Jonathan Lethem Meets The Thing

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I was waiting on a couple the other night at a restaurant where I work, and I saw a strange box on their table that had Jonathan Lethem‘s name printed on it.

When they opened it up, a pair of black glasses rested inside, and they asked me if I would try them on.  So I did.  Then they asked, “Do you see any chaldrons?” at which point I was like “wtf?”

They tried to explain to me what The Thing is.  Started by Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan, The Thing is “an object based quarterly publication” where artists, writers, musicians, film artists, etc., create an object that somehow includes text.  The object is made, wrapped and sent out to you, the diligent subscriber.  The point is that Jonathan Lethem got involved with The Thing, made some crazy glasses, and talked about chaldrons.

This year’s next lineup includes Trevor Paglen, Ryan Gander, Starlee Kine, and Chris Johanson.

Anisse Gross is a writer, editor, artist and question asker living in San Francisco. Her work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Believer, Lucky Peach, Buzzfeed, Brooklyn Quarterly, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She openly welcomes correspondence, friendship, surprises and paid work. More from this author →