Povism

Cover image for the Povism word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Povism

n.
the frustration of being stuck inside your own head, unable to see your face or read your body language in context, only ever guessing how you might be coming across—which makes you think of yourself as a detached observer squinting out at a lushly painted landscape, though to everyone else you seem woven right into the canvas.

From point of view + ism. Blessed are the slugs, whose eyes are held aloft on wriggling stalks, just tall enough to see their entire bodies in context. Pronounced “poh-viz-uhm.”

Insoucism

Cover image for the Insoucism word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Harke

a dreamlike image of a person's face over water

Fitzcarraldo

Cover image for the Fitzcarraldo word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Desanté

Cover image for the Desanté word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Jouska

Cover image for the Jouska word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase