“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
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
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
“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
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
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
“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
