READ WATCH PLAY FEAST + OFFICE HOURS!
JUNE-JULY EDITION
Gang!
Have no idea why I’ve been thinking about my university days so much. Maybe it’s because I found some old letters (and their attached mixed tapes). Maybe it’s because one of my closest friends is a member of the Rutgers University Senate and doing some interesting work. Maybe it’s just my penchant for looking back. I was one of those people who came of age in college; Rutgers was the first time I caught a glimpse of what an artistic life might look like. During those four years I watched films, attended plays, read books, went to shows nonstop, acquired habits that never left me, habits from which this round-up descends.
Anyway…
Hope everyone is having a safe art-filled summer. As always: big thanks to all our subscribers. Your insights and interventions and support are really making StoryWorlds into a beautiful community.
You’ve helped me more than I can communicate.
And now without further ado:
TIME FOR ANOTHER OFFICE HOUR!
If you have any questions at all regarding building stories or the creative life in general — if you have any questions about anything we’ve been discussing — please post them in the comments section of this very post or message me directly.
And because folks always ask for it: below you’ll find some of what’s been keeping me nourished this last month.
READ
I’m late to the Ha Seong-Na party but goddamn the hype is real and these stories are to be treasured and shared. Tough, smart, mesmerizing, and they’ll hit you sideways. Big up to the translator Janet Hong (who’s translated two of Ha’s other works as well). There’s one story in particular — “Daytime to Daytime” — that arrived exactly when I needed it.
https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/wafers
I’ve been a massive fan of Ana Menéndez since her first collection In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd but this novel is a real showstopper. There comes a time when every writer, if they keep at it, attempts a Moby Dick, a novel that embraces the stupendous symphonic diversity of America. The Helena (apartment) is Menéndez’s Pequod. Really extraordinary work.
https://www.counterpointpress.com/books/the-apartment/
WATCH
I’m always on the look-out for non-Disney animation and cyberpunk stories. MARS EXPRESS is an electric combination, a future-noir gem. One of those futures that didn’t feel just possible — it felt nigh inevitable. I wasn’t expecting that ending, how tough it played.
https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/mars-express-review-1235991015/
I’m telling you: INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE is the best show on tv and season 2 knocked it so far out of the park they’ll never recover the ball. Black queer narrative at its supernatural best. Plus, talk about a searing depiction of impossible destructive love.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/jacob-anderson-interview-with-the-vampire-finale-little-gold-men
PLAY
Toronto Jazz Fest brought Haitus Kaiyote to my attention and I’m all in.
SiR & Anderson .Paak - what else need be said?
Except that Lismar is FIRE.
https://www.thefamemag.com/article/meet-lismar-the-next-big-thing-in-music
FEAST
Headed down to Quincy, MA with some friends for a culinary double-header at Lê Madeline and Rubato. Both restos have gotten a lot of attention lately and both restos exceeded all expectations.
If you’re in the area: these two are not to be missed.
Lê Madeline is unfussy perfection. Dining room welcoming as fuck and their food was straight glorious. Ridiculously irresistible wings, grilled pork meatball rolls were salad delivery systems with a slice of spam-ish-ness. Yes their phở slaps, but order the Cơm Đặc Biệt if you want the full spectrum magic.
Rubato is more of a take-away (though there are a few seats) and by 1pm the joint was packed. We grabbed all the baos because there was no wait for them — all excellent, all surprisingly subtle and generously stuffed— but it was the Lava Egg Yok Bao (pictured) that sealed the deal. Warning: do not eat this sweet treasure in your car or with white pants. You’re going to need room to spill.
We hit Lê Madeline for lunch and then Rubato for post-meal take-home (they’re right across from each other) and we’re planning to reverse the order next time. Everyone on line was recommending the congee and ji cheung fun.
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/2024/02/20/le-madeline-modern-vietnamese-quincy/
https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2023/09/14/quincy-ma-hong-kong-cafe-rubato-laurence-louie-2023-moeca-cambridge-eat-dining/70850482007/
Love these life posts. Always stoked to see them come through.
Question for you this month about the artist life: How did you navigate that decade between Drown and Oscar? Would love some insight both in terms of emotionally (any mantras that kept you going, useful beliefs, books, etc) and also (if you're willing to share) what that looked like for you life/work wise. Were you a "dead end job I'll scrape by however and keep writing" kinda guy? Or did you have some semblance of a life/career + plan if the writing never fully took off? Been wrestling with some existential ideas around this at the moment and would love any insights on how you navigated it! Thanks again for the great resource, been learning a ton 🙏
I’ve been writing novels and working on learning the craft for several decades. I’ll always write novels, but lately I’m having ideas for short stories. So, I bought the 2023 short story collection you recommended recently.
My question - What’s up with dialogue? Is it considered a disdained part of the craft now? I see barely any dialogue in most of the stories considered the best of 2023. Also, I’ve seen a few (two) agents on Substack mention in passing how too much dialogue is a sign of a beginner.
This concerns me a bit. I think of dialogue as my writing strength. I love listening to people talk and I love working on a conversation until it’s full of nuance, meaning, and sounds authentic. I hold onto Walter Mosley as champion of how dialogue can move a novel. So, if dialogue isn’t in style, it doesn’t matter to me as far as the writing goes. I write for the story, not the market. I’ll keep writing dialogue. But, it sure would be good to know before I try to sub a story to lit mags. I’m assuming dialogue is still ok in novels, as I see it in writers like James McBride, but maybe I’m wrong?
I would love your thoughts or if my observation is off, would love to know from the community. Maybe dialogue has always been disdained in literary market?
Thank you for all your honest, real advice here. Btw, I’m Jersey (Asbury Park) and put 2 kids through Rutgers, one, the artist of course, housed in Demerest. The other, home for a visit last week, stole my copy of Oscar Wao saying he opened to a random page and the portrayal of two roommates was so exactly like two guys he knew, and so hilarious, he kept reading until he was totally hooked and then started page 1. Proof to you that your characters are timeless and you are on Rutger’s mind too.