be like Beyonce!🤠👑💛

fan mail + a winning dinner party menu ++ deepen your reading experience

I love it when you refer a friend:

dear ones,

If you follow me over on insta or are a regular reader of this newsletter, you know that we’ve decamped to Brooklyn for a month. Wouldn’t you know that we accidentally timed our return home with the arrival of spring? Sheesh! No fear however, we made the most of our sojourn.

• 396,607 Steps

• 6 Dinner Parties

• 6 Bookstores

• 5 Coffee Dates

• 4 Museums

• 3 Lunch dates

• 3 doppelgängers

• 2 Walking tours

• 2 Music venues

• 2 Stand-up comedy shows

• 2 Plays

• 1 Dance Concert

• 1 Poetry Reading

• 1 Eclipse

• 1 Earthquake

• .5 time writing

It’s been busy and tremendous and reminds me of the saying… put yourself in the path of beauty. In this case it’s been the path of creative people, the path of good energy, the path of inspiration. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’ve been caught in a virtual monsoon, stuck and nervous on the train, in gridlock traffic, had more than one very expensive and very bad meal, listened to the horn choir, and… so much litter! As one New Yorker told me with a shrug, “Everyone’s given up.” That’s hard to stomach. In fact my husband has been outside sweeping up broken glass so dogs won’t cut their feet. Perhaps these besmirches are the cost of doing business, of living in a huge and exciting city?

Meanwhile the trees outside the window are breaking into leaf and that is beautiful.

How’s spring in your neck of the woods?

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read:

I mentioned last week I reread BROOKLYN, by Colm Toibin, which had me weeping. If you’ve not read, or if it’s been years, pick it up again. And, do watch the film which you can find on MAX and it is so good. +++Oh joy! Toibin is publishing a sequel, LONG ISLAND, returning us to Eilis twenty years later. I cannot wait!

Do you write in your books? Do you keep a reading journal, or dog-ear pages? I do all of the above and it completely enhances my reading life. I love finding ways I fit into the books I read. Whether that means I’ve felt the emotions, or lived the experiences, or recognize in the characters people in my life whom I love. Consider what Tolstoy has to say about it.

Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that other people are infected by these feelings and also experience them.
~Leo Tolstoy

I want to be infected! I want to feel the feels, to experience everything, and when I close read it happens for me.

I’ll be leading a three hour discussion group, READING AS A WRITER. We have the BEST conversations in this workshop, learning to deepen our reading pleasure through close attention, through discovering nuance, falling in love with language, better understanding characters, appreciating settings, and giving ourselves the freedom to dog ear, underline, and jot marginalia in our books. Hooray!

We will be looking at writing samples from some of my favorite writers: Lorrie Moore, Deborah Levy, Saeed Jones, Louise Erdrich, Zadie Smith, Sally Rooney, and yes, Colm Toibin.

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Paid subscribers get the benefit of participating in monthly read.write.eat. book chats over zoom. For April we’ll be reading Lorrie Moore’s, I AM HOMELESS IF THIS IS NOT MY HOME. The novel just won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. You can read a review here.

Please do join. If not for this round then perhaps in May. I’ve got fun plans! Visiting the old and the new. First rereading THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, and then, JAMES, by Percival Everett, which is a retelling and I cannot wait to pick up.

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Check my read.write.eat. Bookshop Store, where you will find many of the books I've recommended in the newsletter. Buying books from my shop is a way you can be a friend to the newsletter. 

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write:

One very pleasant coffee date here in Brooklyn was with the husband of our server. Of course it was! She and I struck up a conversation, as one does, and it rolled around to creative endeavors. She’s an actor, her husband is a writer who has just completed his first novel. Abracadabra, a few mornings later, he and I were having coffee. Honestly there was not much I could offer him regarding seeking an agent… but here’s a suggestion I shared which means a lot to me:

Build. Your. Community.

• take writing classes

• attend readings

• read literary journals and submit, submit, submit

• go to conferences and retreats

• write fan letters to writers you love

I could be wrong, but he (and maybe you as you read this) seemed a little incredulous about writing fan mail. To which I offer you exhibit A: Beyonce! Yes, she is the first Black woman to top Billboard’s country music charts (💥💥💥)! And yes, she sends extravagant floral arrangements to musicians who’ve inspired her. Check this out from Jack White’s instagram.

Official Jack White: "What a sweet gesture to receive here in Nashville this morning from the talented and gracious @beyonce celebrating her new Cowboy Carter album. Much love and respect to you Madam, and thank you kindly. Keep making beautiful and powerful music, nobody sings like you."

