The Audacious Round Up
For the Week of February 8th
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For Scribd, I wrote a really long essay called “Writing into the Wound,” about writing trauma, the aftermath of putting writing about trauma into the world, and how sometimes you can go home again (or, in my case, you can return to the university you once attended, only this time as a professor.) Check it out.
On March 3rd, I am in conversation with Soledad O’Brien about the essay, at 92Y. It will be virtual though hopefully by fall more of these events will be in person. I hope you can join us.
I’m raising money for a nonprofit that does important work in Haiti called Hope for Haiti. They are not church affiliated and nearly everything they raise goes directly to people in Haiti. In Haiti, there are Haitians in leadership positions. They have a near perfect Charity Navigator rating. If you’re of a mind, send a little something their way.
Our next book club chat will be on 2/25 with Torrey Peters who wrote the electrifying Detransition, Baby. If you want a cute lil snack box to enjoy during our conversation, Lady & Larder will hook you up. Consider calling your beloved a cute lil snack box today. I think they will love it.
Here are 36 ways you can donate to and support Asian communities.
This piece about a NYT reporter, racism, and the untenable position of being the “paper of record” is quite interesting. And frustrating.
A short story from Kristen Arnett, and another story from Lindsay Hunter.
I’ve been thinking about racism lately, and how its systemic nature impedes so much including black cultural production. This article, about Black abstract painters finally getting some recognition, is a reminder of that.
We can all agree that Justin Timberlake’s apology to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson is self-serving claptrap, right? Right. Talk about far too little, too late. I don’t believe he is sorry. He doesn’t like the way people are talking about him. Anyway, it is interesting to see how public perception of Britney Spears has changed and now a lot of people are willing to fight for her.
Sarah Weiman is the new crime columnist for the NYT Book Review, and her first column is excellent, as I expected it to be.
I have a lot of thoughts I won’t share about Seth Abramson, but I read this piece in the CJR with great interest. As a funny footnote, Abramson has me blocked on Twitter though we’ve never interacted and I don’t ever give him much thought.
That one guy at the Lincoln Project is a predator. Shocking, I know.
I was really moved by this essay by Daniel P. Finney about an unexpected kindness and consideration while shopping for shoes.
Russell Wilson and Ciara seem like a lovely couple.
If you’ve been wondering what Shelley Duvall has been up to, there are some answers in this article.
Tessica Brown’s scalp is free. A plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills came to her rescue! I can rest easier now.
“Economic anxiety” 2.0. I am not sure the media is ever, ever going to learn from their mistakes.
Autostraddle is raising funds to support the work they do.
This is last week’s round up. It’s late. It’s fine—holiday weekend!
Good for them!
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Didn’t have to click “Economic anxiety” to know what that was about. Is there a word that combines frustration with exhaustion when it comes to these takes?
I just told my partner last week that I preferred he move out, though I didn't want to break up. I showed him pics of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's connecting houses in Mexico City, which has been a dream of mine for nearly 30 years. Negotiating optimal distance is essential, it seems to me, to manage long-term commitment as older, complicated adults (we're both nearly 50) who don't share biological children and have our own respective creative projects and relationships to navigate.