by Jade Hurley (’25)
Abstract:
“Slow-Boil, Medium-High Heat” is a lyric essay covering themes of climate disaster, anticipatory grief, interspecies kinship, and the false promise of Gen Z’s triumph against climate catastrophe. The piece uses a boiling frog analogy to demonstrate the difficulty of “fighting” climate disaster under the institutional trap of capitalism, then uses my coming-of-age experience as a young, Californian environmentalist as a case study. This essay is meant to bring equal parts rage and catharsis to readers while critiquing the eco-optimism that places the survival of our species onto Gen Z. While the powers that be have taught us to just do it ourselves, our scrappy, anarchist-lite politics will not be coming to save the billionaires and capitalists that have brought us here. They’ll have to do it their damn selves.
The presentation of this submission is also intended to reflect Common Forms: Issue III’s theme, DIY. The illustrations included are hand-drawn by me to pair with this piece, and the four-page print spread was designed by me, as well. Top-to-bottom, this piece and its presentation was done myself.
Editors note:
Jade’s piece is in pdf format to accompany her presentation, original artwork, and formatting.
Bio:
Jade Jasmine Hurley is an essayist, literary journalist, and organizer who works to further reproductive justice, intersectional feminism, and worker power. She is currently a MAPH student in the Creative Writing and Gender & Sexuality Studies departments; when not in class, Jade works with and writes for abortion funds across the East Coast. She is a leading voice in the worker’s fight for reproductive justice, and has been featured in TeenVogue, If Not Now, Slate, Prism, HuffPost, and more.