CHAPTERS: Dianna Cohen
Every (life) chapter has at least one memorable moment, sentence, or story.
Every (life) chapter has at least one memorable moment, sentence, or story. What are yours? In Chapters, I ask creative people to reflect on the stories of their lives and respond to any of the below prompts (in whatever way they wish).
In the latest installment, we hear from
—founder of Crown Affair and an early guest of the Slow Stories podcast—who shares cherished rituals, literary favorites, and life musings.Dianna’s Chapters
I. Slow Story
My morning rituals are the slowest story of my life—a daily practice, a quiet rhythm, something that feels deeply cathartic and true. Writing my morning pages is one of the most grounding parts of my day. There’s something meditative about putting pen to paper, letting my thoughts flow freely, unfiltered. Paired with a deep morning stretch—feeling tension release, breathing in fully—it creates a calm that lingers long after.
II. Love Story
I met my husband, Alexander, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York during a René Magritte curatorial walkthrough in 2013. MoMA has always felt like a second home—a place where I can return to and refuel completely. Our love story is one of the most beautiful and joyful parts of my life so far. Every day, I feel unbelievably lucky to share my hours, minutes, and seconds with him. There’s no one who makes me laugh harder or feel more deeply seen.
III. Short Story
This feels more like a story cut too short. Last year, I read Jim Henson’s biography and fell even deeper in love with his creative world. His passing was sudden and far too soon, but his impact on our creative landscape is immeasurable. Biographer Brian Jay Jones captures his life with such depth and care—I’m currently reading his biography on Dr. Seuss, and it’s just as magical. My advice to you: study your creative heroes. There’s so much to learn from the worlds they built. Their stories may be short, but their legacies are long.
IV. True Story
Waking up every day and moving everything forward, even just an inch, is the real secret to success. Slow, steady, and consistent—be the tortoise (and in my case, the hair).
V. Scary Story
Sometimes, the scariest story is also the most liberating—realizing there is no past, no future, only now.
VI. Your Story
My story is one of endless curiosity—of paying attention, of finding beauty and art in almost everything. If it had a shape, it would be a poem—one you return to again and again, discovering something new each time. I’m still metaphorically writing it, but if it had a tone, it might echo Brad Aaron Modlin’s “What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade.”
VII. Winter Story
This is a story that has evolved with the seasons of my life. For twelve years, winter meant coziness—fireplaces, oversized coats, the quiet hush of cold. Now, winter looks entirely different: sunshine, sandy Sundays, the warmth of the ocean. It’s a story that takes me back to my childhood in South Florida, one that quite literally brings me home. A Miami winter story.
VIII. Spring Story
My spring is the story of flowers blooming, long walks, and days in motion. Of new cities, newer scents, subtle skin, and soft smiles on the street.
IX. Summer Story
Sun, rise. Hair, air dries.
X. Old Story
The one where I'm too hard on myself but growing and surrendering to trust.
XI. Inside Story
Before Crown Affair, I spent years behind the scenes, in the trenches, always on CC—observing, absorbing, seeing it all. With Crown Affair, I stepped inside the story, one that’s woven with beauty in every sense of the word.
XII. Sob Story
Shel Silverstein’s “Masks.”
XIII. Bedtime Story
A comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush.
XIV. Color Story
A symphony of green. Grounding, soothing, strong—a color that belongs to nature itself. Of all the greens, the one that stays with me comes from the hand of my favorite living artist, Ed Ruscha. His Busted Glass catalog from Gagosian, 2007. There’s something about that exact shade—it carries a sense of intention, of design, a quiet reminder that life is shaped by the rituals we choose every day.
XV. Travel Story
Japan is my favorite place in the world. I was lucky enough to visit for the first time in 2019, and this spring, I’m returning. I’m already counting down the days—ready to be immersed once again in its magic, its rituals, and the quiet beauty that lingers in every moment.
XVI. Funny Story
All of it, if you don't take it too seriously.
XVII. Long Story
The one that is both long and short: life.
Thank you, Dianna!
 | A guest post by
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Loved all of this Dianna is always so thoughtful, really a beautiful read.
"Study your creative heroes" and "everything forward, even just an inch" are wonderful notions. I enjoyed these and all of Dianna's thoughtful responses!