I am a Modern Orphan.
Julie M. Tate
About Julie M. Tate
Julie M. Tate is a recent graduate from Oklahoma State University with a B.A. in English and a creative writing emphasis. She is a published author, blogger, and online magazine editor. Her work has appeared in literary journals such as Papyrus, anthologies such as The Great American Poetry Show and her first chapbook, The Rough Chronicles of Bipolar Romance, published in 2009. She is the owner, author and editor of Gossip and the Devil, a creative/lifestyle website providing interviews with independent artists in a variety of mediums and commentary on culture, music and travel. She is also the owner and sole designer for Modern Orphan Designs.
In her other life, she has extensive customer service experience and is a dedicated, loyal, creative, and tenacious worker. She currently resides in Tulsa, OK though she considers Chicago, IL home.
Featured Publications
Editorial
Placebo Lose the Battle with Hope, CommonLine E-Journal
The Smashing Pumpkins: If All Goes Wrong (And How To Come Back When It Does), CommonLine E-Journal
Interview
From Slayer To Sinatra: An Interview with Gil Baram, Gossip [&] The Devil
Creative
Living Under Glass, Troubadour 21 (Flash Fiction)
What They Don't Know Won't Hurt Them, Troubadour 21 (Poetry)
Lord Henry Hits Rock Bottom, Troubadour 21 (Photo)
Reviews
The Rough Chronicles of Bi-Polar Romance, W.B. Burkholder for Troubadour 21
What is a Modern Orphan?
The arts have been all but abandoned. Music is discardable. There are more poets than good poetry. A few foggy, out of focus snaps: PHOTOGRAPHER. Auto-tune, a dye job and some sampling: MUSICIAN. Or worse yet “I have a pen, paper and a small understanding of language.” POET.
There was a time when artists were considered the top of the food chain, capturing an entire culture in song or on canvas. Poets were envied for their ability to do what most cannot–carve an emotion from written word. Throughout history many of the first things banned during wars and times of crisis were books and paintings. Censorship of the arts is no secret–and there’s good reason. We immortalize and demonize, observe and report; in short we are scribes of the universe, no matter our medium. Now we are left to fend for ourselves in an ever-increasingly jaded society. We are not respected but mocked, not admired but ignored.
We aren’t nameless anymore. We are modern orphans.