Artist Series: Two Very Enthusiastic Thumbs Up
On Writing: A poem by Lyndsay Rush
I am honored to share a poem by Lyndsay Rush. I go to Lyndsay’s poetry when I need a pick-me-up, and when I need to be reminded how to ask for the things I want, that it’s okay—better than okay—to be a bit much, and that I need to celebrate every single win, no matter how small. When I first found Lyndsay I was so inspired by her poem “What have you been up to lately?” that I wrote my own through the lens of motherhood called, “What have you been up to lately… just Moming?” You can read it along with a whole essay here.
For this month’s Artist Series, I’ve selected her poem, “Two Very Enthusiastic Thumbs Up” because I have no clue how to root for myself. I often feel like regardless of what I do it’s never enough. I rush to cross the next thing off the list without pausing to celebrate myself, to raise my hands in the air and say I fucking did it. When I start spiraling into a well of self-doubt, I read this poem, and god damn, it feels good.
Lyndsay Rush is a comedy writer, copywriter, and poet who runs a creative agency called Obedient. Her friends call her ‘a bit much', her fans call her Mary Oliver’s Drunk Cousin, and Spam Risk calls her at least thrice a week (obsessed much?). Lyndsay’s work has been featured in Reductress, McSweeney’s, NY Mag, and The New York Times and her poetry took on a life of its own in the year of our lord 2022 when her Instagram account @maryoliversdrunkcousin grew to over 75K followers and over half a million likes in a single year (among them, Melanie Griffith, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jen Hatmaker, Kate Baer, Sophia Bush, Arielle Estoria, and T.J. Maxx—no biggie). She spent most of her adult life freezing in Chicago, but currently swelters in Nashville with her husband, Caleb and pup, Puffin Dorito. She spends most of her free time doing elaborate nail art and all of her disposable income on fancy restaurants and chips (she contains multitudes). You can follow her poetry on Instagram @maryoliversdrunkcousin, her business at www.obedientgency.com and her personal shenanigans @rushbomb on Twitter and Instagram (but not TikTok, she is simply too old/tired).
Before we get into her work, let’s start with three questions.
What are you reading right now?
I just finished We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman and it made me weep openly on an airplane (5 stars).
What do you do when you're coming up against resistance, and you can't seem to get to the center of the thing—the writing, the living, the task at hand? How do you get to where you want to go?
I give up for a little bit. Haha, but really. In my many years of writing/creating, I've learned that my best art does not come from fighting with inspiration/the muse. For me, a valuable (but unpopular) part of the creative process. Walking away, letting something breathe, and following the fun.
Tell me about this piece. Where did it come from?
“Two Very Enthusiastic Thumbs Up” is a fun hyperbolic piece about rooting for yourself—something I think can be frowned upon or misinterpreted as ego. Sharing your art online (or anywhere, really) is so vulnerable and weird and I wanted to explore a narrative world where we gave ourselves the positive feedback and standing O that we're often seeking from the masses.
A poem
by Lyndsay Rush
Where to find Lyndsay:
Instagram | Website
