AUDACIOUS BOOKCLUB HAPPENINGS
Our May book club selections are Real Americans by Rachel Khong and With My Back to the World by Victoria Chang. We will be in conversation with Rachel on May 29th at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST. Registration is now open.I hope you can join us! Our conversation with Victoria, is on May 21st! That registration is open, too.
THE NEWSLETTER WEEK IN REVIEW
PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL NEWS
June 7-9, I will be participating in The Loft’s 50th anniversary weekend, with intensive classes, a conversation with me and three Roxane Gay Books authors, and agent/editor consultations and pitches. Minneapolis is quite lovely in June.
On June 13th, Debbie and I will share the stage with Meg Wolitzer, Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainright Roche, Evie Shockley and Negin Farsad for Everything but Dancing. Get your tickets now!
My essay series, Roxane Gay Presents, with Everand has launched. First up: Julia Turshen with Built For This: The Quiet Strength of Powerlifting and in this video, you will learn about the queer powerlifting club she started. The second essay in this series is: You Are a Teen Mom: Instructions by Randa Jarrar. You can learn more about Randa in this video. The third essay in this series is My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living by Gabrielle Bellot. The fourth essay in this series is Good Girls: Notes on Dog Rescue by Elaine Castillo. You can learn more about Elaine in this video. The final essay, by me, is called Stand Your Ground, and it will be out at the end of May.
Megan Pillow and I wrote a little book about power called Do The Work: A Guide About Power and Creating Change. It will be out in June of this year. Pre-order, now!
The violence in Haiti continues and families are struggling to bury their dead loved ones.
In Brazil, massive flooding.
I don’t even know what to say about this.
Speaking of billionaires, a few chatted with the mayor of NYC urging him to be more of a fascist. It’s really something that billionaires can just call up leaders and be taken seriously just because they have billions of dollars. It’s shameful.
The bodies of three Israeli hostages have been recovered. May their memories be a blessing.
A man in France tried to set a synagogue on fire. He was killed.
Horrifying video of Diddy beating Cassie in a hotel hallway has been leaked. He offered a piece of shit apology where he did not even mention her name. He is only sorry he got caught and his life is imploding. Cassie’s lawyer had some words about that nonsense. So did her husband. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations has expired. Bring on the bear.
Alito, yes, the guy on the supreme court for life, was flying an upside down flag, aka the symbol of the stolen election crackpots. Too bad there are no consequences for this sort of thing.
The president of Iran’s helicopter crashed and now they’re looking for him.
Things got rowdy in Congress after Marjorie Taylor Greene was back on her bullshit, fucked around and made a comment about Jasmine Crockett’s eyelashes, and found out. It’s amazing how often Greene gets humiliated, like deeply humiliated and so publicly. With video. It must be a kink, right? Like, she’s getting moist over it.
These other congresspeople had an affair but also are always talking about family values. That has to be it. Also being in the KKK is not an obstacle to Congress; we already knew that, though.
Remember that bridge that collapsed in Baltimore? The crew is still on the ship.
The Mirage is shutting down. The end of an era.
Chat GPT got an upgrade but I am opting out of onboarding knowledge about AI so I don’t know what it means. Also, it’s probably worth noting that OpenAI has gotten rid of the team that was supposed to stop them from destroying the world. We’re on track for Terminator!
A sliver of good news—drug overdose deaths decreased last year.
When couples therapy is weaponized
Ashley Ford with a wonderful essay on choosing to be childfree.
I think avocados are gross. I am fairly alone in this.
Jazmine Hughes on her nieces strengthening her relationship with her sister.
Ron “Puddin Cup” DeSantis continues to craft an alternate reality in Florida which is kind of ironic given that Florida is one of the states most vulnerable to global warming.
Meanwhile, global warming continues apace.
The mental toll student loan debt takes on people.
There’s a new Jenny Holzer exhibit at the Guggenheim. And this is an interesting review of the show that says the work feels dated.
Job interviews at tech companies are getting pretty intense.
Some love (lust?) letters from ye old-ish times.
Over in Cannes, Megalopolis premiered. I guess it was weird? Also, Furiosa.
A British nurse was accused of infanticide but she may not have committed the crimes. And how the piece was reported.
Streaming from prison.
A GoFundMe to help a man get dental implants.
More on the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA resignations.
Mexico finally has Michelin-starred restaurants. I do not understand why it took this long because the food there is increíble. One of the restaurants is a taco stand!
A profile of Suleika Jaouad. A review of Miranda July’s new novel. A conversation with Maia Novi. A profile of Laura Van den Berg
Reese Kwon on why she kept her interest in kink secret.
Airport lounges are all the rage. And like anyone who travels a lot knows this. They’re overcrowded and loud and honestly it’s not that great an experience anymore.
RIP Alice Munro, an extraordinary short story writer. RIP Barbara Fuller. RIP Dabney Coleman. RIP Alice Stewart.
A year after the writer’s strike, where things are at. And like, this absolute disgrace of a situation.
Amazing podcast Bitch Sesh went independent and it’s working out!
Seals are enjoying some delicious snacks in S.F.
Artist Kehinde Wiley has been accused of sexual assault. It’s the bear. We choose the bear. Every single time.
David Copperfield is also facing allegations. At least bears are fluffy.
A wild L.A. car chase, even by L.A. standards.
WNBA time! I watched the Liberty/Fever game and… well, the Fever needs a lot of work but that’s okay. We’re all works in progress.
Unhoused people share what has been taken from them during encampment sweeps.
Our government and their infinite wisdom.
I will read any essay about Scrabble.
A cop in Bay Ridge beat a Pro-Palestinian protester for absolutely no reason. On camera, of course. They don’t care if they are seen. Another terrible cop story.
There may be trouble in Ben Affleck and J. Lo’s paradise. I hope not. I like them together, in a parasocial way.
Some people went to pretend space again.
The man who attacked Paul Pelosi is going to prison for a long time.
The weirdo who donated $237 million to FAMU is running some kind of scam but like, what is the scam? This whole thing is weird!
Nasty summer!
Some golfer named Scottie was arrested and now cops are concerned about how cops behave on traffic stops.
Some football player named Harrison (whose mom is a physicist) told women at a graduation to stay in the fucking kitchen and like it. The nuns were like, “bless his heart.” The NFL was like, we love the gays.
Expensive weddings make for unhappy bridal parties.
Good question.
Meghan and Harry went to Nigeria.
The mother of a mass shooter offers some interesting thoughts.
Someone attacked Steve Buscemi but he has been arrested and Steve is probably okay.
Speaking of bears, necrophilia has to be banned to get people to stop doing it, apparently.
If you’re LGBTQ and traveling this summer, BE CAREFUL.
Employees for the happiest place on earth are unionizing. None too soon!
On Bravo and how it does and doesn’t represent Black culture.
Debit cards in slot machines? This is a terrible terrible idea.
Don’t hold your breath or anything but Lauryn Hill speaks of a second album. That also means she’s been eating on the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill for decades. I respect it.
Where Black country music is going.
New magazine dropping, like acid. This is a very funny joke that only makes sense if you read the link.
TikTok therapy, a lucrative line of work.
Benjamin Dreyer on words that don’t mean what we think they mean.
The Atlantic is hiring some editors.
Chaos follows.
An ancient mystery, maybe solved. So cool.
Umm….
The way I gasped.
More gay content.
Even MORE gay content.
The word avocado comes from aguacate in Mexico from aguacatl the Aztec word for testicle.
Well, I'm eating my 8lbs a year of avocado and yours, Roxane. LOL!
And NOTHING is an obstacle to congress anymore!!!