Welcome To Lately I Can't Communicate
Exploring mental health and pop culture through personal essays, recommendations, and more in my newsletter Lately, I Can’t Communicate.
Hi y’all. I’m Penn, a genderqueer Black-Asian freelance writer and poet. You may have seen my pop culture criticism at websites such as Superjump, Comics XF, and Into More, to name a few. With almost 10 years of writing expertise under my belt, I’m looking for a change in the form of this newsletter.
Lately, I Can’t Communicate is my newsletter all about mental health and pop culture.
The title of this newsletter was partly inspired by two things:
Willow's 2021 album Lately I Feel Everything, which for me, bridges my past and present as a pop-punk music fan. My favorite song from it is “Grow”, which also features pop-punk singer Avril Lavinge and guitarist Travis Barker.
The 2021 anime series Komi Can’t Communicate, which is a heartfelt and comedic story about a beautiful teenage girl named Komi. With the help of a boy named Tadano, she gradually learns to cope with crippling social anxiety by making new friends and getting out of her comfort zone. It’s available to watch on Netflix.
Real talk though. I was mostly inspired to start this newsletter after a year of being underemployed as a freelance writer. It’s been disheartening to deal with budget cuts and layoffs at digital media news sites, being forced to solely pitch article ideas that adhere to popular SEO terms, and having little-to-no-luck in this competitive freelance gig economy. In fact, this month marks one year that I applied to a new gaming criticism website and got hired, only to have the person who hired me get laid off.
All of this and my personal life as a family caregiver has taken a toll on my mental health, but somehow I’m still surviving and finding joy.
Now, I want to help others do the same while making some passive income.
Lately, I’ve felt I can’t communicate, but I hope this newsletter will help me find my voice again and help others to feel less alone. You’ll be getting mental health tips, pop culture recs like the ones above, and the occasional personal essay.
Until next time y’all. Feel free to subscribe with a paid subscription that’s $2 a month. If you’re feeling especially generous, you can also subscribe for a higher amount of your choosing.