In our afternoon reading: thoughts on Sara Levine’s new novel, fiction from Robert Kloss, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Sara Levine’s Latest, Jami Attenberg on “Chelsea Girls,” Robert Kloss Fiction, and More
No Self and Other but Only Oneness: A Review of Marc Vincenz’s “No More Animal Poems”
A report from Washington: Trump, president of the United States, who refers to climate change as a hoax, a scam, has announced that “endangerment finding,” scientific proof issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2009, is finally being erased by him. This finding shows beyond doubt that greenhouse gases and climate change threaten our health and environment, not to mention the negative impact on other animals (of which we are one of the 8.7 million species on the planet, give or take), animals whose migration patterns, access to food sources, and habitat loss can lead to species extinction. We are living in a futuristic dystopian present.
Morning Bites: Revisiting Queer Books, Bill Orcutt’s Latest, Nebula Award Finalists, and More
In our morning reading: revisiting books by queer and trans writers, thoughts on the state of criticism, and more.
Sunday Stories: “How Everything In This World Works”
How Everything in This World Works
by Claire W. Zhang
I’m a dealer now. From $10 disposable e-cigs to $12,000 Hermès handbags, I deal everything. I’m technically a broker-dealer – a piece of information I obtained from a kind economist on Quora – because I sometimes require a deposit for bigger transactions, but it’s not like anyone’s from Wall Street here so no one cares. I still call myself a dealer, though. It sounds cool, like a drug dealer – dangerous. Although the only “drugs” I’ve dealt so far are 20 tabs of acid (pink dancing bear) and three and a half total ounces of weed (ice cream cake, indica). This is a growing business. I don’t have that many customers.
Weekend Bites: Kim Gordon’s Latest, Movies and Anxiety, Revisiting “The Doors,” and More
In our weekend reading: thoughts on Kim Gordon’s new album, the genesis of a memoir, and more.
Epigraph Reveal: Candice Wuehle’s “Ultranatural”
On April 14, the University of Iowa Press is set to publish Candice Wuehle’s novel Ultranatural. Today, we’re pleased to share the book’s epigraph, which combines two unlikely texts:
Jeff Jackson on the Evolution of Julian Calendar
I’ve known writer Jeff Jackson for quite a while now, and one of the pleasures of that has been seeing his creative endeavors expand. To wit: the work that he and his collaborators in the band Julian Calendar have released in recent years: haunting post-punk with an expansive set of influences and a penchant for deconstruction. I spoke with Jackson about the group’s new album Speaking a Dead Language and their evolution since 2020.
Morning Bites: Karan Mahajan’s Latest, Andrew Martin on Writing, Revisiting Terry Pratchett, and More
In our morning reading: thoughts on Karan Mahajan’s new novel, Andrew Martin on writing, and more.