September 6th, 2022 Starting today, I’m going to be taking the rest of the month off from posting essays. I feel like you and I could use a break from each other, in a good way. I hope you’ll catch up on posts, if that’s your thing, or pick up some of my work andContinue reading “The Kind Monster”
Tag Archives: Art
For You or Not For You
September 5th, 2022 When I saw the State Fair water tower on the horizon this year, the nostalgia hit me harder than normal. Instead of a general flavor, nostalgia tends to get colored by people whose loss feels recent, like yesterday, even though they’ve been gone, say, nearly two years. It got me thinking aboutContinue reading “For You or Not For You”
Great Big Tool
August 22nd, 2022 Like a spare key put someplace forgotten, artists can spend their entire lives looking for what it is that makes good art. They go to school for art, attending art classes. They read about making art, and then talk about their art readings. They are taught how art makes people feel, andContinue reading “Great Big Tool”
Accessible Excellence
August 18th, 2022 The most common thing said about my books comes across as backhanded, but I’ve come to realize it aligns with what I want to do as a writer so completely. The song goes: “I am not a big reader, but I really liked your book.” Usually followed by the encore of: “IContinue reading “Accessible Excellence”
We Will Meet As Strangers
August 13th, 2022 You read the words again. You’re young and you fall in love with the story, the first and last time you will fall in love. The plot thrills, the characters sing, the words pierce and they cut and they dig and find a place in your soul, creating a permanent home there.Continue reading “We Will Meet As Strangers”
In Dreams: The Sandman, Flip, and Push
August 8th, 2022 I finished the first season of The Sandman on Netflix this afternoon. As a massive Sandman fan, for years, I personally think it is a better-than-perfect adaptation of the source material. I also want to add how well the series is cast; Tom Sturridge as Dream is the single best casting choiceContinue reading “In Dreams: The Sandman, Flip, and Push”
Everyone as Puzzles
August 5th, 2022 A life’s journey is puzzling. I’ve made that idea near-literal. When you’re in recovery and an open book, people love to ask you about the ugliest parts of your story. “So what was your rock bottom?” I have never been fully comfortable with that phrase, at least when it comes to howContinue reading “Everyone as Puzzles”
What’s in a number?
August 2nd, 2022 Today, a friend asked me a great, big question: why? And how? Why am I a writer? How did I know I was a writer? Why and how am I the person that I am? And being put on the spot is wonderful, because you don’t know what you’re going to say,Continue reading “What’s in a number?”
Negative Space
July 24th, 2022 Criticism isn’t fun. It can be helpful, though. But it’s also stupid and people should mind their own business. I had to understand why I felt this way. And I realized it wasn’t about criticism. It was, as the whole universe is, about balance. People talk shit. It’s just a fact ofContinue reading “Negative Space”
Introduction v.2022
July 20th, 2022 How does a person get another person to like them the first time they meet? That’s what required of us when we write these stupid distillations of ourselves. If you hate me two sentences in, then I lose you. Definitely for the moment, most likely for today, and possibly forever. No pressure.Continue reading “Introduction v.2022”
The Den 