PODCAST

This week I posted Episode 673 of my Virtual Memories Show, feat. a conversation with Andrew Durbin about his amazing new book, THE WONDERFUL WORLD THAT ALMOST WAS: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek (FSG). The book is a masterful biography of a pair of artists, their art, gay life pre- and post-Stonewall, and more, and Andrew & I got to talk about his first exposure to the art of Thek & Hujar, why he restricted the biography to the years they were together/around each other (1956-1975), how queer lives are often oriented around death and why he wanted to affirm life with this book, when a biographer can let his subjects go, and why he prefers Thek over Hujar. We get into the ephemerality of much of Thek’s art installations, Hujar’s dissatisfaction with commercial photography and the struggles with getting photos taken seriously as art, the triangle they formed with Andrew’s hero, Susan Sontag, Thek’s belief that marrying the right woman (Sontag, at one point) would have “fixed” him, his regret at not getting to interview Joseph Raffael for the book, and how meeting Ann Wilson changed the course of the book. We also discuss how Andrew became an art-writer/-editor by accident, how NYC has changed since he left 6 years ago, why young people are enthusiastic about his Thek and Hujar, why he needs to decompress from writing about history, how art criticism feeds his fiction and poetry, and more. Give it a listen! And go read The Wonderful World That Almost Was!

Recent podcast episodes: Dean Haspiel & Doug Latino • Rachel Tzvia Back • Sven Birkerts • Indefinite Hiatus monologue • The Guest List • Jonathan Sandler • Morten Høi Jensen

Every book (non-comics) that I’ve finished since 1989.

BIRDY!

Here’s an artful post-groomed BIRDY! pic by Amy.

RIP Hampshire College

I don’t know where I began. You could make the case I started this journey into self during my senior year of high school, when an English teacher guided me into Pynchon & Calvino. I often say that my two years at the Graduate Institute at St. John’s College were the best/most important years of my life.

But the years I spent in between at Hampshire College may count as the first real steps I took toward who I am. Yesterday, the news came out that Hampshire will shut down after the coming fall semester, victim of many factors. I rage about it in the intro to this week’s episode, so go listen to that when you have a chance.

Beyond the rage, I’m just sad. For everyone who works there, who studies there, whose lives are tied to the place, who will miss it when it’s gone. For the friends I made and what they’ll lose. For the time I wasted and the time I spent well and the roots I was unknowingly setting down in the world.

I’ve visited campus a couple times in recent years, and I plan at least one more trip up to campus this spring or summer, for a reunion with an old friend and to say goodbye to where we met.

KICKSTARTER

The Kickstarter campaign for REAL LIFE COMIX: ONLY IN NEW YORK is going strong! This anthology from Cosmic Lion Productions features 51 New York City-centered comics from a ton of creative folks, including ~20 of my past pod-guests — like Roz Chast, Drew Friedman, Jonathan Ames, Karl Stevens, Jennifer Hayden, Ben Katchor, and Moby — and a ton of other great cartoonists! (Also, I’ve got a 2-page comic in it.) Less than a week in, and we’ve passed the halfway point: $10,395 committed so far, with a goal of $20,000!

Support the Kickstarter by May 8 to get yourself a copy and some higher-tier rewards!

Instax

I took some Instax pictures during Friday’s podcast-trip to NYC: the world’s worst pastrami sandwich, graffiti on Flatbush Ave., and detail of whatever you call those carvings, on the front of an apartment building on Beekman Place (Brooklyn, not Manhattan).

Postcard

I mail out a postcard every day, so let me know if you want to be on my list.

Expenses

If you want to help out with Virtual Memories Show expenses — this email runs $29/month, podcast-hosting is $25/month, and the remote recording account is $20/month — or otherwise Contribute To The Cause, you can make a one-time contribution of any size via Stripe, or a recurring one via Patreon. Or maybe save your money for when I launch a Kickstarter for my photo book.

Until Next Time

Thanks for reading this far. See you next time, I hope.

Your life revolves around a force of oppression / And I won’t deal with true blue devils of correction,