a good sentence is electric.
a note about literary community | + reading/watching/listening recs <3
Dear friends,
Last night some friends and I attended the Literary Cleveland fundraiser, which included readings from Calil “Just C.O.S.” Cage, Annmarie Kelly-Harbaugh, Stephanie Genese, and Hanif Abdurraqib. The dress code was “creative cocktail attire” and it felt fun to play dress up for a good cause. The readers were all wonderful, partly because they were all poets and storytellers. Poets and storytellers are far better readers than normal writers—they engage with the words and the audience with so much intention. Writers, more often than not, I think, want to words to speak for themselves. But there is something so special about listening to someone who isn’t embarrassed to breathe life into the pages, to shake the letters at their joints. A good sentence is electric, and all of them did right by that possibility. They all inspired me—a decidedly normal writer—to push myself a bit.
I don’t mean to turn this into a commercial for Lit Cleveland, but it really is a special organization, and I feel proud to sometimes teach for them. They offer affordable classes and workshops in fiction/nonfiction/poetry, run the largest free writing conference in the country, and also provide free classes and workshops for underserved communities. The director, Matt Weinkem, told a story about a man who took part of a Lit Cleveland workshop at his shelter; he told Matt he thought the “correct” term of “unhoused” just sanitized the violent reality of homelessness. A word—even just one word, alone—has power. I love being around people who believe that, but who also know that words and stories are not enough. We can’t write our way out of capitalism, genocide, or authoritarianism—we need eclectic and relentless material resistance for that—but words absolutely help us imagine possibilities outside of them.
Below! Reading recs that include an illuminating and terrifying new bit of AI discourse, a piece that reflects on desiring vs. being desired, a reported article on storm disaster labor, and more. Also: a lukewarm review of Mountainhead, and a new Lefty country/folk musician rec. Plus: some more personal tidbits from my week, including some pics.
love & solidarity,
raechel
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Reminders!
⇼There are still two more spots for Alt-Ac Summer Session. If you are a tired academic who wants to imagine life (and identity) outside of the academy, this would be a wonderfully supportive group for you to join for the week. We meet this coming Monday-Friday (June 9-13), 11am-1pm. More info here.
⇼If you’re in or near Dayton, come to Blind Rage Records to hear me read and chat with Adam Gnade. I’ve never met Adam, but it seems like we’re kindred spirits as far as music and radical politics go, so I’m sure it’s going to be a great discussion. Plus, Blind Rage’s owner, Gwen Stacy (also a kindred spirit re: music/politics), is going to do a DJ set, so there will also be dancing. :)
Reading.
