calendar full, head empty
Dear readers,
I’ve found myself very busy lately and with very little to say—hence my writing to you on the last day of the month instead of somewhere around the middle as I have been. The sudden jolt of spring into summer manages to take me by surprise and bowl me over every year. My calendar is packed beyond capacity but I don’t want to cancel anything because I love my friends and I love going to book events and and I love birthday party picnics in the park and I love watching a minor league baseball team lose 16-3 while the moon rises over Coney Island.
(Seriously, the moon looked so stupidly magical last week I genuinely didn’t think it was real at first. I thought it was a lit-up billboard. Someone pointed at it from the stands and I yelled “IS THAT THE REAL ASS MOON?”)
I’m trying to catch moments of stillness where I can get them. Just moments to sit in the sun and catch my breath. To linger a little longer while I’m walking the dogs, try to be present where I am instead of cataloging my to-do list in my head. To notice the birds even if I can’t name them, to appreciate the way the light hits the side of a building.
Tomorrow is the first day of
’s #1000wordsofsummer. In the middle of writing this sentence I decided that I’m going to do it, precisely because I was about to say it is impossible for me to find the time. Next week I’m working evenings and Saturday; the following week I’ll be hiking through the Pacific Northwest. How could I possibly make a commitment to write? But then a Zen saying that often makes up the basis of my self care practice echoed through my head: “It is necessary to sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Except when you are very busy. Then you should sit for an hour.”For the uninitiated, #1000wordsofsummer is kind of a mini NaNoWriMo — instead of trying to write a novel in a month, you just write 1000 words a day for 2 weeks in the summer. 1000 words is not that much when I’m in the zone and it is absolutely Mount Everest on days like today, when my brain feels full of bees. But I’m going to do it! And at least one of those days of 1000 words will be my next snail mail letter to you. Maybe I’ll even write it from the trails in Olympia National Park.
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This month, I’ll also be donating 20% of every paid newsletter subscription to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
Patchwork Literary Salon — June 3, 7:00pm, Sisters
The inaugural event of this salon earlier this month was such a blast. Join us for our second installment, featuring Chloe Caldwell, Naomi Kanakia, Gabriel Carle, and Aishvarya Arora! Doors at 7pm, readings at 7:30; come early to connect with other writers and readers and enjoy new drink specials!
The Bronx Book Festival — June 8, 8:00am-6:00pm, Fordham Plaza
I’m going back to my old neighborhood next weekend to table for Feminist Press at the Bronx Book Festival! Pray for me as I commute up from Brooklyn to arrive at 8am. In all seriousness, though, it’s going to be a great festival in an under-appreciated literary borough. Come through!
Read, Rest and Renew retreat — July 12-14*, The Center at Mariandale
Registration is now open for this weekend retreat designed as an escape from the rush of daily life and summer in the city. This is a perfect first-time retreat with lots of downtime and some light programming, including opportunities for group reflection, gentle movement, and conversation during meals. Enjoy 61 acres of land overlooking the Hudson River, walking trails, and an in-ground pool!
*I put the wrong dates here last month—sorry!
As I mentioned above — the first installment of Patchwork was such a dream! I couldn’t have asked for a better inaugural lineup in Megan Milks, Maeve Berry, and K-Ming Chang. We talked about sex and swamp creatures and what kinds of female characters get to be unhinged and gross on the page. Also, my girlfriend bought me some beautiful flowers 💛
A bit of insider baseball, but if you work in or are at all tangential to the book world, you know there’s more or less constant fearmongering about the current and future state of the industry.
’s newsletter this week breaks down the latest myths around debuts and how social media and the pandemic have transformed the book industry. A balm for hopeful future published authors.
Lots of artists are raffling or donating their talents for a free Palestine right now. If you’re so inclined to donate to charitable cause, you can get a hand-drawn cat doodle from Temim Fruchter, enter to win a quilt made by
, buy a mini zine to fund esims from Mia Tsang, and download free linocut art from Lane Lloyd.- ’s recent newsletter “in defense of analog” really struck home with me, especially as I wrote one of my snail mail subscriber letters on my computer vs by hand or by typewriter for the first time ever this month. I won’t be doing it again—analog forever. If you’re a paid subscriber, thank you for being a part of this practice with me!
I’ve thought some version of this sentiment often as I seal and stamp and sticker the 27 envelopes that go out to my current subscribers each month. 27 of you pay me real money to receive my doodles and musings and writing prompts and recipe cards and dried flower petals each month, and most of you are not even my mom. What a miracle! What a gift! Thank you for being here.
That’s all for me today. See you soon in the real world❣️
🌱 Nadine
