Awaiting Autumn
In this Issue: Earrings, Touches of Fall, Skeletons in your Kitchen, Moon City Review, X-Files, Dyslexia Awareness, Joe Pera Talks with You, and a Sneak Peek!
What have we been making?
Anna
This month I traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan with Matt Griffin for the GR Zine Fest! It was well-organized, well-attended, and thoroughly enjoyable. We sold a lot of zines, and it’s amusing to me that my very first zine is still my most popular (Skeletons in your Kitchen).
If you’re interested in buying any zines or crochet earrings, you can through the South Street Art Mart website.
Rachel
This month I have been in a pre-Fall lull. I think I am hungry for change and color, and for cooler weather. Rarely, I’ll catch sight of spots in the trees that look like blush and warmth, and I sense that Autumn is not around a corner but rather is something we fall into. I think as I await this earthly ritual shedding, I too look forward to shaking off the dregs and letting the dead leaves land where they may. For now though, all seems to be in waiting.
Because of this feeling, I have perhaps not been as productive as I would like this month, or perhaps not productive in all the ways I would like. I am hoping to get back into academic reading and writing and continue work on my novel. I am hoping to create new things by the filtered light of orange and yellow leaves that fall away, opening my windows to cool blue sunlight. There are also many submission deadlines coming up this fall, and I am hopeful for this next round (and to my fellow writers, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for those September and October deadlines). We will have to see what lies ahead!
But there are a few things from this month that I would like to announce.
I interviewed a fellow writer, Rachel O’Cleary, about a new story that she has coming out in Smokelong Quarterly. It is a beautiful piece of flash fiction, vivid and poignant, and the interview gives insight into the themes, images, and emotional tenor of the story. I will share both when they are published, and I truly hope some of you check out Rachel’s story or some of her other work.
My flash fiction story, “Cock Block,” came out IN PRINT in Moon City Review this month!
It is always a little surreal to see my work published, but especially so in print. Holding up a physical book that contains my words, among those of so many other talented writers, is a joy to which I may never (and hopefully will never) become accustomed. There is a little else as thrilling as putting that book on my bookshelf and knowing that among all the books and stories I love and admire most ardently lies my own labors, a fragment of my own mind, in communion with all of poetry and language. This edition of MCR is not yet out publicly (mine is a contributor copy), but I will keep you updated in the future.
I have been collaborating with my mother, Lydia Swan, on a collection of posts to guide and support dyslexics. The series is called “A to Z Tips for Dyslexics,” and can be found on Medium. We are hoping to eventually collect these posts into an E-book. I have long been passionate about supporting and encouraging my fellow dyslexics as well as spreading awareness. For the last few years I have given speeches and presentations at local elementary schools about my experience with dyslexia, and working on A to Z Tips feels like another positive step toward highlighting the ability inherent in every “disability.”
Most of my focus this month has been directed at a new project at the cross-section of my greatest passions: eating and reading. I hope to have this up and running by October first, and look forward to sharing it all with you then. For now, here is a sneak peek at my new project. Can you guess what it is?
What Have We Been Enjoying?
Anna
While crocheting earrings this month I’ve been watching The X-Files for the first time and loving it! I know it’s nothing new, but it’s new to me :)
Rachel
My main recommendation this month is a quiet little show called “Joe Pera Talks With You.” Most episodes are only about 10 min long, and follow Joe Pera, a middle school choir teacher living in Michigan’s Upper Pennisula, as he talks you through the beauty and wonder of the everyday, from iron to breakfast to jack-o-lanterns to songs on the radio. I have found every minute intimate and delightful, and I invite you into Joe Pera’s tender moving world. You can find it on HBO Max.
Awaiting Autumn
Anna, it was fun seeing you and Matt at work and play this month. Love your zines.
Rachel, congrats on publishing. Your stories put me right in them and always add a new dimension to the way I think. Can't wait for fall to color your world. And great work on A to Z Tips for dyslexics!