april articles

“There he is, the poet suspended in that most ephemeral piece of furniture, the hammock, swinging there in the eternity of the moment, and he is empty of himself at last. That’s when the whole world surges in.” “I Have Wasted My Life” by Patricia Hampl
Heavily insightful, illuminating, and important piece about the opioid epidemic: “The Poison We Pick” by Andrew Sullivan
Follow along with my documentary’s column in the New York Times! Here’s our first case: “What Is Causing This Woman’s Severe Muscle Pain?” by Dr. Lisa Sanders
I love Junot Díaz and his writing immensely: they have dazzled and influenced and inspired me. Nevertheless, I cannot read his books the same way after reading his latest essay: “The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma” by Junot Díaz
“The Forever Nomad” by Margarita Gokun Silver
Horribly sobering; further evidence of our deeply flawed / racist / classist / problematic health care system: “Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis” by Linda Villarosa
Damon Young is both brilliant and hilarious. Topical: “Kanye’s Politics Are What Happens When You Don’t Read Books” by Damon Young
In the summer between fourth and fifth grade, I sat down and made a powerpoint about Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life for no reasons other than being a giant nerd and because she was BAD ASS. (I remember just wanting to give myself homework, and I did make my mom grade the project.) Enjoy this hilarious + well-done piece: “Queens of Infamy: Eleanor of Aquitaine” by Anne Thériault
“I recalled that old saying, “We’re at war while America is at the mall.” I wondered about the anonymous grunt poet who coined it. Whoever he was, there’s a good chance that even by the time I heard it, he’d already done his four years and gotten out. Maybe he’d left the Corps, settled into civilian life. Maybe he was in school. Perhaps he was working as a schoolteacher, or as a much-derided civil servant in some corner of our government. Perhaps he found that work more satisfying, more hopeful and of more obvious benefit to his country than the work he’d done in our mismanaged wars. “The Warrior at the Mall” by Phil Klay
Over roughly ten hours on a Saturday in January, Zhu biked nearly 60 miles to make 34 deliveries; he said he earned a little more than $80. “Being a delivery worker is the lowest rung of work in society,” he said. “NYC’s War On E-Bikes Takes Toll On Immigrant Delivery Workers” by Christopher Robbins and Jeffrey Singer
After all, a life with nothing but work and sleep is akin to slavery, and not particularly dignified. “America is obsessed with the virtue of work. What about the virtue of rest?” by Elizabeth Bruenig
On the “reality” of Reality TV: “Reality TV’s Hopeless Romantic” by Bonnie Wortheim
“Myth creates an illusion of continuity, constructing the status quo as eternal, unchangeable, and above all — Barthes loves this word — natural…Even as it sedates us, it helps us cope with our fear of the future, of sudden apocalypse. The Chainsmokers strive to reassure us: Nothing is really new. Don’t worry.” “Why I Can’t Quit the Chainsmokers” by Mae Rice
The best and truest of takes: “Even If You Hate Baseball, You’ll Love Baseball Dates” by Sophia Benoit
Work weeks? Adult life? 9-5? “”Smells Like Work”: Examining Employment in Charles Bukowski and Hunter S. Thompson” by Apoorva Tadepalli
Deb Haaland is pretty great: “Deb Haaland Could Be the First Native American Woman Elected to Congress”
A real beauty, as part of national Poetry Month: “Wolf’s Trees” by J.D. McClatchy
… ugh: “Why Mark Zuckerberg didn’t want to talk about your data” by Dylan Byers
Immensely gratifying to see the rest of the world love Kacey Musgraves the way I love Kacey Musgraves!!! Her new album is so good: “On Kacey Musgraves’s Golden Hour, a Star Is Born” by Craig Jenkins
“We say those who save one life saves a universe. You saved hundreds of universes.” “Johan van Hulst, Who Helped Save 600 Children From the Nazis, Dies at 107” by Richard Sandomir
Thoroughly fun quiz!!!! “Can you guess the world city from its cold war Soviet spy map?” by Nick Van Mead
Admittedly, I’ve yet to see I FEEL PRETTY, but “the movie suggests that the only thing holding back regular-looking women is their belief that looking regular holds them back at all. That attitude puts the onus on individual women to improve their self-esteem instead of criticizing societal beauty standards writ large.” “‘I Feel Pretty’ and the Rise of Beauty-Standard Denialism” by Amanda Hess
“I mean, every power known to man, somebody’s done somewhere. So very quickly I realized that I didn’t care that much about the powers. What I did care about was that they were a family — and that was a very liberating idea.” “Incredibles 2: Why Brad Bird didn’t age up the Parr kids” by Marc Snetiker
Beautiful discussion on what looks like a great movie, DISOBEDIENCE: “Rachel on Rachel” by Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams
I have just become acquainted with Paul Morley’s journalism career and it’s, among many things, been a revelation: here’s Paul Morley’s 1997 Review Of Radiohead’s OK Computer
When food comes with consequences, it’s a sign that “we’re in a world where the rules are very different.” + Whether its butter-pie or stew, food acts as an anchor against novels’ horror and high stakes. “Why Do Fantasy Novels Have So Much Food?” by Anne Ewbank
More food: “Peanut Farming, Robert E. Lee, and a Virginia Family’s Legacy” by Rebecca Holland
“The History of the Hollywood Sign, From Public Nuisance to Symbol of Stardom” by Manuel Pastor
“The cultural zeitgeist tells us things are either one way or another. They are black or white. Hot or cold. Good or bad. Art — successful art — tells us that multiple, seemingly contradictory things can exist at once.” “Melissa Broder’s The Pisces: There is Light at the End of the Spiral” by Anna Dorn
mmmmmm: “I Want to Be Rich and I’m Not Sorry” by Jessica Knoll
“If we spent more on domestic rather than military activities, then the middle class would not vanish as quickly. The effects of technological change and globalization could be altered by political actions. We could restore and expand education, shifting resources from policies like mass incarceration to improving the human and social capital of all Americans. We could upgrade infrastructure, forgive mortgage and educational debt in the low-wage sector, reject the notion that private entities should replace democratic government in directing society, and focus on embracing an integrated American population. We could tax not only the income of the rich, but also their capital.” I’M HERE FOR ALL OF IT BECAUSE: “America is Regressing into a Developing Nation for Most People” by Lynn Parramore
Ending on an extremely positive note: SHEEP! “The Tweeting of the Lambs: A Day in the Life of a Modern Shepherd” by Sam Knight