I’m such a Toni Morrison fan girl. This latest tome is a compilation of writing outside her novelistic cannon, composed of essays, speeches, lectures, and meditations she’s written over the decades of her iconic career.
It includes, among my favorites, her Nobel Prize Lecture in Literature from 1993, as well as several deep dissections of her favorite pieces of literature and insights into her own work. It’s exciting to have these parts of her deeply intellectual oeuvre in one place.
I’m also a Lee Miller fan girl. So this was the obvious pick for my Book of The Month subscription choice. Lee Miller is best known as photographer Man Ray’s muse, but girlfriend has her own work, photography, and story to share. The Age of Light fictionalizes Lee’s sojourn from man’s muse to self-made artist, with 1930’s Paris as its backdrop.
For David Abrams’ Sunday Sentence project, readers share the best sentence they’ve read during the past week, “out of context and without commentary.”
(Except I totally give you context and commentary.)
I’ve been so under the weather the past week. I could fill a landfill with all the innocent tissues I’ve violated of late. Most of my reading happened from my sick bed and on my smartphone. Thus, my #SundaySentence comes from PsychologyToday.com. (Of course, I try self-diagnosing my mental crises when I’m under physical duress. I’m sure that’s a symptom of something…)
Research by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at UCLA shows that college students’ number one value is now “being well off financially,” while for students in the 1960s it was “developing a meaningful philosophy of life.”
The generational divide is whatever. Millennials are screwed. I knew this. I’m more intrigued by that phrase “developing a meaningful philosophy of life.”
Mm… that sounds nice.
So does more cold medicine…
and a down-the-rabbit-hole search for “college” on the NYPL database…
I’m loathe to sign up for more newsletters, considering how inundated my inbox has become with sales pitches, unlimited LIMITED TIME ONLYs, press releases, and political provocations to a mystery woman named “Janet Manty.”
Some Smarter Living stories.
The Smarter Living series by the Times hooked me, though, with its consistently interesting roundup of how-to articles and service-based news you can actually use. Peruse its most recent stories here and sign up for the newsletter, if your inbox dares, here.
Huzzah! The CNN documentary miniseries has reached the new millennium. For “The 2000s,” eight episodes examine TV, music, pop culture, political upheaval, and, of course, war in the first decade of the 21st century. It’s worth a watch for a refresher course on history you lived, history you missed, and history that’s hard to believe now falls under the category of “history.”
This panel about pitching
as a freelance writer
The Pulitzer Center’s Student Fellow Weekend 2018 panel featured journalists and editors from a range of media outlets. It’s a long conversation—an hour and a half—and I recommend skipping the introductions. But give it a listen for some helpful nuggets on how to make your article or essay pitches standout.
I learned what to and what not to include (ie. don’t include more than one story pitch if you haven’t worked with that editor before… oops), how to format a subject line (ie. put “PITCH:” in all caps and follow it with a headline that would work for your proposed piece), and much more.
Financial Planning
for Creative Careers
Related: This free course from Kadenze. It’s pretty high-level, as free online courses are wont to be, but there’s some helpful goodies in here on budgeting, tax basics, financial goal setting, and Excel best practices. Bonus: It’s taught by Columbus College of Art & Design’s super, duper smart Elaine Grogan Luttrull, whom I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing before.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner in “The Resident”
My medical drama binge-watching continues. I’m obsessed with Mina on “The Resident” (played by Shaunette Renee Wilson) and the raptor doc I hope becomes her bff mentor lover, AJ Austin.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner is so excellent at playing the doc whose outrageous arrogance is matched only by his unexpected tenderness. And, of course, by Mina.
“Venom” by Little
Simz
Just wait for that beat to drop. So venomous it burns. This
new song is perfect for all your feminist musical needs—from a workout playlist
to a protest march. 🔥
This winter’s cold has been unrelenting. But I still want to go out, even if it means wearing three layers underneath my heavy-duty winter jacket. Same? These three activities offer a cozy and cavernous getaway while we count down the days to spring.
Go deep inside: The Palmer House
The OG brownie is at The Palmer House, a historic Chicago hotel that Rudyard Kipling long ago described as “a gilded mirror rabbit warren crammed with barbarians.”
