Water writing and stardust in art — the latest issue of the Oliviary
Hello from a shiny new newsletter! I’ve finally made the leap away from TinyLetter (RIP, you were great until you weren’t) and onto Buttondown. There may be some learning curves for me, but you shouldn’t see any big changes or problems on your end — if you do, send me a note and we’ll figure out what I have done wrong.
But for now, it’s time for news and links and reading recs! I.e. the good stuff.
News
This weekend I am leading the first class in the Eastham Public Library’s So You Want to Write series! This will be a one-day romance writing extravaganza, suitable for writers of all levels who want to learn that One Simple Trick for writing a standout romance. (We all know One Simple Tricks are always true and never fail and certainly aren’t up for debate in any way.) Registration is free, so sign up and we’ll have a very good, very busy time!
Linkery
- Scientists have figured out how to write in water. Literally in water, with suspended ink, using pH somehow. This broke my brain a little bit, not going to lie.
- From the Yale University Library comes a scribal pattern book, digitized for your delectation.
- Maybe one of the greatest pieces of criticism I have ever read: Patricia Lockwood on David Foster Wallace: “Where Be Your Jibes Now?” Sample quote: “There is a countenance in art. This is the thing that cannot be killed. There is an eye in the painting that looks back at you.”
- Most On-Brand Olivia Headline: “Some of Earth’s Most Famous Artworks Started With Stardust.”
Crafty
Latest crafts are entirely digital painting because in the midst of a wild flurry of book packing I did something terrible to my hands that required me to not use them for beading or knitting or sewing or, well, pretty much anything for several weeks.
My god, was I bored.
But I could very gently hold a stylus and sweep it relaxingly across a tablet — so I spent the month practicing my digital painting in a very non-systematic way, and am fairly pleased with the results!
Reading recs
- Alix Harrow’s Starling House fucks with the small-town romance and the creepy-house Gothic romance in absolutely gorgeous ways.
- This excellent poem by J. Estanislao Lopez: “Reasons to Despise Being Literary.”
Until next time — may your season be precisely as spooky as you prefer!
Olivia