyi.
Palah Light Lab was honored to sponsor this wonderful event, in collaboration with the Asian American Writers' Workshop, Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University, Brew & Forge, Kaya Press, Lambda Literary, Loyalty Bookstores, and KUNDIMAN. Live captioning and ASL interpretation were provided by Pro Bono ASL and Sign Nexus.
Afro-Asian Index and Afro-Asian Queer Poetry and Arts Event at Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MOCADA)
Over the past year, Palah Light Lab was fortunate enough to work closely with the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporic Arts (MOCADA) on Governor’s Island on several projects.
In October, an Afro-Asian Poetic Index event took place at the MoCADA Abolition House, led by New School School of Media Studies and Creative Writing graduate students, research assistants, and lab members Dennica Pearl Worrell, Kate McDonough, and Johann Yamin. Kate and Johann led a very successful writing workshop, and the following weekend, powerful poetry was read by poet, Maya Marshall, and Dennica shared a moving musical performance.
Poetic Pantry Project, Museum of Contemporary African Arts (MOCADA)
The Afro-Asian Poetic Pantry, located at The Museum of Contemporary Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), was a dynamic installation, combining poetry, literature, media art, food, and participation, fostering celebration and honor of Black and Asian American communities. This multifaceted installation, curated by Dr Margaret Rhee through participation in The Bandung Residency 2023, led by MoCADA and the Asian American Arts Alliance, was comprised of a multi-media refrigerator sculpture, pocket poems, interactive contributions, a poetic index, music, and letters to future generations, all of which aimed at healing, remembering, and forging renewed bonds of community and solidarity. In creating the installation, Margaret also partnered with Parsons faculty member Amy Andieux, the executive director and curator of MoCADA, who founded the Bandung Residency and MoCADA staff Zola-Jourdan Savage.
Art Writing MFA Concentration
A new concentration in Arts Writing is coming to the Creative Writing MFA this fall, chaired by Palah Light Lab founder and leader, Dr. Margaret Rhee!
Through a combined creative and critical approach, this program will prepare graduate students to develop their critical practice through a creative lens, welcoming writers with a multi-genre practice who are eager to hone their research skills and learn how to write and think deeply, while being attuned to contemporary topics and cultures to address pressing questions of our times. With an emphasis on writing ranging from short-form such as the essay and article to long-form projects such as the thesis and future book projects, this course will provide an intellectual and creative grounding for graduate students interested in innovating critical writing about the visual arts, popular culture, literature, politics, and digitality through creative, political, and experimental modes and approaches. For instance, experimental digital modalities and expressions will also be supported and encouraged in light of our changing technological times.
We’d like to personally offer a huge congratulations to Dr. Rhee, whose dynamic, enthusiastic approach to teaching and unwavering commitment to supporting her students and creating inspiring and generative environments for them, will undoubtedly ensure a very successful first year of this exciting new concentration.
PLL Research Projects
by Margaret Rhee
In addition to their exceptional organizing and facilitating work, research assistants at The Palah Light also contribute to the writing and research of both scholarly and poetry projects.
Special thanks to Bec Ritchie and Johann Yamin for their assistance with Poetry Machines: Letters to Future Readers, which is under contract with Duke University Press as part of the Writing Matters! series, edited by Erica Rand, Monica Huerta, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, and Jerry Zee.
Eric Weck served as the lead research assistant for The Watermelon Woman, under contract with McGill University Press and part of the Queer Film Classics series, edited by Thomas Waugh and Matthew Hayes.
Joshua Goodstein assisted with Machine Dreams: Race, Robots, and the Asian American Body, which is under contract with Duke University Press.
Both Eric and Kate contributed to securing the contract for The Joy of E-Lit, an anthology co-edited with Stuart Moulthrop and Mark Marino, now under contract with Amherst University Press.
We deeply appreciate their invaluable assistance, which has propelled these book projects to the next stage!
Research Assistant Reflections on Projects
Poetry Machines (Johann & bec)
Johann Yamin: Bec and I worked together on developing the citational system for Margaret Rhee’s upcoming book Poetry Machines, currently under contract at Duke University Press, and also undertook research as part of expanding necessary literature review sections—looking at writers like Adrienne Rich, Pablo Neruda, Claudia Rankine, and William Carlos Williams amongst others. For myself, I was drawn to look more deeply into the artistic and literary practices of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, finding texts that more broadly situated Cha within the history of Asian American literature. We also drew on books like Mindy Seu’s Cyberfeminism Index and Christina Sharpe’s Ordinary Notes as sources of inspiration for citational practices. I felt it was inspiring for us to be able to draw upon these works by writers and artists with such rich practices.
The Watermelon Woman (eric)
Eric: I still can’t believe I got to work on this! Margaret, in all her glory, tasked me with editing her work on The Watermelon Woman; a book analyzing Cheryl Dunye’s 1997 seminal Black lesbian film of the same name; for the McGill Queer Film Classics series (formerly Arsenal Pulp Press). Margaret, in the text, takes a close look at the “dunyementary” and its status as a disruptor to the canon of the time (and very much still today, let’s be honest). It was so much fun to watch the film and then get to reflect via an in-depth reading of it! Margaret’s analysis brought to light many components of the film that had crossed my mind while watching it, and many more that did not. This was the perfect jump back into my undergrad background in gender studies and feminist media analysis while I wrote my silly little fiction books in grad school. TWW, like the movie it discusses, is amazing — look for it when it comes out!
