You IRON, too?? Oh, George, I always knew there was something special about you. I just didn't know until now just what it was! Good luck in St. Louis!!
Got to see you in St Louis, received my copy of Liberation Day, and brought a friend along who still thinks The Great Gatsby is not that big a deal, but was able to lend my copy of Tenth of December to her because she enjoyed your interview. Pleasant travels.
When I caught you in St. Louis, I had no idea you had just been in NYC, England, and Boston. Had I done that, I would have been strumming my lips while curled in a fetal position. You pulled it off with a clear head and heart. Or so it seemed to this peanut in the gallery. Good show!
I was in St. Louis at the beginning of October, during a difficult part of my healing journey. I brought with me a red cap, and when I returned I continued to write.
I write, I write, I write. When I can't exercise my body, I exercise my mind. And somehow, it energizes my spirit.
What you teach (in your words on Substack and On a Pond in the Rain) is ESSENTIAL. And this nurse is very grateful to be on this path, now, in this safe comment section, in virtual life. Your work is new to me, thanks to the words of Nick Offerman and Jeff Tweedy. Both have given me a dose of courage that my life was sorely missing. I don't know, on a scale of 1-10, how bad it hurt... but I'm not quite sure suffering can be measured on a Leikert scale.
Regardless, it's getting better as I move from healing to thriving. And I continue to enjoy the way you engage virtually and on the book I carry in my backpack (and forget in the pet store when I meet a Marco and a Maria, and a few kitties waiting for homes). Medicine. Social Medicine.
Just last night you were in Tulsa. I know because a friend and I were in the audience watching you and Sterlin Harjo "castigating." It was a wonderful evening. I'm looking forward to reading Liberation Day.
Thank you, George! My thoughts are with you on your book tour. I am sure that there will be marvels along the way but there is a lot of slogging too in unfamiliar places without your loved ones. I am sure that you embrace these journeys whole-heartedly and generously as part of the writer's life, but still I don't think it's easy work. But let's be upbeat. It's a journey and all journeys are interesting in and of themselves. Leaving home can be beneficial even though it's hard for me. My use of the word "marvels" reminded me of The poem "Ithaka" by the Greek poet C. P. Cafavy. Here it is courtesy of the Poetry Foundation:
Ithaka
BY C. P. CAVAFY
TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
I love this poem (I live in Ithaca most of the time but drive to Virginia every month to Vinegar Hollow). My copy of Liberation Day hasn't arrived yet. I ordered it online from the Random House website. I was hoping to read it during your book tour, but no matter. I am sure it will come. I have a receipt. I look forward to more news of the journey!
Thank you for stopping by in Manchester, George. It was wonderful to hear your valuable insights in person. I'll be picking up a copy of Liberation Day over the weekend. Enjoy the rest of the tour!
You stand there ironing?? Sorry. Couldn't resist.
https://unseenstlouis.substack.com/p/st-louis-history-going-up-in-smoke
I believe this is the story behind that story.
You IRON, too?? Oh, George, I always knew there was something special about you. I just didn't know until now just what it was! Good luck in St. Louis!!
Book tours can often make a writer's soul feel like it's on fire!
Today, scrolling through all of this...today is when Story Club really feels like....a club!
And though I tend to not iron my jeans, I am definitely now considering a Dyson...
George, thanks for this goofy video, perfect counter-programming to today's news....
And looking forward to your next report (possibly) from your beloved Chicagoland....
Got to see you in St Louis, received my copy of Liberation Day, and brought a friend along who still thinks The Great Gatsby is not that big a deal, but was able to lend my copy of Tenth of December to her because she enjoyed your interview. Pleasant travels.
When I caught you in St. Louis, I had no idea you had just been in NYC, England, and Boston. Had I done that, I would have been strumming my lips while curled in a fetal position. You pulled it off with a clear head and heart. Or so it seemed to this peanut in the gallery. Good show!
I was in St. Louis at the beginning of October, during a difficult part of my healing journey. I brought with me a red cap, and when I returned I continued to write.
I write, I write, I write. When I can't exercise my body, I exercise my mind. And somehow, it energizes my spirit.
What you teach (in your words on Substack and On a Pond in the Rain) is ESSENTIAL. And this nurse is very grateful to be on this path, now, in this safe comment section, in virtual life. Your work is new to me, thanks to the words of Nick Offerman and Jeff Tweedy. Both have given me a dose of courage that my life was sorely missing. I don't know, on a scale of 1-10, how bad it hurt... but I'm not quite sure suffering can be measured on a Leikert scale.
Regardless, it's getting better as I move from healing to thriving. And I continue to enjoy the way you engage virtually and on the book I carry in my backpack (and forget in the pet store when I meet a Marco and a Maria, and a few kitties waiting for homes). Medicine. Social Medicine.
And time.
Love,
Jessie Hammersmith, RN
Lombard, IL
The glamour, the glamour...
So much fun connecting with you last night in Tulsa, George. Zadie was not bored by your talk. She said you are “a real big brain.” High praise.
This prompted me to search Joel Sternfeld, what a great photographer. Here's a Halloween Sternfeld photo, complete with pumpkins and fire. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jan/11/joel-sternfeld-photographer-america-interview-colour-photographs-1977-88
Just last night you were in Tulsa. I know because a friend and I were in the audience watching you and Sterlin Harjo "castigating." It was a wonderful evening. I'm looking forward to reading Liberation Day.
Thank you, George! My thoughts are with you on your book tour. I am sure that there will be marvels along the way but there is a lot of slogging too in unfamiliar places without your loved ones. I am sure that you embrace these journeys whole-heartedly and generously as part of the writer's life, but still I don't think it's easy work. But let's be upbeat. It's a journey and all journeys are interesting in and of themselves. Leaving home can be beneficial even though it's hard for me. My use of the word "marvels" reminded me of The poem "Ithaka" by the Greek poet C. P. Cafavy. Here it is courtesy of the Poetry Foundation:
Ithaka
BY C. P. CAVAFY
TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
I love this poem (I live in Ithaca most of the time but drive to Virginia every month to Vinegar Hollow). My copy of Liberation Day hasn't arrived yet. I ordered it online from the Random House website. I was hoping to read it during your book tour, but no matter. I am sure it will come. I have a receipt. I look forward to more news of the journey!
Will the fire serve the basis of your next short story?
Thank you for stopping by in Manchester, George. It was wonderful to hear your valuable insights in person. I'll be picking up a copy of Liberation Day over the weekend. Enjoy the rest of the tour!
Wait...no hookers, blow, or Anya Taylor Joy passed out in your bathtub? George, you're setting a bad example!