Because Sometimes Writing Looks Like Reading
Join Me? Online. Starting on Sunday Nov. 12th...
October might be my favorite month—so transitional, all shifting weather and seasons and costumes and light! Though I also love May, and sometimes December, so don’t hold me to any favorite, only a passion for times we can feel weather on our skin that’s not deadly-hot or sleet and ice, and a love of those days when it’s okay to stay in, and to climb in bed early because it’s been dark out since 3:30, or sometimes dark all day, in the Pacific Northwest and then 8:00 feels like midnight and a duvet and a clean set of sheets and a paperback book feels like enough.
October is also the month when the Best American series issues its new collections. These come out each fall, since 1915 or so. Do you read any of them? Best American…Essays, stories, science fiction, or “science and nature writing,” or non-required reading, food writing, mystery and suspense…
I usually pick up Best American Essays and Best American Short Stories. I read the collection with a mix of love and doubt. The title sets itself up for a challenge: Best? The Best? Really?
Ha! I had the “Best Waffles in Town” once, and they were not good. I tried the “Best Chili” and the “Best Coffee” and the….
Sometimes it’s clear why an essay or a short story has made it through at least two rounds of significant editors and found acceptance. Everything in these books was in another publication, first.
Other times, it’s baffling, and I’ll wonder what editors were vibing with, but the act of wondering is interesting to me, too.
Vivian Gornik is the guest editor of the essay collection this round. I love her! She was one my profs, in grad school. I learned so much about essays directly from her. What an honor! Gawd, looking back, I see how lucky I was to have landed in that cool class.
I also read her how-to book, The Situation and the Story, and her memoir, Fierce Attachments, and more.
Are any of you interested in essays?
Would any of you like to read and maybe talk about the Best American Essays with me? This is a heads-up. Pick up a copy, if you’d like! Maybe there’s one at your library, or probably any local bookstore…
I’m going to read three essays a week. There are twenty-one essays in the 2023 edition. That’s seven weeks. Here’s my plan:
If anyone is up for it, we could talk about the essay as form, and all the variations.
I don’t know what is in this edition. That’s part of the excitement—we can find out together. :)
Love ‘em, hate ‘em, remain indifferent…we’ll see!
They’re always inspiring.
Reading essays leads me to seeing my life as essay material, finding meaning in the moments. Maybe you’d like it, too?
Perhaps on one day a week…Sundays? Mid-morning? Could change…we could chat, live, for an hour, and at other times we could post or use Substack’s other tools…I’ll figure it out.
I realize there’s a chance it’ll only be me! Ha! We’ll see! I hope some of you might join in! Essays are fun. Somehow in school we often learn that essays are dull, but in real life they’re gold! Funny, smart, compelling, dark, elucidating, illuminating, thoughtful…I dig’em.
But if you’d like to read along with me, let’s start the discussion on Sunday, November 12th. I’ll play it by ear, see who takes an interest.
It’ll likely be behind the paywall. Not entirely sure, but I do want to send out a special thank you to subscribers. We’ll see.
Unless we shift the schedule for holidays, it would look about like:
That’s my approximate plan.
Want to discuss essays with me?
We can find what interests us, and what doesn’t. We can talk about essays as a form, in all forms. We can talk about writing, and about places to send work….and anything else that comes up, for an hour or so on Sundays.
I’d love to hear from you! Reading is cool, and reading together is even better.
M
Do you have a copy, in hand? Have you started reading? I read the first three yesterday. They aren't long, which I appreciate, and they're fantastic!
Yay!! 🎉🎉🎉🎃🎉🎉🎉