announcements!

discount subscriptions, a reading, a workshop, an anniversary + lists, links, recs <3

february, ohio.

Dear friends,

I’m working on a longer essay for you in honor of the 50th anniversary of Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” the foundational feminist film theory article that popularized the term “the male gaze.” I’m really enjoying thinking about what’s changed over the past five decades. Stay tuned for that. 

Given that my writing energies are occupied with that, I thought I’d use the note today for announcements. Here’s some news! 

1. Rust Belt Femme turns five this March! I’ll be sharing an essay on the anniversary reflecting on the past five years of the book in the world, and I’m also open to doing a few RBF-related events. If you’re interested in having me speak to a class or do an event (Zoom or driving distance from Cleveland), please email me and maybe we can make it happen!

   

2. Are you headed to AWP next month? I’ll be there! It’s my first AWP, and my first time in Los Angeles, which as I wrote about recently, is a big exciting deal for me. I’m really grateful to have partial conference support from my job to help me get there, and I’m so happy that this will allow me to connect with so many of my West Coast beloveds. And I’m doing a reading with an incredibly humbling lineup of writers. Hope to meet some of you there! (Get in-person tickets here, or signup to join the livestream here.)

   

3. For Lit Cleveland, I’m leading a workshop called Turning Research into Compelling Nonfiction. It takes place on Zoom on March 19th from 6:30-8:30pm EST. From the description: “Whether you're an academic trying to break out of a dry writing style, a journalist trying to shift into more complex storytelling, or a writer navigating a research-based project for the first time, this class is for you. We'll look at examples of successful research-based creative nonfiction, discuss common challenges, and learn useful skills for the research and writing process.” You can register here, for only $35 ($25 for Lit Cleveland members). 

   

4. For the foreseeable future, I’m reducing the yearly newsletter subscription price to $33. The monthly cost will go up to $7. I want to make the newsletter more accessible (and also I like magical numbers), so I hope this will help more folks get access to my full offerings (for now, this gives you all paywalled writing, the ability to comment, and join chats; this summer, the benefits will expand beyond that). That said, as always, if you can’t afford the subscription, email me for a comp’d subscription, no questions asked. If you can swing the $33, though, please consider supporting a working writer!   

   (shout out to

   Alicia Kennedy
   for modeling this low-cost template!) 

That’s all for now! Below in Reading/Watching/Listening: a hearty roundup of links covering everything from radical direct action to pop culture commentary to the new Maggie Nelson; some feminist Criterion Channel recs; the best music video I’ve seen in years (or ever?); + things from the week that brought me joy. <3 

love & solidarity,

raechel 

Reading.