Voice of the American Grey Fox
or, select notes from a journey
I went to Los Angeles with my friend Annie a few weeks ago. I hadn’t boarded a flight by myself in ten years. My husband deposited me at the Ithaca airport at 4:15AM, and I boarded a flight to JFK, where I thought I heard someone say my name as I passed a St*rfucks, but couldn’t tell because my ears were still popping. Listening to Pile’s In the Corners of a Sphere-Filled Room made for a transcendent layover experience.
Instead of giving you the full trip rundown, here are select notes from flights, as Annie and I moved through the landscape. Consider this wisdom for your future adventures, weary travelers.
—Instead of looking up the origin of Jolly Rancher’s naming, I’d like to forever wonder if the candy is named for a rancher who is jolly or if the candy is the treat of choice for ranchers who feel jolly.
—“…the cook doesn’t make the fish” —David Lynch
—parked by charging stations, rejuicing the electronics, while a nearby screen promotes the Bronx Zoo through a series of mini-segments about animals. A parrot. A porcupine. Still listening to Pile, so I don’t learn anything, except that they all seem sad and thoughtful.
—David Lynch again: “love drives the boat”
—this is my yelp review of the sun
—a friend holding your hand up the mountain is nature’s ativan
—blessings and tidings to the koi at the canna lounge
—a butt looks better underwater
—crying at airport
I loved getting to read for the Morning, Fuckers reading series alongside Adam Voith, Lexi Kent-Monning, Kevin Maloney, Frayn Masters, Mike Nagel, Kyle Seibel, plus Julián Martinez not only emceeing but reading stories as well. I loved the energy of this event. Adam puts on a really cool show. Fun readings, a warm room, kind people, pastries. Literary brekkie clubs should be a thing, esp for those of us who struggle to keep our eyes open past 9PM.
Argento-lit readings, always.
Annie and I explored LA. One of my favorite things we did was visit the Museum of Jurassic Technology, a place I’ve long wanted to visit, and which I’ve been told is “very Gina” and also a place Werner Herzog enjoys. If I told you what it was like, or described it, that would ruin it. Part of the pleasure of the space was that I went in cold and it felt of my heart, intellect, imagination, and life. An intersection of truth, myth, and fiction. I teared up in “A Veiled Gazelle — Intimations of the Infinite and Eternal,” also wept on the rooftop courtyard and aviary, also felt so at peace in this place. I was navigating a lot of nervous energy (my own) that week, and disappearing into the Museum of Jurassic Technology was a balm.
At Griffith, Annie held my hand up the mountain because I’m terrified of heights. We’d later attempt—and back out on—a guided hike with literary podcast fave Brad Listi. A bummer. But also not, because at least I tried and got to say hey to a few other folks. (And bonus: met Brad Listi’s dog.) I will say, teh number of brave dogs who go up and down this mountain all the time while it gives me the howling fantods is kind of insane to me… but it’s LA and I kind of feel like Didion told us all long ago that part of the place’s beauty is quietly accepting a perpetual state of hinging and unhinging, and also that’s simply life. The only certainty is uncertainty. Homecomings rely on a departure taking place first. Ithaca is home for me, and at the same time, I felt held jogging up the jet bridge after my flight touched down, a kind of peace. If space dog portraits can be displayed beneath the same roof as cooing doves and superstitions, then maybe all these things can be true at once. A collective imagining, a dream.
X
Exciting tidbits:
The Rose Books Reader is out now and you can order through Asterism.
Two new online literary magazines have graced our frequencies this month, and I’m excited about both of them: Blake Butler’s Wanted and Zona Motel by Juliet Escoria and Mesha Maren, plus more writers helping out in the editorial realm. I won’t say, “This is the time to do indie lit” because it has been here, the time has always been now, the urgency has always existed, perhaps that energy just moves from person to person. The enduring nature and ever-changing shape is what makes it so special and exciting. People step in to bring more art into the world. No need to wait for an invitation. You probably have everything you need to do this.
