Hello, dear friends,
On Sunday, I saw Haley Heynderickx and Max Garcia Conover perform live, which reminded me of the incredible power of art that resists through beauty, bravery, and community. When they performed “This morning I am born again,” and Max sang the line “There is only emptiness against me,” I felt this transcendent sense of alive-ness. May all our art accomplish such a thing; may all our art encourage resistance.
In this issue
The Imaginary Novelist Writes
I have been, metaphorically, banging my head against a brick wall in my writing life. I keep trying to write this one story—and I think I am finally realizing that it’s the wrong story, the wrong moment to capture. To me, it’s a reminder of the tension between writing as a series of choices, and writing as a received, divine thing. I truly believe in transcendence in writing, in recording rather than creating something real and true, but that only works when I cooperate and utilize my own mind/soul/keyboard and make the hard choices I need to make. It’s a balance—always a balance.
The Imaginary Novelist Reads
Spring makes me read more, and read outside more. Here’s what I’ve been loving lately:
Books
Calling a Wolf a Wolf, by Kaveh Akbar: Look, if you know me, you’ve heard me rave about this poet, but I just reread this book after two years and, good god, it is so brilliant and life-affirming.
A Physical Education, by Casey Johnston: I have been wanting to get strong lately, and reading this book was just the encouragement I needed to pursue strength without giving into diet culture. Quick and easy to read; if you’re considering starting to lift, I recommend picking this up first.
Poems
Honestly, just going to link to the whole electric pink poetry archive; there’s so much good stuff here.
Hail Maryam by Safa Hijazi, in Redivider. I am always a sucker for marian imagery/discussion and I love the phrasing of ‘saintly humming.’
Prose
How Much Time Will Go By by Patricia Fuentes Burns, in Does It Have Pockets. Short fiction that left some feeling rattling around in my chest.
The Imaginary Novelist Publishes
I have a few new pieces out since I last wrote you:
“The Lover” in Does It Have Pockets (fiction)
Two more poems in electric pink: “Illumine” and “Golden Shovel for Medical Transition.”
Thanks for reading this far! I’m excited to see where this newsletter takes me; feel free to share with a friend, reply if you’d like, and let me know what you think!