Kindness and appreciation make a difference! Can you imagine how much a note from someone (especially Beyonce!) telling you how much your creative work meant to them would land with you? I can. And I know you can too! We all want to be appreciated and to feel that we’ve made a difference. Write that note! Especially to a debut author. I promise you will make their morning brighter.

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prompt:

Take a page from Beyonce: write a fan letter to a writer who has meant something to you. And, take a page from the woo world, write the fan letter you dream of receiving! Don’t be shy! Manifest that shit! Tape it to the inside of your closet where you’ll see it everyday! Carry it in your wallet! Make a ritual and burn it! Whatever sparks your belief in yourself. And, for inspiration check this Jim Carrey story.

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A participant in the sold out Writers’s Day Spa has a conflict which is sad for me, but great for one of you who may want to slip into her spot. Are you in Portland, Oregon? Are you free on 4 May? Please see details below and if you’re interested, shoot me an email.

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I am a supporter of World Central Kitchen and Chef José Andrés. The death of seven aid workers in Gaza is another atrocity in a region filled with suffering. For all who upgrade to paid this month I will donate the subscription fee to WCK’s mission to bring food to people who are suffering. Last week five people upgraded. It’s a mere $5 a month and I will match subscription dollars! Food is a human right.

It is not a sign of weakness to feed strangers; it is a sign of strength.

~Chef José Andrés

Thanks so much!

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eat:

We’ve had six dinner parties this month and, not going to lie, some were meh… not because of the guests by any means, but because of me. I lost my verve for a minute. Then I cooked this meal for my husband last night and it was delicious. Buckle up, I’m going to give you all three recipes.

…
Broccoli, Feta, and Pistachio Salad

• 1 bunch of broccoli, trimmed into bite-sized florets, stalks peeled and trimmed to bite-sized pieces

• 1 fennel bulb, sliced in half lengthwise, cored, and cut into crescents

• 2 med shallots, diced

• 1/3 c olive oil

• 2 lemons, zest one and set aside

• 3 T dill, minced

• 3 T parsley, minced

• 3 oz or so crumbled feta

• 1/2 c roasted & salted pistachios, rough chop

Drop the broccoli into salted boiling water for just a minute, just till tender. Really, please, pay close attention and when you drain, run it under cold water to preserve the bright color.

In a skillet, heat 3 Tbs or so of olive oil and saute the shallots until translucent. Add fennel and cook for 5 or so minutes on medium heat. Add the pistachios and toss in the pan over heat for a few more minutes. Add lemon zest. Taste the fennel to see if you like the texture and if so, add broccoli to the pan and toss to warm. You don’t want the salad hot, more room temp so you’re just warming the broccoli. Off heat. Add feta and herbs. Squeeze 1 lemon over top, add olive oil to taste. So delicious!

…
Citrus Salmon

• 3/4 - 1 lb salmon filet

• 1 orange, washed, skin on and sliced into thin rounds

• 1 lemon, washed, skin on and sliced into thin rounds

• 1/2 c pitted mixed olives, rough chop

• 1 c chopped herbs of your choice. I used parsley, dill, and mint.

• a couple glugs of olive oil

• salt & pepper to taste

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Cover a sheet pan with parchment. Salt and pepper salmon on both sides, lay in pan, drizzle with olive oil. Rub into flesh. Lay the citrus slices over the fish like beautiful, vibrant fish scales. If there are extra, place them on the sheet pan. Scatter olives over top. Bake for about 30 minutes. I know that sounds like a lot, but this is a slow oven. Do check after 20 minutes or so to see if the fish is near done. Of course it also depends upon the thickness of the salmon. I trust you!

Once the salmon is cooked to your specifications, remove from oven. When you serve, be sure to include the olives and citrus. Pile on the chopped herbs with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of more lemon juice. *Chef’s Kiss!

…
Cashew, Chili-Crisp Rice

• 2 c cooked brown rice

• 2 med shallots

• 2/3 c cashews, rough chop

• 1-2 Tbs chili crisp

• 2 T olive oil

In a skillet, heat olive oil and sauté the shallots until translucent. Add cashews and toss to coat and slightly brown. Add the chili crisp and stir to blend. Add rice and mix the whole thing up. Press the rice into the pan and don’t disturb for a few minutes, as long as you can stand. It will give a little crispness to the rice. Taste for salt. If you are feeling wild, add butter. I know! So good.

I served the meal in large shallow bowls. Place the rice in the bottom, fish goes on top with lots of the baked citrus, then pile on the herbs, add the spritz of lemon juice and a drizzle of oil. The broccoli salad served on a side plate. Happy Spring!

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Brooklyn Stanley :

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Tell your people you love them, and take good care of your skin. 

xN