SARA J. WINSTON AND ILEANA M. RAMIREZ

In conjunction with the 2026 Filter Photo Festival, Filter Photo is pleased to present a conversation between Sara J. Winston and Ileana M. Ramirez, about their collaboration and co-authored book, Sugar Honey Iced Tea, published with For the Birds Trapped in Airports in 2025.

We dance around the kitchen when we should be washing dishes

Fluttering curls frame long lashes wide with glee

Delirious with a stolen second that’s endless in your eyes

What are we to each other

That this, our best offering, is the one so often scarce?

I don’t dare catch the thought or breath for fear of losing it

You splay your arms and spin, soft tongue emerging as you concentrate Even for you, joy demands a sacrifice

I can’t look in case you fall, in case you fly

After, we hold each other close and remember that it happened

My solace later when, lying awake, I number all my faults

I am not worthy of your easy laugh but you give it anyway

Your hope like feathers in my palms

One breath and they scatter on the air

—Ileana Ramirez

Sara J. Winston learned the phrase "sugar honey iced tea" in the fourth grade from a substitute teacher in her New York State public school. The phrase is a euphemism and acronym for the word shit. She began using the term regularly sometime in 2019 after her daughter was born. Now, at the age of five, her daughter has three toy cats and their names are Sugar, Honey, and Iced Tea.

Sara is a chronically ill parent of a young child and, until recently, the daughter of a chronically ill father. Sugar Honey Iced Tea is a description and response to the pace of some of life’s challenges: months spent nursing an infant, years spent caring for a sick body, hoping for and imagining a more equitable future, waiting for a child to fall asleep, wishing for the sun to rise, and trying to visualize the idea that, like her dad often said, we are too visceral to be intelligent.

Sara J. Winston is Ileana’s cousin. Sara is the author of several books including Too Visceral to be Intelligent (self published, 2026) and A Lick and a Promise (Candor Arts, 2017). A second edition of A Lick and A Promise is forthcoming with For the Birds Trapped in Airports later next year. Sara is an artist, writer, and accessibility advocate. She works with photographs, text, and the book form to describe and respond to chronic illness and its ongoing impact on her body, mind, family, and memory. Sara lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband, daughter, and their dog.

Ileana M. Ramirez is Sara’s cousin. Sugar Honey Iced Tea is her first book. Ileana is a healthcare strategist, writer, and budding librarian. Her work is focused on telling intersectional women’s stories and championing health equity and access. Ileana lives in Virginia Beach with her husband, four children, dog, and ever-expanding piles of books.