BY JOANNA C. VALENTE

Now that we’re all spending a lot more time inside, it’s imperative that we create routines that ground us, and find ways to cope healthily. Music has always been important to me, and a way I express emotion, and find enjoyment.

Whether you need a soundtrack while working remotely, want to find new music to listen to, or generally just want a background mood (whether cooking, meditating, journaling, or reading), I’ve curated a playlist just for you.

(Music ranges from new and old, classic and emerging, including Lateef Dameer, Taleen Kali, Night Dreamer, The Cure, Sharon Van Etten, Depeche Mode, Lester Young & more.)

Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body), #Survivor: A Photo Series (forthcoming), and A Love Story (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press, 2021). They are the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault and the illustrator of Dead Tongue (Yes Poetry, 2020). They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine.