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Hello!
How are you today? Good, I hope—maybe enjoying some nice weather, or just a lazy Sunday at the end of a long week. I've had a lovely weekend myself—a respite, after several difficult weeks—filled with friends and coffee and music and movies and games. A bit of a palate cleanser; a reset; a renewal.
March often feels that way to me. I know that spring doesn't actually start for a few weeks more, but already it feels like the beginning of something new, or the end of something old, or at the very least like the earth and sky and humans and our fellow creatures are waking up and blinking bleary-eyed into the sun, shaking off the grey and cold, getting ready to move and think and do again. I can see why the Romans (and many other cultures!) marked it as the beginning of their year—as a time for setting out, seeking, beginning.
What I'm getting at is that I feel better than I have in weeks—months, really—and ready to slough off the angst and malaise of a bitter, sunless winter, to molt, to crawl, with some discomfort, from my chrysalis and dry my wings—whichever sort of vernal-adjacent metaphor works best. Which brings me to a bit of bad news (depending on your perspective!):
As with last spring, I'll be taking a brief semi-hiatus from the newsletter to focus on writing (and, generally, getting my life back in order). For the months of March and April I'll send just one update (with the March edition being, obviously, what you're reading now). This will allow me to sink back into my writerly routines—and to develop some actual updates to share with y'all. I know; parting is such sweet sorrow. But fear not! We'll return to our regular cadence of newsletters on the first and third Sunday of the month starting in May.
I know I'm being a bit melodramatic here, and that it's me, mainly, that cares about cutting back—but that's because sending these letters out sparks so many wonderful conversations with all of you; I don't take letting go of those connections lightly. I'll miss you, is what I'm saying—so do feel free to reach out, in the interim.
For now, I earnestly hope that spring brings such a literal breath of fresh air for you as it has for me. I'll be back in your inbox before you know it!
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☕️ Project Curses
Progress on the first revision of my novel has continued at a very, very slow (but steady!) pace. However: after a period of reflection and the restructuring of my calendar, I've made more dedicated time for revision going forward. By the next time I write to you I hope to have substantive updates here!
📝 Short Stories
In addition to my work on the novel, I have five, maybe six short stories that have been sitting in the digital equivalent of my desk drawer, languishing, while my attention is focused elsewhere. That's not fair to those stories (or the work I put into them!), so I'll be getting back into the habit of submitting them to journals and magazines starting this month. Is this related, in some way, to my mental health improving to the point where receiving rejections won't be so disappointing? Well, yeah. Gosh did I miss the sun.
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📚 Reading
Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer | This is a somewhat unexpected prequel novel returning to—or creating—the eponymous setting of VanderMeer's excellent, lush, haunting Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation; Authority; Acceptance). As with the original series, disparate genres and influences—nature writing, Southern gothic, psychological thrillers, shady spy agency intrigue, haunted-house horror, and more—are blended masterfully and to startling effect. Absolution, admittedly, creates as many questions as it answers, but was an immensely satisfying follow-up to one of my favorite series.
🎧 Listening
Yo La Tengo are an indie staple for good reason. Their body of work is immense and incredible—so much so that I had no idea that they had made the soundtrack for a film (Kelly Reichardt's Old Joy, based on a short story by Jonathan Raymond) back in 2006. Anyway—the soundtrack was recently re-released on its own for the first time and is, perhaps unsurprisingly, lovely music to work/write/think about life to. Enjoy!
I've recommended Between the Covers here several times, though it's been long enough that I wanted to plug it again—especially as the two most recent interviews—on Hélène Cixous' Rêvoir and Omar El Akkad's One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This—were among my favorites. And listen: I know that long-form, literary-focused interviews don't sound appealing to everyone—but the amount of experience and wisdom distilled into these brief hours is amazing. I'm just saying that if you’re scrolling and looking for something to listen to anyway, you could do worse than listening to some of the greatest literary voices of our time answer thoughtful, generous questions.
🍿 Watching
Nickel Boys | So, Sarah figured out that the way to get me to actually watch films with her is to start them while our cat is already pinning me down. The results speak for themselves—I’ve watched over half of this year’s Best Picture nominees, which is a record for me! Anyway—I’m rambling because I really can’t do this film justice in this little blurb. It’s brilliant, and shocking, and offers literal and figurative perspective in a way I’ve never experienced. It’s my favorite of what I’ve seen this year. Watch it when you can.
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Take My Word for It: A Dictionary of English Idioms by Anatoly Liberman | Okay, this show and tell is for all my philology freaks out there (IYKYK). I recently stumbled across this niche, charming, exhaustively researched book on English idioms—AKA catnip for writers. It’s got explanations and histories galore, for your “raining cats and dogs” and “in for a penny”, sure—but also for gems like “to put a sneck in the kettle crook” and “throw a bonnet over the windmill”. Pure gold. Will I ever use any of this in a practical way? Will you? Probably not. But it made me smile, and so I share it.
Until next time! 🫶
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🎨 Artwork by Andi Dailey-Parada
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