First, in the Saturday Interview, Randall Tyrone talks with writer Keith Newton about his innovative chapbook, A Week of Kindness, which reflects Newton’s fascination with surrealist Max Ernst’s 1933 “collage novel” Une semaine de bonté. Newton shares thoughtful views on organized religion, art as a response to fraying societal bonds, and his childhood and adolescence as a member of a cult.
Next, Eileen Favorite reviews Bernadette Murphy’s “inspirational” memoir, Harley and Me, about one woman’s transformational midlife motorcycle ride across the country. Murphy’s father passes away, and with her children grown, she witnesses the return of her “flinty dopamine, thrill-seeking drive.” Beautiful descriptions of her ride from LA to Milwaukee offset a persistent focus on the biochemistry going on inside Murphy during her journey.
Finally, in the Sunday Essay, Ariel Gore moves into an apartment north of San Francisco with her infant child and tries to ward off anxiety with a little household magic. Witless remarks from family members frame Gore’s longing for Jamie, a girlfriend who is drifting away, and her love for her daughter, Maia.
