so very virtual - 07.15.2025
socialism summer school, film club, and fungi 🍄🟫
so very virtual is a free weekly-ish newsletter featuring opportunities, events, and resources that are fully virtual, remote, or hybrid with an online option.
🔍 Please look into events and opportunities to decide whether they are right for you. Send any concerns to theeclarel@substack.com.
📋 To submit a listing, fill out this form.
📚 If you’re new, start with this pandemic resource roundup.
Action Alerts 🔔
Steps to support a better world
Become a phone banking volunteer to protect Medicaid and SNAP nutrition benefits.
Tell New York State to stop purchasing Israel Bonds for the Common Retirement Fund.
Virtual Events 🎟
Gatherings that are either fully online or hybrid with an online option
MyWellbeing Grounding Group with Expert Therapists Mariam and Nicole with MyWellbeing — Tuesday, July 15th from 5:45 to 6:45 PM ET // Free
Midsummer Nights Film Club with the Corporeal Writing Squad with Corporeal Writing — Next session is July 15th from 4:00 to 5:15 PM PT // $20 per session
Beyond the Headlines: Caring for Your Mind in Chaotic Times with GoodWerk Counseling — July 16th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM ET // Free
The Future Is Fungi with Orion and FERN — July 17th from 2:00 to 3:00 PM ET // Free
Thursdays on the Stoop: Getting Started in Literary Translation with Blue Stoop — Thursday, July 17th from 4:00 to 5:00 PM ET // Free
July Crip Arts Gathering with RestFest Film Festival — Sunday, July 20th from 2:30 to 4:30 PM ET // Sliding scale beginning at $1 with scholarships available
Take the First Breath: Gentle Intro to Breathwork with Omi Bell — Sunday, July 20th from 8:30 to 9:30 PM ET // $25
Care? Where?!: A 6-Week Virtual Workshop Exploring Deeper Communal Care with MESS WERK — Begins Monday, July 21st // $0 to $360
I Can't Remember How to Do This — Writing Memory in Fiction and Nonfiction: A Masterclass with Rebecca Makkai with Blue Stoop — Tuesday, July 22nd from 6:00 to 8:00 PM ET // $50
Speculative Specula w/ Lidia Yuknavitch & Janice Lee & Domi Shoemaker with Corporeal Writing — Wednesday, July 23rd from 12:00 to 2:00 PM PT // $100 to $250 with scholarships available
Fast Fuel Micro-Retreat with FORGE NYC — Thursday, July 24th from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET // Free
Exceptional Cameraworkers: Early Black Photographers in New Jersey with Plainfield Public Library — Saturday, July 26th from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM ET // Free
Revolutionary Alignment with Cosmic Healing — Begins July 26th // Sliding scale from $0 to $55
Writing Our Grief with Forest Floor Findings — Sunday, July 27th from 12:00 to 1:30 PM PT // Pay-what-you-can with a suggested payment of $5 to $10
Reading Trancestors: A Trans History Book Club with The Nonbinarian — July 28th from 8:00 to 9:30 PM ET // Free
Poetry Club with Blue Stoop — Tuesday, July 29th from 6:30 to 7:30 PM ET // Free
Build Your Toolbox: Approaches to Generation and Revision with Brooklyn Poets — Begins July 31st // $185
Stranger Than Fiction: Writing From Personal Experience Panel with Sera Rivers — July 31st from 7:00 to 8:00 PM ET // $29
The Stories You've Never Seen Before: A Masterclass with Alexander Chee with Blue Stoop — Monday, August 4th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM ET // $50
Unapologetically Herself: Writing Bold and Complex Young Women with The Writers Guild Foundation — Friday, August 8th from 7:00 to 8:30 PM PT // $5 - $15
August Peer Support Group with Copilot Recovery — Monday, August 11th from 8:00 to 9:00 PM ET // $15 suggested donation
Beyond Self-Translation: Bilingualizing the Poetic Process as a Form of Destruction and Creation with Abode Press — Sunday, August 17th from 12:00 to 2:00 PM CT // Starting at $25
Memoir for the Apocalypse with Melissa Febo with Corporeal Writing — Saturday, September 13th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PT // $150 to $275 with scholarships available
Writing with the Earth: An Anti-Imperialism Approach Towards Eco-Poetics with Abode Press — Tuesday, September 16th from 7:00 to 9:00 PM CT // Pay-what-you-want above $25
Online Opportunities 🛋
Fellowships, jobs, programs, and more
All Power To The People: A Summer School for Socialism with The People’s Forum — Sign up ASAP.
FSG Writer’s Fellowship — Apply by July 18th.
Solidarity Is Cohort with The Building Movement Project — Apply by July 21st.
Community Anthologies with Seventh Wave — Submit by July 27th.
Issue 3: COVID Cautious Queers Zine with @steel.transplants — Submit by July 30th.
Body of the Book with Lidia Yuknavitch with Corporeal Writing — Apply by August 15th.
Remote Resources 📘
Support and info for these pandemic times
“But my therapist said…” COVID-Informed Therapists Panel from Public Health is Dead Podcast
Worlding Difference Knowledge Platform from Bodies in Translation: Activist Art, Technology, and Access to Life
Summer Bonus: Convince your friends that Covid is really bad for you. from The Covid-Is-Not-Over Newsletter
Texanalysis: Respirator Info & Fit Testing from Texan_Reverend
Five Steps to Walk Away from Empire by Nicholas Triolo from Orion Magazine
About Justin
Justin Clarel is a Black queer writer, performer, and educator creating vibrant stories for a better world. They are most proud of their work with sketch comedy team The Rhubarbs, original works for stage and screen, and love for musical theatre. Keep up with their adventures at @theeclarel and theeclarel.com.