Machine Dreams (bec)
bec: Over the summer of 2023, I had the pleasure and privilege of being a very early reader of an equally early draft of the manuscript for Margaret’s upcoming book Machine Dreams—titled Body Maps at the time—a hybrid poetry collection/memoir. Spending time with this work in its early stages—over the summer, both in New York and at home in Glasgow, Scotland, was very special, and something I found hugely inspiring. I provided line edits and structural suggestions, and had in-depth conversations with Margaret about both of our creative practices. Through this process, I rediscovered my love of editing—something that I’m very grateful for, and I am very much looking forward to seeing how this wonderful work progresses.
Updates from Members & Alums
Members:
JOHANN YAMIN was a graduate researcher with Palah 파랗 Light Lab from Spring 2023 to Spring 2024, assisting with the Poetry Machines book project by Dr Margaret Rhee and co-organizing events on Afro-Asian art and histories. He graduated with an MA in Media Studies with a graduate minor in Transmedia & Digital Storytelling, and was conferred the Media Studies Distinguished Thesis Award. Beginning Fall 2024, he will be a PhD student at NYU’s Media, Culture, and Communication program.
MARIANA GRATEROL, a graduate lead at Palah Light Lab whose work touched on the intersection of identity and belonging. Her short film After All was part of The New School’s New Screen Fest 2024 Official Selection. She will continue developing projects in filmmaking and visual art.
JOSHUA GOODSTEIN is entering their final year of The New School's MA in Media Studies. Over the last year, he has presented two conference papers covering different aspects of 20th century American musical films. They are about to begin the processes of thesis writing and PhD applications for programs in Cinema and Media Studies.
KATE MCDONOUGH, Research Assistant and Palah Light Lab member. Kate graduated in May 2024 with an MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction from The New School. As a research assistant and New York City Community Organizer, Kate contributed to the Afro-Asian Poetic Index, which documents historical and current solidarity between Black and Asian communities. Kate’s contributions specifically featured New York City and State organizing efforts. Post graduation Kate is continuing their advocacy work as the Director of Development for Dignity in Schools Campaign NY, an education justice coalition of youth, parents, educators and advocates working to transform school climate and discipline in New York City public schools. In addition, Kate is pursuing their novel in progress, Movement Dump, a story of a New York City organizer who must navigate a trash filled city, murder robots and a messy queer relationship.
DENNICA PEARL WORRELL graduated with her M.A. in Media Studies in May ‘24. She’ll be continuing her studies on scholarship with a second M.A. in Media Management from The New School. Dennica will be working as a researcher for Professor Sariah Park at Parsons School of Design doing curriculum design for an Indigenous Fashion course and as a web developer for Dr. Peter Asaro’s archival project on the Oral History of Robotics. She is working on a short documentary on Black and Asian contributions to agriculture in her new neighborhood, the pineapple grove arts district of Delray Beach, Florida. Lastly, Dennica is partnering with her longtime friend and florist Briana Maginn to create a social impact flower farm with land in Center Moriches, Long Island and Deerfield Beach, Florida.
SARAH SGRO, a former lab lead and Blog Editor for PLL, graduated with her PhD in English from SUNY, Buffalo in August. She accepted a visiting position at Hamilton College as Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing and moved to Clinton, NY with her partner and their two cats. This fall, she’ll be presenting at the ASAP/15 conference on a panel titled ‘Mediating Immediacy: Climate, Technology, Refusal.’ She’s currently working on her debut novel Dead Links, which explores online and irl landscapes of grief, groupthink, and self-discovery. She hopes to reunite with members of the Palah community in NYC and beyond.
Alums:
RACHID BENHARROUSSE has graduated from Mohammed V University in Rabat with a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies with Very Honorable Mention and Recommendations for publication. Rachid is advancing his Ph.D. manuscript to publish it as a Book in 2025 and, also, is currently searching for Postdocs and research opportunities. Palah Light Lab has been a space which I will continue to call home; it provided a safe space for interpersonal, academic, and professional dialogue throughout COVID-19, which was a tough time for all of us. For this and more, thank you everyone, and, particularly, thank you so much Margaret for continuing to be an amazing friend and mentor!!
MORGAN J. SAMMUT, interactive, interdisciplinary writer, has spent the past 9 months interning with the Lambda Literary Foundation, first with the Lambda Literary Review and currently with the 2024 Lambda Literary Writer's Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices.This is also their second year serving as a Program Committee member for the International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling. Starting in August, they will be interning for Abode Press, reading manuscripts for their hybrid genre category.
JESS ERION, writer and game developer, has spent the past year working on projects with Red Thread Games, Studio Chyr, and Carnegie Hall. Dustborn from Red Thread Games is releasing on August 20th. Watch the trailer on YouTube.
