“She has no singular answer as to why she declined this call, but maybe the simplest answer would be that she thinks, in that time and place, that it’s best to just let it go to voicemail.”

“Whatever it is, the socio-political legacy of 2020 will be something. It will affect our lives and it will affect our kids’ lives. But just like 9/11, that memory too will fade.”

In “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” music is not simply a medium through which to express yourself. It’s an artistic possibility.

“how does it feel to breathe so deep. / this was your first protest. how does it feel / to know you too walk on dark earth?”

“I’m saying it’s all blending together now— / his cries & the sound of falling in love / with only part of a city, / the side that didn’t raise us.”