Vahge and I got together at the Wreck Room one humid day to compare notes on our beloved Bushwick, and the Stay Gold show. Check out the interview over on Curbs & Stoops.
Category: Writing news
My newest essay, Bullet Points, was inspired by my experiences with street art and graffiti, and a dream I had which blurred and crossed many lines and made chasing the dream into real life possible. When I first moved to New York in 2010, I went to a lecture by Carolee Schneemann and she discussed a piece of art she’d made decades earlier. She asked the audience what we thought it meant. She considered each of our responses valid. Someone eventually asked her, “So, what does it mean?” And she replied, “When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.” The artist’s trust in creating something before she knew what she was creating, was an epiphany to me as a writer, and I’ve kept those words in mind ever since. This essay reflects my trust in the writing process, trust that there was something to be said, before I personally had my own ideas about street art figured out. I hope you enjoy it.
I’ll be reading this at WORD Bookstore along with the other members of my writing group, 1441, next Thursday, June 30, at 7 PM. It’s a reading as well as the release party for our first publication, which includes “Bullet Points.”
Thank you for your support.
Comments closedI’m celebrating my one-year anniversary of living in New York this week. When I arrived I had this idea that I wanted to write, so it’s fitting that I woke up with a panic attack on Tuesday, with three deadlines hanging over my head. In typical writer form, I spent the afternoon at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. If anyone had asked I would have certainly told them I took my notes with me, so I could work. And that’s actually true. I don’t usually leave the house without a few projects or a couple of books. As though I might suddenly duck inside somewhere on a beautiful day and find myself tragically idle? Whatever.
So story one of three went online this morning, my first contribution to a blog called The Bushwick Dream. If you’re not familiar with Brooklyn, Bushwick is one of its most creative neighborhoods. I like where I live, and I loved having an opportunity to talk with a well-known (and prolific) UK street artist about his art and my neighborhood, which, it turns out, is not so different from where he lives in East London (Hackney Wick, Bushwick–sisters?!)
Story two is for Curbs & Stoops, I’m writing that one next, er, now, um, as soon as I publish this blog. In fact, hopefully it’s going to be finished so soon that there’s no sense in talking about it. And the third story has been the hardest, it’s a short-ish essay for my super-brand-new, we-just-got-our-name writing group, 1441. Stay tuned for more out of us, including our 1441 Review launch party & reading. (That will of course happen sometime after I finish writing my essay.)
When I finish writing those three stories, I hope I’ll be able to focus on the backlog of ideas I want to work on. And some other non-writing projects, like Bushwick Open Studios, for instance. Well, BOS kind of includes writing, but kind of doesn’t. Stay tuned. I missed living with seasons more than I remembered: Spring really does explode with new birth around here, and I’m glad to be a part of it this year. Happy First NY Birthday to me, and thank you for your support.
Comments closedCurbs and Stoops calls itself an “art accessibility think tank geared toward democratizing access to fine art.” When I met director Ashley Zelinskie, I liked what she had to say, really enjoyed her artwork, and had a lot of respect for the Curbs and Stoops attitude. So I signed up as a contributor to the C&S blog. My first post, up today, is a profile of artist Nathan Lee Pickett. The image below comprises an overview and two detail shots of a recent collaboration between Pickett and the sound-art-design team at Rebaroque, for its Artist Series. As always, feedback is welcome.
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The Brooklyn Rail is publishing my visual story in its February issue. I think the newspaper comes out around February 10. I’m not sure where to pick up a copy yet, but I will find out. Thank you, Brooklyn Rail!
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