MERCY CLEMENTE, graduate of Boston University ‘21, alum of Palah Light Lab ‘21, currently works in IT and administration. They just received their first art grant from the MA Cultural Council in 2024. It helps fund their pursuit of carving, printmaking, and taking art classes to refine their technical skills. They’ll be spending the rest of summer 2024 printmaking and writing about themselves.
Ending with Sharing: Palah 2024 Research Fellowship
Palah is first and foremost about community, and supporting each other as writers, artists, and creatives. During our final semester, Margaret was able to allocate our remaining funding for the year to create the Palah 2024 Research Fellowship. As part of this opportunity, existing cohort research assistants were allocated one meeting session within the Spring 2024 semester, within which time they were able to present their Master’s thesis, and receive feedback from their peers before the final deadline. During the semester (and for most of us, our time at the lab) reading and reflecting on the work of fellow members, having the opportunity to reflect on how their work has progressed over our time together, and supporting them during an admittedly overwhelming time, could not have been a more fitting end. We are extremely grateful to Margaret for once again demonstrating her knack for facilitating spaces for queer, trans, and POC artists.
Reflections from bec & Eric
ERIC WECK is a recent graduate of the Fiction track of The New School’s MFA in Creative Writing and a Brooklyn-based writer and editor. He’s currently working on his debut novel I eNVy yoU—an epic drug-fueled queer romance that spans twenty years in two days; a night in 2025 spent partying across New York’s Lower East Side, and a childhood day passed via the chaos of an early aughts computer program. It’s a look at the first generation to truly grow up online, and how we can never truly escape our digital selves, even via the irl. As for other work, you can read their short story “shatter & form” in The Ana.
I’m honored to have made my last moments as an active lab member here at Palah so sentimental; such is my nature, and this is a group of people and portfolio of community work I’m proud to have been part of. A time in our collective lives that deserves to be preserved. I’m also honored to have done this with my friend Bec, who Margaret realized I had not worked with one-on-one during our time as lab members. Not only do I come out of my MFA having been able to reflect on this team and all we’ve created, but also having squeezed out one last friendship in its final moments. It’s a true testament to Margaret’s people-first vision, and the way we’ve used this space to connect with each other and with our community.
Best of luck to the next Palah cohort!
bec ritchie is a queer Scottish poet, writer, research assistant, women’s rights activist, and a graduate of the Poetry MFA programme at The New School, where she has returned to complete an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Gender & Sexuality Studies at the New School for Social Research. In the previous Palah cohort, she worked on a variety of research and book projects like Poetry Machines and Machine Dreams, and events such as Unghosted! Virtual Reading Celebrating Asian Diasporic Trans, Nonbinary & Gender-Expansive Writers, and Afro-Asian Index and Afro-Asian Queer Poetry and Arts Event at Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MOCADA).
Since graduating from her MFA, bec has begun working on the Advocacy Team at NGO/CSW NY, a coalition of NGOs, CSOs, and individuals working to promote the global rights of women and girls at the UN, and has also joined the advocacy committee at The Advocacy Circle NYC, a nonpartisan organisation committed to encouraging informed civic participation and human and gender rights activism among young people in NYC, by facilitating educational opportunities and spaces for discourse.
bec is currently working on her first book, a memoir exploring the relationships between three related women of three distinctly different generations and cultural experiences. her poetry, which explores queer intimacies, girlhood, and the body, can be found in chew/gulp/spit, the closed eye open, and the spring 2024 issue of the beyond queer words anthology. She is also extremely grateful to be returning to Palah Light Lab for the 2024-2025 academic year as Associate Lab Director.
I am eternally grateful to my fellow cohort members—reflecting on this time with Eric has been a joy. I’m incredibly thankful to Margaret—for her trust, and guidance, for overseeing my master’s thesis from start to finish as my advisor, and for continuing to be a wonderful mentor and friend. This opportunity has been transformational for me, and I can’t wait to see what the next year of Palah Light Lab brings!
Thank you to the School of Public Engagement, The New School Provost's Office of Student Research Assistance Fund, Lori Lynn Turner of the Creative Writing MFA Program, and Janelle McKenzie of the School of Media Studies. We also want to extend our gratitude to our PLL Lab Leads, Sarah Sgro, Jocelyn Marshall, and Rachid Benharrousse, for their leadership.
Contact
︎ palahlightlab@newschool.edu
︎ @palahlightlab
︎ @palahlightlab
Palah 파랗 Light Lab is based between the following institutions:
Web design by Johann Yamin, built with cargo.site’s Post-Dust template
Affiliates
Digital Scholarship Studio and Network, University at Buffalo
Gender Institute, University at Buffalo
Digital Humanities & Literary Cognition Lab, Michigan State University
The Humanities and Critical Code Studies Lab, University of Southern California
The Maker Lab in the Humanities (MLab), University of Victoria
Trope Tank, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Metalab, Harvard University
The Transformative Play Lab, University of California, Irvine
Berkeley Center for New Media, University of California, Berkeley