Today, I recommend going barbaric on the hotel’s OG brownie. It’s as decadent and rich as the golden drapery and as opulent as the soaring ceilings. The confection was concocted in the late 19th century under the direction of Bertha Palmer (watch the video below for more) for the Columbian Exposition World’s Fair in 1893. Pro tip: Get dinner at the burritos and bowls quick-service spot right outside the hotel so you don’t feel totally gluttonous after downing the whole dessert by yourself. Because you will.
https://vimeo.com/241074022
Go behind walls: Dorian’s
On a recent round of The 10 to 10, we rolled into Bucktown and ended up walking to Wicker Park. We passed a boutique record shop that seemed worthy of a step inside.
It was more than a record shop, though. Hidden behind an unsuspecting “secret” doorway was Dorian’s, a midcentury mod-style restaurant, tucked away with tiki-themed drinks (and a mocktails option!), jazz spinning on the sound system, and a charcuterie board complete with pickled grapes.
Go underground: Three Dots and A Dash
At Three Dots and a Dash, go on a warm adventure beneath the city. Located in the River North neighborhood, no treasure map is required to find it: Just look for the sign in the alleyway off Hubbard and head down the dramatically lit stairwell to a dreamy tiki hideaway. At the grass-skirted bar or a cozy booth, surrounded by chic wooden fixtures and sunset lighting, order up some small bites, a cold pressed juice or handcrafted cock(or mock)tail. The team of mixologists makes its own syrups, such as falernum and allspice, to keep things fresh. The exotic combinations are designed to give even the most well-traveled tongue an exciting new taste.
‘Till a Mexican beach and a flute of sparkling juice and I meet again…
Zero Proof is a brand new biweekly podcast featuring me and my forever-friend/ former-editor Shelley Mann Hite. Read our story here.
On each episode, we read and discuss one book about sobriety, self-growth, or surviving—and then thriving—in spaces that profit when we numb ourselves, from ourselves.
First up (on episode two), we discuss “The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath” by Leslie Jamison and dig into our own varied approaches to recovery.
We’re also featuring Zero Proof drinks (get it) that pair with each book. After all, we know book clubgoers need something to imbibe. We just don’t think it has to be alcohol.
“The Recovering” pairs well with an Iowa Fog, considering all that time Leslie spent at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. ☕📝 It’s our take on the classic London Fog: Steep a mug of Earl Gray tea, add a drop of vanilla, then top it with steamed milk. If you don’t have a milk steamer at home (who does?), you can get the same effect by beating milk in a saucepan over low heat with your hand mixer. Beat for a few minutes till your milk is nice and frothy.
And, of course, this policy of denial is just another form of lying — a fanciful story we tell ourselves about our future even as we fight to free ourselves from the personal lies of our past.
Nancy A. Nichols, Memoirs of a Used Car Salesman’s Daughter
For David Abrams’ Sunday Sentence project, readers share the best sentence they’ve read during the past week, “out of context and without commentary.”
This closing line from Nancy A. Nichols’ issue of True Story gave me a lot to chew on as I rode the train home (these mini magazines with one longform true story per issue are so perfect for commutes).
If you haven’t read On Writing by Stephen King yet, get a copy now. Stock up on cute highlighters while you’re at it. (He’s also hella feisty on Twitter.)
If there is any one thing I love about writing more than the rest, it’s that sudden flash of insight when you see how everything connects.
Stephen King, On Writing
I love this golden nugget quote in the chapter about theme. It’s so true, right? Even those of us who can only hope to be Stephen-King-quality after a couple lifetimes know this feeling. Hitting that sweet spot where things you didn’t even know were in you fall together into a cohesive story or paragraph or sentence? It feels otherworldly.
Saul Leiter was a pioneer of American color photography. His painterly images of 1950s and 1960s city life are so wistful. His work makes me see bad weather, stinky streets, and the humans who inhabit it all — differently. Better. More lovingly.
“A window covered with raindrops interests me more than a photograph of a famous person.”
Here are five of his most lovely snow-filled images that might make this seemingly never-ending winter snow a lot more bearable. At least more beautiful.
