About

comma symbol is an independent publication launched in 2024 by Toni Oberto (that’s me!) to explore the murky, grey areas of identity through writing, collage and interviews. This publication isn’t intended to be a polished, finished product. In its very name and meaning is the recognition that identities are incomplete, complex, and often hard to define experiences.

My attraction to the comma is that it gets to represent multiple things: a change, a departure, a pause, a break, a shift, a separator of parts in a series. I'm inviting folks who don’t always know how to take on identities, have complicated experiences with identities, have complicated identities, to use the comma symbol as the pool you can swim around in, and exploring these stories through writing.

About Toni Oberto

I’m an artist and lyrical essayist based in what we call Minneapolis, MN, a few miles from the Mississippi River. This great artery has been my lifeline since birth, born and raised near St. Louis, Missouri. The experience of growing up in the center of the United States meant an early lesson in the limbo of identities. When we visited my family further south, we were Northerners. When I moved to Minnesota, I was from the south. And as I’ve aged, I’ve come to appreciate the melded elements of both that exist within that sticky hot, complicated city.

If you’re interested in participating in an interview, or have an idea for comma symbol, reach out at toni.oberto@gmail.com.

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