This is different than how I normally share my work, and I am learning to be okay with that. (Different is good) last year, I moved across the country to join an incredible team at MIT. Ironically, like an artist, I moved quickly; sometimes, I worry too quickly. Not enough goodbyes, closed conversations, or proper endings. I am still learning to be okay with that. These past 6 months have undoubtedly been strange for me, I am still unpacking it all (figuratively and literally), and I think the hardest thing I am still unpacking is the leaving of the art community, the beautifully battered and bruised poets, filmmakers, musicians that I grew up with in Los Angeles. (I’m writing about this and hope to share something more substantial soon; like I said, still unpacking.) This disconnect has weighed really heavily on me, especially in recent months, but I am thankful for a happenstance interaction with a barista a few weeks ago that pointed me to @bostonpoetryslam, a beautiful space of bruised brick and safe landings in an unassuming underground bar here in Boston. Despite being underneath the grease-soaked air of the redline, being in that space, with the eclectic mix of humans that only the northeast can provide, has felt like a breath of air I have been searching for a long time. It’s needless to say, but thank you. Please support your local art scene, and support the artists who make it possible. These spaces are needed; they breathe life into those looking to burn the ghost stories. Sent with love, Donovan Alexander Beck💛☀️

A revisited resume. Hi, it’s been awhile, I know it goes without saying, but I’m sorry for the disappearance. I needed time, more than I originally thought I did. To process a lot of things, and make a lot of changes and as life tends to do, things caught up to me and lots of things shifted. I’ve missed this. I’ll be honest this was the first time in a long time that I sat in front of a camera and wrote(spoke), it was cathartic in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. There’s a lot more to say, a lot more of you I want to hear but let’s take our time. It’s nice to see you again. I’ve hope you’ve grown, changed and shifted. I’m excited to talk soon 💛☀️ Sent with love, Donovan

Fieldnotes after 24 rotations💛☀️ Needless to say 2023 was the strangest, most intense and soul shifting year of my life. I could write you a novel about this year(maybe one day I will) but to keep things brief, thank you. I know I haven’t done my best in recent months to keep you updated with things here, but I thank you for sticking around. I hope to talk to you more in 2024. Carrying on the tradition I’ve had since I was 20. Here are my field notes after 24 rotations ☀️💛 1) Dream Wildly. Your dreams are not just illusions; they are some part of you that is wiser and more hopeful. Follow their lead. 2)Love and be loved. This world will try to break you from the parts that make us human, the love that we can give. Offer yourself and others this grace. We often need it more than we admit. 3)Bring them along. We were not brought into this world alone. Do not let the path that you pave be narrow; walk with others, fellow dreamers trying to make this world better. This life shouldn’t be as lonely as we try to make it. 4)Coffee is STILL our closest attempt at creating heaven on earth. It always has been and always will be. 5)The world may be burning, but we are made of water. The solutions we need and the paths to them are found in us. Be quiet when needed, listen always, and champion understanding. 6)Leap. Leave this life empty, having given all that you can. Do not let apathy or comfort be stones tied to your ankles. Dare the daring dreams, try and stumble. If the unknown calls you, let your heart be the light to show you the way.

To you beautiful saints of the get through, thank you for all that you do 💛☀️ #authorsoftiktok #mentalhealth #poetrytiktok #poets #educatorsoftiktok #booktok

Memories from the mountains💛 #filmtiktok #mentalhealth #howareyou #checkin #artists