First off, if you live in Chicago or have writer / artist friends in the area you’d like to share this with, I’m giving a public lecture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on Thursday, July 18 (info here) on cultivating an integrated art practice, and a workshop with the wonderful folks at StoryStudio on Monday, July 22 on embracing failure (info here). The wonderful Matthew Salesses took this picture the last time I taught the failure workshop at Tin House if you want to get a flavor of my teaching style:
I do lectures and workshops around structured improvisations so you’re guaranteed not to get bored! I would appreciate it if you could share or forward this entry to any Chicago friends who might want to come work with me.
Now, onto the topic at hand, fantastic summer books! I’ve had a slow reading summer mainly because I’ve been finishing my story collection (all turned in to my agent, wheee!), but I wanted to highlight a few books that have kept me going these past few weeks.
I was having lunch with my artist / audio producer friend Eleanor Kagan last week and we both gushed over how ingenious and inspiring Housemates is, a novel that dwells in the wonder and satisfaction of artmaking, set among queer women living together in Philadelphia. In particular, I was so so moved by how Emma, through some ingenious narrative shenanigans I won’t spoil, manages to encompass the past and future within the present all in one story, which is particularly touching when we think about the massive changes queer life has undergone in the past century, and will no doubt undergo in the decades to come. The fact that Emma is also a friend makes the book all the more special to me. Speaking of friends…
Porochista was my teacher first before she became my friend, and I find myself so bowled over by how marvelous Tehrangeles is. I’m such a sucker for literary takes on popular phenomena, and P. writes with so much aplomb about the lives of four teenage Iranian sisters about to star in a reality TV show when, uh oh, the pandemic hits. I talk a lot about how abandon is as much an important part of good writing as control, and Porochista is a master at this, able to be simultaneously so wacko and messy while doing so with so much textual precision that it’s truly breathtaking. And lastly….
I, alas, can’t call Matt Bell a friend but he’s speaking to my class in the fall so hopefully soon. Refuse to Be Done has been my constant companion through my book revision process, especially Part 3 on fine-tuning complete drafts, which I’ve read three times so far, and will keep doing so every time I’m prepping for a revision round. I love how much he demystifies book writing and shows how, at the end of the day, so much of good work is just the willingness to keep going and improving. Even if your aesthetic concerns don’t match his (and we definitely differ on some points of style), Refuse to Be Done will no doubt sharpen your writer’s mind and lead you toward a better book.
I also want to mention loving A Last Supper of Queer Apostles by Pedro Lemebel and Exhibit by R.O. Kwon so far, though I’m not writing about them yet because I haven’t finished them. For whatever reason there are books I finish fast and books I savor tasty bite by tasty bite, then sigh after I’m done.
Finally I’ll stick the graphic for my StoryStudio Chicago workshop here just to remind you one last time!
Until next time,
M.