I’ve cut back on social media and skipped blogging entirely for the past two weeks while I try to compose something extra-cerebral on the subject of books, as a precursor to reviewing some excellent YA novels. But I was reminded of two rather severe oversights in my 2011 review post, that I think I should correct right now.
It’s possible I forget to mention it because I’m still reeling from the experience, but over the span of the month of November I managed to write something roughly novel-length, made of words that mostly connect into coherent sentences. In a word, NaNoWriMo. I had never done something like that before, having never written anything longer than my 18-page senior thesis (double-spaced, of course), and I’m even more surprised to learn, from the three people so far who’ve read my manuscript, that it could have the dents banged out and the chassis polished up into an actual readable book. That’s probably the only solid goal I have set for 2012, apart from getting more art made and put on display somewhere public. In the wake of finishing my NaNoWriMo draft (two days early, even), I began writing another story, just to see if I could do it a second time; whether I’ll finish that one is unclear, but it’s good to have something to turn to when my visual art muse is eluding me.
November was also the month I had the pleasure of meeting Meredith Yayanos, musician and co-founder of Coilhouse Magazine & Blog, and procured my first copy of said magazine. I honestly haven’t read a magazine that resonates so deeply with me since Sassy went belly-up, and in this age of increasingly digital infotainment I hope Mer and Nadya can continue to produce it in its material form, which is sleek and more archival than most of the rags you’ll find at the local big-box chain. It took more than one sitting to finish perusing all the articles, which feature the likes of Blixa Bargeld, Rachel Brice. Jared Joslin and Terry Gilliam, some of whom I’ve long admired and some I’d only just begun to learn of. The magazine only comes out quarterly, but there’s a constant stream of content surging through the blog section of their website, which one can sup on freely.
I think that’s everything worth posting about, now. I should really fill more jotters in real-time with stuff I ought to mention online, even if I found said stuff online. The internet is amazing in its ability to be sprawling and vast in breadth, yet ephemeral in its passage. It may lighten our loads and keep us from turning into the Collyer brothers to have fewer books, magazines, portfolios, planners, etc and more smartphones and tablets, but I wonder if we won’t lose something if we fail to keep some touchstones specifically dedicated to what inspires us. A special book, a particular painting, an objet. Something to think about.
Overseas Experiments 