1.8.2021
The 33 Project
This week I spent a lot of time reading and consuming news and information. It was hard to focus on anything else. Obviously.
I’ll make this a quick one, because like most people, I’m guessing, I’m exhausted.
Here are this week’s recs:
1/ Jerry Saltz’s piece in Vulture called “My Appetites” is an incredible read. It’s a personal essay that traces his life from troubled family past to long haul trucking to landing a role as NYMag’s art critic. He also touches on the current state of the world, on how he lives and eats and works during Covid. Highly recommend the piece. Here’s an excerpt I liked:
I feel a witheredness of spirit in public, not any shared yearning to be among one another. Time turns staccato; little actions feel big; large ones aren’t taken lightly; everything comes with a residuum of doubt. This is how socializing has always felt to me, but now I see what that looks like in other people, too. Movement is awkward, hesitant. This is our sleepwalking universe of death at the grocery store. It’s a psychic sorcery where imaginary spells dwell and questions linger: “Did that person cough? Why isn’t she wearing a mask? That older man is walking too close to people. Are you my enemy? Am I yours?” My voice is theirs.
2/ I thought this piece on “arguing” with a Trump voter was actually pretty interesting. It’s not a perfect piece, but it does call out something very important. We don’t recognize “political ideologies” or “ideological identities” in the same way do with race, sex, gender. Meaning backwards seeming ideologies may be a systematic problem and not an innate ineptitude. It’s an interesting perspective.
3/ Lastly, I’m a fan of Jami Attenberg’s newsletter. It’s about writing and her process and I find it comforting. There are gems scattered throughout.
Because the story of life is not just you but everything and everyone around you.
She’s working on a memoir and this is a new creative space for her. It’s inspiring to read her words as she works through it. Makes me want to revisit some of her fiction as well.
That’s all for this week!