Your hold is ready! (07. 31. 23)

July 31, 2023

Hello everyone, from chaos/moving-central! Prepare for a longer-winded intro than usual –– a lot has happened since last month. I’ll be splitting the happenings into two parts, and then, finally, getting to the recs!

Chaos first:

July has been, to put it lightly, a pretty wild month for me. In June, while I was still traveling in Europe, I received a message asking if I’d be interested in teaching my first ever course as a lecturer rather than a TA. I jumped at the opportunity, and have had an amazing time with my students for the last almost-six weeks, though, of course, it was a ton of work. While I chose to do the class for a lot of reasons (financial, experiential, etc.), one unexpected benefit was that it provided structure to my weeks –– something I really benefit from in the summer.

This structure, as it turned out, wasn’t nearly as necessary as I thought (though still appreciated as a way of getting my ass out of the house). Relative slowness of academia/publishing in the summer notwithstanding, I’ve managed to get back a surprising amount of edits back on various publications, articles, and most excitingly, my forthcoming novel (add it on Goodreads at the link, and read an excerpt at Travesties magazine!). Now that my teaching responsibilities are, for the moment, winding down, I’m excited to dig in. Already, just returning to my practices of writing and self-editing are reawakening a lapse in creativity I’ve been feeling since my qualifying exams in May. I finished (finally!) two poems the other day. Light at the end of the tunnel, etc.

Speaking of light at the end of the tunnel, some lit mag news that many of you have probably heard about already: After close to two years of overwork (and three years total of participation in the magazine) I have left Stone of Madness Press. You can read more about Joyce Kung’s and my decisions regarding our issue 22 takeover and ultimate departure here. My final statement on SoM / goodbye-note for issue 22 is available to read here. L and Olivia deleted it in the issue itself shortly after Joyce and I returned the website to their control. This happened right in the middle of July, and was unexpected both on my and Joyce’s part –– very much a “final straw” situation. I’m glad we did it, and have no regrets about my time with the magazine or my choices around leaving –– well, moving.

Moving next:

As we compiled our final issue with Stone of Madness, Joyce and I discussed our shared love of editorial work –– that is, after all, why we choose to do the unpaid and sometimes tedious tasks that keep lit mags going. We decided to open a magazine of our own, called manywor(l)ds, a space for gender- and genreless pieces that engage with Mad / marginalized / multiplicitous aesthetics and forms and contents. We’ve already gotten over a hundred submissions, despite being open for less than a month. We close tonight, 7/31, at 11:59 PST –– but don’t worry, we reopen for submissions in September!

More moving/editorial news: I just officially signed the contract for a position as associate editor of Frontier Poetry! I still can’t quite believe that I snagged this one, and am floored at the enthusiasm with which I’ve been welcomed onto the team. I’ll be writing an “exceptional poetry” column over there, too, so keep your eyes peeled for that announcement if you love my recommendations here.

And, lastly, the “real” move: I’m moving from my current apartment to a new one several streets down. This doesn’t really matter to you or affect my newsletter, but man, moving sucks. I’ve never packed everything up/coordinated a move on my own before, and from ages four to seventeen, I lived in the same house with my parents. Even my moves to college and back were partial; and my mom helped me heavily on initial move across the country for grad school. Today is the last day before my lease is up, so once I finish this, I’ll be back to packing, putting things in my new (to me) car (from 2006) for some last-minute storage, and then heading back to my childhood home for a month’s break before moving into my new apartment.

Okay, I think that’s everything! Wish me luck on the remainder of this move, and I’ll catch you next month on the other side (of the country).

Now, onto the recommendations!

Today’s Recs:

Books and Manga:

Music and Podcasts

Poetry & Prose & In-Between:

Essays and Articles:

My Recent Work: