Homework
Recommended readings
Welcome to the free edition of this newsletter. If you’re enjoying it, or want to support feminist-minded work, consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
A few times a year, I teach writing and yoga retreats to small groups from all over the world. We gather in special places — a dear friend’s farm in Tuscany; a sleepy island in Greece; a surf town in Costa Rica; a sun-bleached fishing village on the Kenyan coast — and spend a week reading, writing, discussing, eating (lots of eating), and moving our bodies together.
One of the most fun and challenging parts of preparing for these retreats is putting together a reading list for the writing workshops, which I retool for each unique group of writers. I read a lot, and one thing I tell anyone in a writing class with me is that the best way to become a better writer is to write, and the second-best way is to read. And read like a writer. That is: When you read something great, don’t just say, “well that was great” and move on. Try to break the piece into component parts. What’s the structure? The language? How does it hang together? What’s the music and cadence of the piece? How does the writer take you on an emotional journey? The how is the key, and the how can be learned.
The pieces below are the ones the latest retreat group read over a week in Tuscany, and gathered to discuss, analyze, and pull apart. And these are among my favorite pieces of writing, so I thought I would share them here. Very few of them are new or newsy, but they are all excellent and beautiful in their own way.
There is life beyond the news. And there is so much joy in reading truly excellent, thoughtful, soul-shaping writing. Hope you enjoy these as much as I do.
The Abortion I Didn’t Have by Merritt Tierce
Yewande Komolafe’s 10 Essential Nigerian Recipes
How I Became a Pathological Liar by Joshua Hunt
The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser
Is Abortion Sacred? by Jia Tolentino
The Hard Crowd by Rachel Kushner
Dancing Through New York in a Summer of Joy and Grief by Carina del Valle Schorske
Why Juneteenth Matters by Jamelle Bouie
Witness and Respair by Jesmyn Ward
xx Jill
Welcome to the free edition of this newsletter. If you’re enjoying it, or want to support feminist-minded work, consider upgrading to a paid subscription.