“The ideas / only words direct. // Out dying between / the moment & / saying it:” – Mathias Svalina, “The Wine-Dark Sea”
But first, it’s new The Line Break podcast week! After a run of excellent guests, it’s just Bob and me to conclude the year. This month, we’re turning Bob’s “who’s your all-influence starting five” question on ourselves. Bob does a deep dive into the poets that made him, I take a page from one of our guests and do a brief all-poets and extended all-general team. We don’t read poems for the first time ever, but don’t worry, there’s not too much basketball talk. Soundcloud | Apple | Spotify
Our collective MJ year is coming to a close (or Robin Ventura year, if you live in Mount Greenwood). I’ve got (almost) nothing but positive things to say about 2023, and as I did last year, I feel like taking stock.
Publishing
It’s an odd time to be an internet writer. 2023 is the year executives’ embrace of ChatGPT made a lot of websites unusable, and a year where it felt like it personally made sense to take a step back from pitching and byline-chasing to focus on fiction, poetry, and this newsletter. I didn’t make a lot of money this year—shoutout to Mallory Corlew for putting food on the table—but I’ve done a lot I’m proud of. I am writing more than I ever have before. Importantly, I’m also reading more than I ever have (except maybe undergrad?), thanks to this blog.
Stories & Poems
One story and one poem, but who’s counting? I’m thrilled about them both. A ghost story and a poem that has ghosts. Maybe we’ll go to the land of the living next year. Many thanks to Meagan Masterman at Whisk(e)y Tit and Adrian Sobol at Kicking Your Ass for publishing this stuff. At barest minimum, 2024 will not top 2023 in terms of “names of journals I’m stoked to tell my parents published me”
from “you will be more safe not in this place” | Kicking Your Ass
Lazy & Entitled
The biggest thing for me this year was launching Lazy & Entitled and releasing Vine. Here’s my blog post explaining L&E, and here’s a link to the ToC of Vine, so that you can start from the beginning if you want. Here’s a link to the Lazy & Entitled podcast (currently only on Soundcloud), if you’d like to listen to Vine in audiobook form. Brendan engineered his ass off on these episodes, and wrote 95% of the musical bumps between songs (shut up, we have our divisions of labor in L&E). As said in the intro post, L&E started in spirit ~2015, collaborated on the album weight of an anchor in 2020, and wrote Vine off and on in between.
We’re thrilled with the end result. In 2024, we’ll release another album. The plan is another written project in 2025, the only thing about which is certain is that it will be far, far shorter than Vine. We’ve got smaller stuff in the percolator, too—watch this space.
Many thanks to Chloe N. Clark, who did initial edits on the text. Thanks to K.C. Mead-Brewer, who gave us newsletter advice. Thanks to Adam & Brian Hinkle, who were sources of encouragement and sounding boards during the writing process. Thanks to Adam Hinkle and Katie Lago for aiding their voices to the audiobook. Lazy & Entitled might be made of Brendan and me, but it’s a collaborative space, too. We’re nothing without our friends.
The Line Break
What a year for The Line Break! Bob and I feel incredibly lucky to be blessed with the quality of guests we had on the show in 2023. In fact, it feels like a difficult bar to clear next year. Hey! That’s what living is.
Bob and I are incredibly grateful to all our guests this year. We’re nothing without our friends. I’ve said before how grateful I am Bob is willing to do this show with me—this is my chief way of finding new poets to read, even moreso than journals. Plus, it’s a blast.
First episode of the year—just what the hell does poetry do, anyway? Apple | Spotify
An Interview With Maya Williams Apple | Spotify
An Interview With José Olivarez Apple | Spotify
That Time Bob and I Were In The Same Room Apple | Spotify
An Interview With Alina Pleskova Apple | Spotify
An Interview With Sandra Marchetti Apple | Spotify
An Interview With Isaac Pickell Apple | Spotify
Last episode of the year, our all-influence starting fives. Apple | Spotify
Shipwrecked Sailor Blog
A few fun highlights from the year! This newsletter evolved from “my contract at Cracked ended and Twitter is dying, what do I do?” to a twice-weekly column-reading list/links format that I genuinely love. I’m having fun and I hope you are, too.
Interviewed Leigh Ellis about leaving No Dunks to begin his 20-20-20 journey. This was incredibly exciting. I’ve been a No Dunks fan since 2011 (the The Basketball Jones days!), which might be when Leigh Leigh joined? So interviewing The International Man Of Mystery was a real thrill, dudes.
Interviewed Abe Epperson about his and Michael Swaim’s upcoming film, Papa Bear. It’s a promising film that is moving ahead despite some strike-related delays. I’m very excited to see the finished product.
Some Skateboarding Stuff (preview for this week’s Friday Links)
Best Horror Movies I Watched This Year
It Doesn’t Matter If The Ghosts Are Real
Did You Want To Be A Marine Biologist When You Grew Up
Mental Floss
I haven’t written for Mental Floss in a bit. It’s fun when I do. Many thanks to Shayna Murphy for assigning these.
What Are Those Circles And Squares On My Car’s Bumper?
The 10 “Smartest” Cities in Europe
The 10 Most Popular Theme Parks In The U.S., According To Visitor Reviews
Is ‘Main Character Energy’ A Real Thing? Here’s What It Is—And How To Tell If You Have It
The Most Popular Pet Names In Each U.S. State
Vagabond City
I started the year with a goal of doing three book reviews. I did one. More coming—hopefully—in 2024. I really enjoy reviewing books, especially small press books. Time is just short. If anyone wants to pay me to review books, get at me. Money motivates.
In Review: Patterns of Orbit by Chloe N. Clark | Vagabond City
That’s my year. It’s been a fun one, thanks for spending a portion of it with this blog and other stuff I’ve been involved in. I’ll be back on Friday, then I’m taking the week between Christmas and New Year off. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and see you in 2024. As always:
Sorry you got an email,
Chris