Art by Manon Gauthier
Coffee Corner by Ron Padgett
The large bowls of coffee at breakfast in France,
the heavy porcelain cups in old American diners,
the disposable brown plastic cups in motel lobbies,
the feeling that you ought to drink the entire cup,
the slight resentment you feel at feeling this way,
the wondering why you do it then,
the gratitude for someone’s making the coffee,
the decision not to have a third free refill,
the surprise of a really bad cup of coffee,
the way it used to cost a nickel, then seven cents, then ten,
and now anywhere from sixty cents to three seventy-five,
sometimes a little more for decaffeinated,
the brown print of it drying on the cup’s lip,
the small amount left in the bottom,
the rest of it sloshing inside you,
sending its stimulation through tubes
in your body, hello, let’s go, we’re late, do
you have the keys, oh god I can’t find my wallet
Other poems I enjoyed reading:
"I need help with long term hope
I need help with the dawn
of war and achieving
my new year's resolutions" -from The Help I Need Is Not Available Here by Alli Warren
"I looked into the room a moment ago,
and this is what I saw —
my chair in its place by the window,
the book turned facedown on the table.
And on the sill, the cigarette
left burning in its ashtray.
Malingerer! my uncle yelled at me
so long ago. He was right.
I’ve set aside time today,
same as every day,
for doing nothing at all."
-Loafing by Raymond Carver
"The first line should pry up
A little corner of the soul
As the first ray of daylight
Pries open the sleeper’s lids."
-On First Lines by Suzanne Buffam
"On Earth, when my wife is sleeping,
I like to look out at the sky.
I like to watch TV shows about supernovas,
and contemplate things that are endless
like the heavens and, maybe, love.
I can drink coffee and eat apples whenever I want.
Things grow everywhere, and so much is possible,
but on the news tonight: a debate about who
can love each other forever and who cannot."
-from Astronomers Locate a New Planet by Matthew Olzmann
"I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself."
-Self-Pity by D.H.Lawrence
Recommended Listening:
So Long, Marianne by Courtney Barnett
Podcast: Strong Feelings
Lauren Martin on feeling lost, and finding comfort in the words of women
a still from Azuma Makoto's Story of Flowers
Links of the Week:
Back to the Land by Maira Kalman On Living Apart Together
Be Internet Awesome + Podcasts for Kids
In the age of social media, how do writers avoid becoming hustlers? Emotionally Stunted Stunting
Spine Magazine (for the love of book covers)
The Talks: Stefan Sagmeister + their interview with Taika Waititi
The Hard Copy Growth Planner 2020 (free download)
via Jackson Joyce
Instagram Loving:
New on the website:
Interview: Spencer Tweedy
"I feel like the immediate feelings that come from witnessing the thing are the best indicator of what’s worth writing down. If I try to remember stuff later, I don’t trust that only the really worthwhile things come through because I’m actively plumbing for stuff, as opposed to intuitively feeling it."
-Spencer Tweedy
I recently interviewed drummer-writer Spencer Tweedy, son of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, about his wonderful daily list blog Observations. Read the full interview here.
Signing off with this GIF of Taika Waititi hiding his Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay (Jojo Rabbit) under the chair. via Brie Larson
-Rohini