Archive • OVERLAP ⧉ • Buttondown

⧉ Coming back

Welcome back to Overlap, my personal newsletter. I haven’t sent one in a while, so I’m not sure what it’s about anymore. If you enjoy this kind of...

⧉ Solo sounds

Welcome to the forty-first issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Solo sounds At first, it seemed extraordinarily quiet. But after a while, I started noticing a different set of...

⧉ Truth and conspiracy

Welcome to the fortieth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ The truth It’s the end of a long week. There’s value in doing things even when you don’t want to. But there’s also...

⧉ Constraints

Welcome to the thirty-ninth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Constraints On Sunday afternoon, I decided to start a little gardening experiment on my minuscule astroturf...

⧉ Quaranzines

Welcome to the thirty-eighth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Quaranzines This isn’t a “normal” issue of the newsletter because, well, this isn’t really a “normal” time,...

⧉ The great reordering

Welcome to the thirty-seventh issue of OVERLAP ⧉ The great reordering I’ve been thinking about the days after 9/11. I was in my first job out of college,...

⧉ Quiet miracles

Welcome to the thirty-sixth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Quiet miracles The air is vibrating with anxious energy, and nothing feels certain. When I’m trying to cope...

⧉ A poetic commute

Welcome to the thirty-fifth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ A poetic commute Before my office moved downtown, I walked to work. And in 2018, I decided to give myself...

⧉ Something that doesn’t scale

February 25, 2020

Welcome to the thirty-fourth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Something that doesn’t scale Last week, I attended a panel discussion featuring women who write email...

⧉ Microfictional romance

February 15, 2020

Welcome to the thirty-third issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Microfictional romance They were making breakfast — the usual Sunday morning routine. Eggs, sprinkled with...

February 5, 2020

Welcome to the thirty-second issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Faking it I was probably nine. Maybe 10. No more than 11. My cousins were visiting from out west and we were...

⧉ Years in the making

January 25, 2020

Welcome to the thirty-first issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Years in the making I have this theory about writing: There’s no such thing as “just banging out a quick...

January 15, 2020

Welcome to the thirtieth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Devotion A grandmother stands in front of a kitchen counter, separating pomegranate seeds from the pith until the...

⧉ After the party

January 4, 2020

Welcome to the twenty-ninth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ After the party Most people have a favorite color, but I struggle to choose just one. I do, however, have a...

December 5, 2019

Welcome to the twenty-eighth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Stranded It’s only my third winter living in Manhattan, but my New York story started a decade ago. I was...

⧉ Recommended

November 24, 2019

Welcome to the twenty-seventh issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Recommended When it comes to “love languages,” gifts are the most mysterious to me. My family was never into...

⧉ Standard time

November 15, 2019

Welcome to the twenty-sixth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Standard time It’s been a long week. Mercury is in retrograde. And it’s dark outside. My baking ambition is...

⧉ Making up words

November 5, 2019

Welcome to the twenty-fifth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Making up words My first real experience with copyediting was at a previous job. I wrote the daily newsletter...

⧉ The texture of a place

October 25, 2019

Welcome to the twenty-fourth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ The ride to the airport takes twice as long as it should. The flight is delayed. Then it’s canceled. Then...

⧉ Rituals, recollected

October 15, 2019

Welcome to the twenty-third issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Rituals and remembrance The seasons are changing. Dropping temperatures and shorter days usher in new routines...

⧉ Small things

October 4, 2019

Welcome to the twenty-second issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Small things I’ve been running a series of workshops — a writing accelerator — to share what I know with my...

⧉ Dispatches from the NYABF

September 25, 2019

Welcome to the twenty-first issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Dispatches from the NYABF Last Saturday, I made a pilgrimage across the East River for Printed Matter’s New...

⧉ Taking time

September 14, 2019

Welcome to the twentieth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Taking time I’m taking the weekend off from writing — so I can make space for diner breakfasts and photo-...

⧉ Learning to see

September 5, 2019

Welcome to the nineteenth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Learning to see The weather was perfect on Saturday. Sunny and dry, but not too hot. I was looking forward to...

⧉ Time vampires

August 24, 2019

Welcome to the eighteenth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Time vampires My new (well, new-ish) subway commute involves a transfer from my local 6 train to the 4/5 express...

⧉ Something good is worth finding

August 15, 2019

Welcome to the seventeenth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Something good is worth finding I moved to New York two years ago, almost to the day. During my first few...

⧉ The problem with jargon

Welcome to the sixteenth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ The problem with jargon I’ve been condensing what I know about work-related writing into an accelerator of sorts....

⧉ Pattern recognition

Welcome to the fifteenth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Pattern recognition Remember that parallelogram of projects from a while back? Right now, my balanced mix of...

Welcome to the fourteenth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Reclaimed Nature comes for everything, eventually. In the city, it’s a vine creeping up the side of a brick...

Welcome to the thirteenth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Round trip My office is moving to a new neighborhood. As I write this, I’m contemplating my first day in the...

⧉ A parallelogram of projects

Welcome to the twelfth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ A parallelogram of projects My life is full of projects — at work and otherwise. I’ve been thinking lately about...

⧉ The language of photography

Welcome to the eleventh issue of OVERLAP ⧉ The language of photography I’ve been taking a break from photography for the past few months. Not by choice,...

Welcome to the tenth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Listening It’s the start of a long holiday weekend and the beginning of summer. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break...

Welcome to the ninth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ In season “What is this?” The grocery store cashier gestures toward a bundle of greenish pink stalks, hanging...

⧉ Experiments in context

Welcome to the eighth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Experiments in context I love content experiments, and I’m fascinated by the idea of bending stories and experiences...

⧉ A neighborhood ramble

Welcome to the seventh issue of OVERLAP ⧉ A neighborhood ramble Where do you live? is a loaded question; the answer is tabulated and the response is...

⧉ Hustles, archives, legacies

Welcome to the sixth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Hustles, archives, legacies I celebrated a milestone birthday yesterday. If I’m fortunate to live as long as my...

⧉ Making space for chaos

Welcome to the fifth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Making space for chaos I recently wrote an article with a new collaborator, and after it was published, we talked...

⧉ A tale of two workshops

Welcome to the fourth issue of OVERLAP ⧉ A tale of two workshops Last summer, I spent several days at Yale for a nonfiction storytelling workshop called...

⧉ The exception and the exceptional

Welcome to the third issue of OVERLAP ⧉ The exception and the exceptional I took some art classes in college, including a sculpture class during my senior...

⧉ The Notebook Approval Matrix

Welcome to the second issue of OVERLAP ⧉ The Notebook Approval Matrix The most interesting people in the world keep notebooks, and the best ideas often start...

⧉ Exploring the post-Instagram frontier

February 24, 2019

Welcome to the first issue of OVERLAP ⧉ Exploring the post-Instagram frontier There’s something wrong with Instagram. To be fair, it’s more than one thing,...