Notes & News: April 2019
Happy spring! I am back home after a crazy week on the west coast for the AWP writing conference in Portland and a mini vacation in Seattle. Shout out to everyone I got to see out there, even if briefly (Jaime Z., Heather P., Rachel S., Megan P., Liz J., Lilly D., Rachael P., Hannah A., Shane M., Greg C., Libby C., Megan D., Dan B.) and a special shout out to those I finally got to meet IRL after many months/years of internet friendship (Mandy C., Sarah P., Ann B., Aarin W., Emmet R.) -- seeing you all was the best!
Below you will find the latest updates on what I am writing, reading, researching, and teaching, some of the awesome things my cool friends are doing, and, of course, news about everyone's favorite tortoise, Terrence. Thanks for reading! -- E.B.
Tortoise illustration by Miranda Sofroniou.
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Writing Notes & News:
Nothing new to report on the book-writing front, other than my first major deadline for my editor is May 1, so apologies in advance for next month's newsletter going out super late.
(In case you missed it or are new to this newsletter, in January I sold my book Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter, a first-person journey through the world of loving and losing animals, exploring the singular nature of our bonds with our companion animals, and how best to grieve for them once they've passed away, to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. My editor is Naomi Gibbs, and the book should come out sometime in 2021!)
In terms of non-dead-pets writing, check out the March installment of Non-Fiction by Non-Men, in which I interview the journalist Maya Rao. Maya actually reached out to me for an interview, which was pretty cool, because she enjoyed the series and thought that her book, Great American Outpost, would be a good fit, and she was right!
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Reading Notes & News:
If you want more frequent updates on what I am reading, find me on GoodReads!
In terms of books, this past month I read an advanced copy of The Edge of Every Day: Sketches in Schizophrenia by Marin Sardy which comes out May 21, 2019, which I cannot recommend highly enough. I finished it while flying back from Paris (more on that below) and was just openly weeping over the Atlantic. It is so good. And then, because I decided to go deep into the books about schizophrenia, I also read The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang, which came out this winter, and is also really excellent. Read both of them. They will change how you think about mental illness and the people who suffer from it.
However, if you are looking for something a little lighter, I also read The Pug Who Bit Napoleon by Mimi Matthews for my dead pets research, which is a goddamn delight and full of historical gems about animals, and also French Exit by Patrick deWitt which made me LOL on more than one occasion. (A friend of mine, who writes her own excellent newsletter about books, describes French Exit as "if Lucille and Buster Bluth went to Paris" and she is 100% right.)
In terms of non-books, may I suggest this New Yorker essay by Kathryn Schultz about her father's stack of books, sent to me by my own father. Thank you to the many, many individuals who sent me Ceylan Yeginsu's article about the dog suicide bridge in Scotland (THANK YOU, I LOVE AND APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU). If you want to pretend you were at AWP, check out this list of six great moments from #AWP19 in Portland. Also, don't miss the trials and tribulations of Chrissy Teigan's pet hamster.
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Research Notes & News:
This is the spot for glimpses into the research process behind Good Grief.
At the beginning of March I was super lucky to get to go to Paris with five of my BFFs from high school, which also doubled as a research trip because I visited the Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestique, which is one of the oldest still-operational pet cemeteries in the world. You guys, Rin Tin Tin is buried there! How cool is that? I am pictured above with my favorite grave from the Cimetière des Chiens -- a monument to Ezequielle, a thirteen-year-old turtle. (Photo by the lovely Melissa Weihmayer, who also volunteered to be my translator. Merci, Melissa!)
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Teaching Notes & News:
It's never too soon to start thinking about signing up for one of my spring or summer classes at GrubStreet! Here's what I have coming up:
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Friend Notes & News:
Not to brag, but I have many badass friends writing amazing things and making incredible art. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to see my regular enthusiastic posts about what they are up to, but here are a few great recent things they've done in the past month:
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Terrence Notes & News:
Between my trips to Paris and Portland/Seattle, I seriously neglected everyone's favorite tortoise in March. (Major thank you to Richie Corrado who has been taking care of my little guy while I've been away!) Here's a photo of Terrence attempting to pack his own bag and tag along on my travels.
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