Hannah Paige Kitchens
Nonfiction, English and Creative Writing
Lobsters Mate for Life
About the Project
My mom likes to say, “lobsters mate for life,” and always follows it up by saying, “and mine died.” I sat down with my mom for an audio-recorded interview about her lobster. Sometimes growing up you tend to hear bits and pieces of stories from the lives your parents lived before you. Most often, you have to piece these together by yourself.
I had always known the generalized anecdote about my mom living in Ireland in her early-20’s. She had been in love, and it was the best time of her life. I also knew it was the most heartbreaking. I wanted her to tell me the full story. And, graciously, she did.
This interview with my mom, and subsequent profile I’ve written, has changed my whole writing life. Like the name tag mentioned in the piece, it feels heavy. Every time I dust off the work, I find myself face to face with a great deal of feelings. Through Lobsters Mate for Life, I see my mom not in a different light, but more so through a prism, light coming in and refracting all these rainbowed views around.
I remind myself through this story that parents are people, too. I remind myself how carefully the universe lets events fall into place. I also remind myself of the fact that life is short. Lobsters Mate for Life is the reason I have a tattoo of a lobster on my right arm, Crocs with lobsters all over, and even a towel decorated in the crustaceans hanging over my shower curtain rod. It's become a thing in our household.
About Hannah Paige Kitchens
Hannah Paige Kitchens is a certified forklift operator living in Chicago. Hannah writes nonfiction and poetry. In 2017-18 her work appeared on Seattle Metro vehicles through their Poetry on Buses program. Hannah writes about home, family, old Dean Martin songs, and pinball. Her other passions include, but are not limited to, playing dress-up in real life, watching her little brother grow up, and collecting pictures of vanity license plates.
You can follow her on Twitter @artisticmemer and on Instagram at both @hannahpaigearts and @hannahxkitchens
“Hannah Kitchens's nonfiction turns a keen eye on what it means to be part of a family always in flux and how the idea of home is something much more fluid than a place with a floor, a roof, and solid walls.”
-Patty McNair, Director, Undergraduate Programs, English and Creative Writing