Karleigh Frisbie Brogan, 44, writer
Portland, OR
Karleigh, sheltering in place in Portland, OR
Aside from your creative work do you have any additional source of income?
At the moment, no. I work in a grocery store but have taken a temporary leave of absence. I've been trying to register for unemployment but so far, haven't had any luck. According to the state’s website, I've never even filed a claim.
Who do you live with and how do you feel about that?
I live with my husband, Pat. He was laid off of his restaurant job but has a vintage clothing shop on Etsy that has been still bringing in a bit of income. I love that we get to have this time together, honestly. Typically, we have different days off and slightly different schedules, so we really only ever had a couple of hours together each evening before I would go off to bed (when I’m working, I go to bed at 8pm and get up at 4:30am). At first, I didn’t like that we had so much time together. I mean, I did, but it was hard for me to get anything done because I felt like I wanted to spend every minute with him. We’ve since adjusted to sheltering-in-place. I can work on my writing for hours or go hide out alone in our bedroom without feeling guilty. We’re still newlyweds, which might explain our initial desire to be together every waking moment.
How are you spending your time?
I spend a lot of time writing—about six hours a day. I’m treating it like my job now. I exercise a lot more than I have in a long time. Working in grocery is so physical that to just suddenly stop feels uncomfortable. Like I have all this trapped energy pulsing through my body. Because of our rainy climate, I usually do cardio videos or attend Zoom yoga classes. When it’s sunny I’ll go out running or walking. I take a bath almost every day now. It used to be a luxury I would indulge maybe once a month. Now I have the time to actually slow down and give myself some care. I really hope that when “normal” life resumes I keep up with this bath practice. It’s so good for my soul. There’s something so healing about sitting in water. I’m also making the cutest, (dare I say on-trend?) shrinky dink earrings for my besties, which I’m snail-mailing. Hit me up if you want a pair!
How is the pandemic impacting you?
Emotionally I’ve been all over the place. I’ve had really diametric feelings. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed with dread for the future: for humanity. I cry over the hugeness of this pandemic and all of its social and environmental implications. I also feel crazy that I’ve only had virtual contact with others. Yet I’m so afraid of people. When I take walks, I feel like I’m in a video game. My eyes zero in on other people that are out and about from blocks away. My mind goes in to strategy mode: Do I cross now? Do I wait in hopes that they cross first? Do I get off this street completely? I’ve become hyperaware of my surroundings and my body in space when I’m in public. I think we all have. It’s emotionally taxing. And yet… I am also grateful to FINALLY have this opportunity to slow down. To spend more time with an awareness of my body, instead of moving from place to place, as societal and financial pressures dictate, completely detached from my own needs.
What do you want to accomplish personally and/or professionally during this time?
I’ve been writing a memoir that I’ve received a Regional Arts and Culture Council grant for. Per terms of the grant, I need to be finished this fall. I’m using this time to make more headway on that, as well as write more topical pieces to publish now. I’ve gotten around to finally finishing my website. It was a fun process, actually, deciding the artistic layout and choosing photographs for it. My brother recently found an old CragMont, (Safeway’s bygone generic brand), strawberry soda can in his backyard in Sebastopol. He and his family live in my grandparents’ old house and the can was definitely one of ours—from some 80’s Father’s Day barbeque probably, lost behind the hydrangeas for thirty years. Anyway, his wife took a picture of it and I couldn’t get over all the symbolism and metaphor and personal aesthetic it held. So, onto the site it went!
What kind of world do you want to see on the other side of this?
I hope for a lot of things. I hope capitalism crumbles, that we adopt a single-payer health care system, that the environment continues to heal. I hope we continue to practice and realize the importance of down time. I hope we slow down, that we can still find the hours or minutes to pick up the dusty guitar or garden or take long baths or walk without purpose. I hope we never take for granted our communities and friends and families, human interaction. Human touch.
How can people find you and support you and your work?
Find me at karleighfrisbiebrogan.com. Keep your eye out for my book, too!