Travel-Based Urgency

Any impending departure drives me to put my affairs in order as if I’m about to set out on a doomed expedition to the South Pole.

Gigawatts

These days when I see exhortations to conserve power or water or any other communal resource, I’m alarmed by how cynical I’ve become.

Ramble #28

I’m barely managing to do my own work, which means I have no time for the work around the work—the work about the work.

The Absence of Poetry

If we could just—just stop. For one year. If everybody could stop publishing their poems. No more. Stop it. Just—everyone. Every poet. Just stop. But of course that’s totally unfair to the poets who are just starting out. This may be their “wunderjahr.” This may be the year that they really find their voice. And … Continue reading The Absence of Poetry

The Bag of Theseus

The bag in this photo is now old enough to drive. I got it sometime early in high school, probably from the outdoor shop Riley’s mom managed down in Ventura. I eschewed carrying any kind of purse for years because I like keeping my arms and hands free to scramble about, and this little pack … Continue reading The Bag of Theseus

An Archive of Reckless Touch

“Archives cannot actually let us touch the past; they can only leave us with inchoate fragments with which we build new stories.”

Population: Us

I fear I am admiring the problem, thrilling to ever more accurate descriptors that tell me precisely how and why I’m locked in this unfulfilling spiral, rather than taking steps to change my behavior.

Shakespeare at the End of the World

I keep thinking about Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven. I’m not usually a post-apocalyptic fiction person, but Erika recommended the book to me several years ago by saying “it’s about art at the end of the world, and the things it can and can’t do to keep us together.” That’s more than enough, it … Continue reading Shakespeare at the End of the World