I delivered my manuscript revisions! (When I tried to add a date to that last sentence indicating exactly when I filed, I couldn’t remember if it was two or three weeks ago. I just consulted my calendar … and it was six days ago! Draw your own conclusions about the current state of my brain.) Now only copy editing remains before the writing process is finished.
The last few months were intense, but I had a blast. This stage can be fraught if you aren’t on the same page as your editor. I’m glad to say that even when I didn’t particularly want to return to a topic I thought I’d nailed down, I never had any doubts that my incredibly sharp editor (Madeline Lee of Seal Press) was right to push me a little bit further. The book is far better for it.
I already miss digging through old magazines, looking for articles, letters, ads, and whatevsies related to the six places I’m writing about. (Altogether now: the lesbian bar, the feminist bookstore, the softball field, lesbian land, feminist sex-toy stores, and queer vacation destinations.) So while I re-collect my senses, let me share two bits of writing that remind me/us why these places matter. (Neither made it into the book, which indicates how universal these shitty experiences were.)
These two pieces, about a terrible Chicago bar, are from Lavender Woman, a lesbian magazine published irregularly between 1971 and 1978 out of Chicago. (There’s a great Wikipedia entry about Lavender Woman. I particularly enjoyed the section on “The Final Edition.”)
At a time when we’re constantly reminded how far away we are from living in a just and loving world, these 51-year-old excerpts from a long-defunct feminist publication are a great reminder of how far we’ve come.
RECOMMENDATIONS: I was absolutely blown away by Caroline Fraser’s Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I haven't read any of the “Little House” books—though I did watch the TV show with my very gruff Commie granddad, who cried at almost every episode—and this biography didn’t really make me want to. Its greatness lies in the way Fraser covered the historical forces that shaped Ingalls Wilder’s life—political, ecological, sociological, agricultural, and more. I recommend it to anyone who’s interested in anything!
LISTEN TO ME: It’s been a while, so buckle up. On Working, I spoke with the great mystery writer Ellen Hart about what it’s like to at least think about retiring from writing; with the wonderfully talented artist Taliah Lempert about her paintings of bicycles; with journalist Maureen Ryan about how she made a career pivot from TV criticism to covering abuses of power in Hollywood; and with the great playwright and TV writer Madeline George about her work adapting Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For comics into an audio drama for Audible. On Working Overtime, Isaac Butler and I discussed what publication day feels like (with an assist from Jaime Green, whose first book The Possibility of LIfe came out in April); we answered a listener question about self-reflection; we made suggestions for how to shake yourself out of a creative slump; we talked about consuming art in order to create art; and we chewed over how artists should think about legacy. OH, and because Suits is somehow having a moment on Netflix, I wrote about the one episode you should watch to learn if the show is for you. (S2E13, “Zane vs. Zane,” if you’re curious!)
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this newsletter and want to share it, or were forwarded this edition and want to subscribe, the link is https://buttondown.email/WhereAre. The archives are here. When my book is ready to be preordered, this is where I will tell you about that, but that won’t happen until 2024. Reply to this email to share any thoughts or ideas.
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