My Works

Elegy of the Flesh focuses on themes of the physical body, multiplicity, and self-creation, viewed through the lens of queerness and gender nonconformity. I want to communicate the complexities of self-creation – including the aspects that are gory, painful, or dirty – because those pieces can be euphoric in their own unique ways. Though those experiences may not be “happy” in the traditional sense, they allow for a reclamation of the body, and by extension, the reclamation of power and identity. 

I created this chapbook as my Professional Writing Capstone project at Champlain College, supported by countless peers, workshop partners, mentors, and friends. These include, but are not limited to, Ella Quinlan, Kay Liu-Somers, Tanya Lee Stone, and Amy Howe. 

If you're interested in a copy, feel free to shoot me an email at natalebeck@gmail.com. 

"long distance" was an attempt to challenge myself with the quatern, a poetic form featuring repeated lines throughout four quatrains. In the poem, I describe the experience of a former close friendship turned distant, faded to an occasional video call. The sporadic repetition of the quatern form echoes the sleep-deprived scramble of nostalgia-warped memories.

During PoemCity 2024, my poem "long distance" was displayed at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier alongside countless other poems papering the city to celebrate National Poetry Month. You can now read my poem (alongside a wide and delightful variety of Vermont poetry) in PoemCity Anthology 2024, available for purchase here.

Published in literary journal North Dakota Quarterly, Vol. 90: 3-4, "9 a.m. on a Friday" is a self-reflective horror poem written as a result of my frustration with the way my joints behave upon waking up. 

You can read "9 a.m. on a Friday" among the excellent assortment of poetry, personal essays, and short stories in NDQ's online edition, or purchase a physical copy here. 

This article, written for the Vermont Arts Council blog, highlights the work of Vermont artist Dylan Hausthor. Their photography features everything from the raw intensity of farm animals giving birth to the fleeting tranquility of a deer captured on a trail camera. 

You can read their feature on the Vermont Arts Council website. 

Published in literary review Valley Voices: Where Are You From, this poem connects deeply to my own sense of self as a disabled trans person. I explore the sense of frustration and unease that comes from having a body that does not cooperate with my internal sense of self. 

You can find Valley Voices here.

Published in the Dark Forest issue of the Planisphere Q literary magazine, this poem utilizes imagery of eggs and vivid, raw descriptions to make the reader consider what exactly lays underneath their skin. 

Check out Planisphere Q here.

This article, published in the Champlain Crossover, examines the impact of COVID-19 on students in higher education. I explore how students at Champlain college are coping with the changes and how the institution is responding to those changes. 

You can read the full article here.

This is a Google Doc full of ideas on how to provide easy, DIY enrichment to pet rats. Though I collected the information and wrote up the instructions, this project was a collaborative effort with many individuals contributing their ideas and photos. 

It is an ongoing project, so if you have any ideas to add, shoot me an email!

Check out the document here.