Writing has always been something I do. Sometimes text is an essential part of a painting or installation series, as in the studio installations of Mitosis and Self-portrait as a Young Boat. Sometimes I want the writing to be kept far away from images, as in the radio-play book, Diary of a Young Boat.
Below are published and unpublished writings. At the links to each piece, I’ll explain the origins of the text, or give a snippet of it.
Why the Demolishment of the East Wing of the White House?, Oct 29, 2025
This act of demolition was done to make people feel unsafe in their own homes, in their own bodies. I’m sure it isn’t just a coincidence that historically the East Wing has been associated with the female spouses of the U.S. presidents… View Article
Who Remains
Since there are very few people who come out of nursing homes alive, I feel compelled to write about my experiences living in one with my husband, during the Covid pandemic in Italy. My husband and I managed to leave the “home” together after a year or so, and move into our own apartment, where I cared for him until his death from Lewy Bodies Dementia (LBD). I began writing about six months after my husband’s death, taking a break from the drawings and paintings I was doing at the time. As I have been a contributor to the quarterly online magazine, entitled LAB Politiche e Culture— https://www.labpolitiche.it/ —since its inception in January 2024, the first three chapters were published serially in both English and Italian, starting with Issue no. 6.
- Who Remains: Part 1, Chapter 1 – THE VERY BEGINNING
- Who Remains: Part 1, Chapter 2 – NAMING
- Who Remains: Part 1, Chapter 3 – THE END OF TIME
DIARY OF A YOUNG BOAT (book)
The fictional aural diary of a thirteen-year-old girl is at the heart of AM Hoch’s award-winning series of installations. Originally conceived as an interdimensional radio play, the Diary is now available in book form… More Info
Blade (a prose poem), 2017
My first crush was on the knife. It made the fork look like an artless rake; the spoon was just plain pathetic. …. View prose poem
Mitosis, Mattress, and Five Talking Drawers
I wrote this script during the period I was working on the “Chromosomes on Mattresses” series, in 1995 – 1997. It wasn’t until 2003 that the installation could be fully developed and realized at the Beall Center for Arts and Technology in Irvine, California…. View script
Part I: Multiple Sclerosis, Childhood Sexual Abuse, and Artists’ Premonitions of Illness
The first sign I had of multiple sclerosis was a numbness in the middle toe of my left foot. I had been working for many hours in my studio on a hot day in August 2012—in flip-flops… View Essay
Part 2: MS, Childhood Sexual Abuse, and Artists’ Premonitions
The truth is I was deeply terrified when I finally got back into my studio in 2013; after a month in the hospital and several weeks in a physical rehabilitation center, and a definitive diagnosis of MS, it would be months and months and months of slow recovery before I felt well enough to go back to work… View Essay
Diary of a Young Boat, Entry #9
Well, I got sent home early from school today, which I always love … but this time was pretty … dramatic, you might say … View Excerpt