I’m a writer, I write. But where?
The river was a convenient place to dump trash and factory waste. The only problem was the river flowed into the only freshwater drinking source. So they dug into the land enough the river reversed flow—water wants to go downhill—and the city had clean(ish) drinking water. The trash became someone else’s problem.
My adopted hometown of Chicago is “the city that works,” and the “city that keeps things moving.” Did we do all that stuff in the first paragraph? Yes hell we did. Am I saying it’s good or bad? Chicago’s still working.
The internet goes through a bunch of messed-up permutations. I grew up with Xanga, AIM, Kazaa, and HomestarRunner. I published evidence of myself getting hammered in college on Facebook. I’ve been doing whatever Twitter is since 2011, and will continue until Elon makes that place truly unlivable for all but the most vile, much like the rest of the billionaires want to do with Earth. I write long-form articles and short-form lists. I’m part of the “the gentle way to put this is we exist outside of capitalism; the honest way to put it is we’re all broke” literary community. What I’ve really learned about myself is that I like writing and I like doing it in a setting where my friends and I can be weirdos together. I’m a writer, I write. Now I’m doing it here.
So what’s the job? Are we going on a lake and river cruise or leisurely kayaking while the grill preheats? I’m going to keep these short. There’ll be links to my work and stuff I’m really enjoying—writing is lonely and the nicest thing you can do is boost people, so I’ll boost people. I’ll talk fiction and poetry, movies, music, food, Chicago stuff, basketball, and stuff I think is interesting. I’ll try to be entertaining and not take up too much space. Mostly I want to do this: exuberantly share the stuff I think is rad. Until the fascists come for us.
Sorry if you got an email,
Chris
Five Cool Links:
The YouTube Channel De mi Ranchero a Tu Cocina is everything good about the internet.
Haymarket Books is a Chicago-based press that publishes exciting poetry, books on socialism, anti-racism, and workers’ rights, and frequently has very good sales. Reading their catalog isn’t a bad way to know how I generally think about things.
My best friend Brendan Johnson has an excellent record that not enough people have listened to.
My dear friend Chloe N. Clark has a book coming out in 2023, catch up on her collection Collective Gravities so you’re not the dweeb who got here late to the party.
I think it’s rad that Chon skates before the house show.