In the fifth grade, my crush told me I had the hands of a wise crone.
Except instead of “wise” he said “GROSS” and instead of “crone” he said “YOU HAVE OLD LADY HANDS.” In that moment I vowed to one day start a small publishing shop for books that I write then fold with my crone hands despite their debilitating inability to cut in straight lines and make a collection of things uniform before giving up and calling their imperfections “art.”
And, well, see?
Dreams do come true.
Karen Bolipata is a writer and graphic memoirist. She writes funny things. Sad things. Funny and sad things. When she turned 40 she launched CRONE HANDS BOOKS, which features limited-edition zines lovingly made by crone hands—hers. Her work centers around being a woman and Filipina immigrant writer in an absurd world told in comics, memoir essays and/or photos. Sometimes, though, she’s just writing 3,000 words about overdue library books. Recent CRONE HANDS titles include “So I’m Married Now,” “The Pandemic Comix (Vol. 1): An Occasionally Serious Account of Perpetually Serious Times,” and “WEIRD,” a diary comic about unhinged creatives. She lives in a beloved shitty apartment with her husband Franco, their furry son Henri, and their recently launched human son Milo, in Queens, New York.
See more of her work at karenbolipata.com and at the esteemed publication she founded about very serious things, farts&letters.
Questions?
Comments?
Cute vibes?
✉️ Send ‘em to cronehands@gmail.com