10 Things I Read and Loved in March
Books and articles and "writing experiments" and MORE!
Hi lovelies! It is springtime. My favorite time of year. The ocean is still cold here in Florida, but I’m making time to sit on the beach with good books most days. AND SPEAKING OF GOOD BOOKS: here are some excellent things I’ve read this month!
1. Betwixt-and-Between: Essays on the Writing Life by Jenny Boully
This collection of essays lives up to the hype! When I selected this book as the springtime Book Club for Writers pick, I hadn’t read it yet but had heard good things from writer friends. In these essays, Boully equally focuses on writing craft as well as the emotional elements of the creative process while alluding to art and history and science and so many other compelling topics. (And now I’m craving more writing books that achieve this balance!)
Join the Book Club for Writers to discuss this title on Zoom on Sunday, April 30, 1-2:30PM EST. It’s going to be fun!
2. Marlee Grace’s reflections on their social media hiatus
As yet another person who struggggggles to put her damn phone down, I’ll tune into anything that attempts to break down compulsive social media use. My favorite writer on this subject is Marlee Grace, who published a zine years ago about social media use that completely changed my relationship with the apps. (The title of the zine was lengthy and perfect: How a photo and video-sharing social networking service gave me my best friends, true love, a beautiful career, and made me want to die.)
Mar continues to write about social media use in their newsletter. Highly recommend subscribing if you’re anything like me.
3. Bernadette Mayer’s writing prompts
I came across this list of suggested “writing experiments” through Mason Currey’s newsletter issue about the poet Bernadette Mayer. As a longtime fan of Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies deck of prompts, I find that Mayer’s prompts have a similar mystifying quality to them, only they’re much more specific. (Eno’s, on the other hand, are famously vague. One of his cards simply reads, “More holes.”)
Here are some of Mayer’s experiments:
And the list goes on and on. Read it all here.
4. Delia Cai’s interview with The Creative Independent
I felt so seen when Delia Cai described how she puts everything—even laundry—on her Google Calendar, which she refers to as being “ruthlessly compartmental.” (Definitely using that next time someone accuses me of being “uptight.”)
Cai’s debut novel, Central Places, recently hit bookshelves! I haven’t finished reading it yet, but I’ve enjoyed the premise and characters so far.
5. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Grab this novel and bring it to your first day at the beach or by the pool this spring. It is deliciously page-turning and very, very smart—don’t get me started on how much I loved the omniscient POV.
6. Arielle McManus’s essay on writing about real people
I was so moved by the vulnerability Arielle McManus shares in her essay on the ever-hot-button issue of writing about real people. The conclusion she reaches after describing an essay she wrote about her family that ended up upsetting her father really got me:
If I hadn’t written it, then maybe my dad and I wouldn’t have gotten the benefit of having the fight. Though the fight was awful, it was also necessary. It was a fight that we should have had a lot sooner.
Those of you who attended our first Book Club for Writers meeting will be delighted to find that Arielle references Melissa Febos’s Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative in her essay. I loved seeing that conversation continue, especially since Arielle was part of our discussion on Zoom! 💖
7. the breakfast descriptions in Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett
Some of my favorites:
Sometimes a banana with coffee is nice. It ought not be too ripe—there should be a definite remainder of green along the stalk, and if there isn’t, forget about it.
The rough sort of oatcake goes especially well with a banana by the way—by the way, the banana might be chilled slightly.
If a neighbour has been overheard or the towels folded the day’s too far in and porridge, at this point, will feel vertical and oppressive, like a gloomy repast from the underworld.
VERTICAL AND OPPRESSIVE. How great is that?!!
8. Lynn Steger Strong’s very Florida essay in Little Engines
I love what Little Engines is publishing! Request a free (FREE!) print copy here.
9. South of Seeds trail guides
Fellow Florida folk, this one’s for you! My friend Jessica Triolo writes beautifully about Florida state parks and nature preserves. She recently updated the guides on her website, South of Seeds. It’s a great resource for getting outside.
10. In Defense of Badness by Jenna Klorfein
I have tried endlessly over the years to understand my magnetism to “bad” people, how this rubs against my sensitive soul, my longing above all else to be loved and seen with tenderness and care. My own desire to be good, obedient and clean.
My fellow goody-two-shoes babes: read Jenna Klorfein’s essay. It made me want to get bad on the page.
Things I Wrote This Month
This month brought about the very exciting debut of a new music column I’m writing called Songwriting School. The coolest thing about this series: the interviews are both written and PLAYED ON THE RADIO. Listen to my interview with synth pop duo LANNDS here!
Also, was that conference “worth it?”
Earlier this month from the AWP conference, I also wrote about the question so many of us ask about conferences and workshops: are they “worth it?” Since then, some of you have asked about my assessment of AWP: was it worth it?
I think it’s safe to say it was! I learned a ton at the conference and even made new friends. AWP will be in Kansas City next year, and here’s a sentence I never thought I’d say that’s 100% true: I can’t wait to go to Kansas City.
Thanks for reading! Hope to see you next month at the Book Club for Writers meeting.
💛 Hurley
So glad you enjoyed Bernadette Mayer's writing prompts, and thank you for the reminder to consult Oblique Strategies! I have an online version bookmarked (http://stoney.sb.org/eno/oblique.html) but I haven't looked at it in ages, and now I'm feeling like it might be just the thing I need for my current writing phase . . .
Thank you for sharing my essay, Hurley! I've been loving Betwixt and Between, and can't wait to discuss it at the end of April. Also, I'm going to go buy "Pond" later today. I love your recs!