Yellow Electric Bike & Environmental Illness & Poetry

Hi friends & family,

As some of you already know, I developed a pretty serious environmental health issue called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in 2020. I am highly sensitive and reactive to fragrances and synthetic chemicals that are in so many of our daily products. It has drastically impacted every area of my life including my body, my mental health, my relationships, my work, and my overall sense of well-being. I've been spending a lot of time grieving the changes and making life adjustments with support from my family, former therapist, and close friends. It's historically been harder for me to ask for help when I've needed it most, but among the many things this illness has revealed to me, it has been teaching me to be in continuous dialogue about my needs even when it is not comfortable or familiar or even legible to others who are new to the world of MCS. In short, my condition makes it hard to share space with others without a lot of accomodations, hard conversations, and efforts on everyone's end. There are many things I can no longer do with ease or be a part of now, including riding with others in cars and going to their houses. I've been creatively navigating where possible, finding as safe of housing as I can (which has been the biggest cost of this illness) and working with friends to have fragrance free hangouts. I've tried to keep a light on the things that I love the most and stay close to them as a form of medicine and care for myself. As many of you also know, biking has always been a deep love of mine and a preferred way of getting around. I've wanted to invest in a nicer bike for a long while now (dare I say over a decade), but have stayed commited to running my current road bike down to its final hours with a lot of love. Bloomington hills are no joke and neither are all of the students covered in colognes and sprays, the detergents wafting out from clothing and near by dorms. My body is not as strong as it used to be and encountering these things with a chronic environmental health condition has been a challenge, but one I'm not ready to give up on. I've been inspired by all of the electric bikers zipping about town, and have daydreamed the whole two years I've been here about being able to cruise around and along campus with more ease. My goal is to buy a yellow Rad Power electric bike with your support. It would be a gift to me in ways I don't think I can name here. More than anything, this is a practice to continue creative ways to still do the things I love, to be in community, and not give up on the aliveness and magic I know are still available to me even through illness.This is a big ask for me but also an offering: I've been working on new writing since I've been here at IU and have 100 CDs with some of my newest poetry recorded live on it. I'd love to be able to offer a "Kourtney Jones Live at Orbit Room" poetry CD for any donation. If you don't do the realm of CD-roms, I can also send a digital link to the live recording with any donation. Please specify which option(s) you'd like. Thank you if you've read this far, for holding my life through these changes and also supporting my art. Here is to making new maps and pedaling along in support of each other, our own lives, and this planet.

With love,

Kourtney

Special thanks to Orbit Room for recording my work and Creep Church for helping make the recording into physical form.