Just Do the Hard Things
Sara Benincasa has some inspiring words over at Medium: You must tell people exactly what you want from them if you have any hope that they will give it to you.…
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Lyz Lenz
351 posts
Lyz's writing has been published in the New York Times Motherlode, Jezebel, Aeon, Pacific Standard, and others. Her book on midwestern churches is forthcoming from Indiana University Press. She has her MFA from Lesley and skulks about on Twitter @lyzl. Lyz is a member of The Rumpus Advisory Board and a full-time staff writer for the Columbia Journalism Review.
Weekly Geekery
We have the technology, so where is the free time? Writing a better future. Women, the Internet and games. More corrosive than bleach, ammonia and your bathtub. The Internet goes…
Slouching Toward Didion
The Daily Beast takes a look at the history of the female essayist from Didion to Dunham: From cultural critic Susan Sontag and journalist-turned-screenwriter-turned-novelist (and Dunham’s mentor) Nora Ephron, and on…
The Ageless Problem of Agents
The Paris Review blog discovers that in publishing the “sky is always falling.” Every year is an abysmal year for books and a terrific year for books. Editors no longer…
The Worst Person in the World
Simon Rich talks about humor, writing, and writing humor: I always find something to write about. I mean, you always have some emotion inside of yourself. Sometimes the only emotion…
Hunger is the Beginning
Desire is transformative, and transgressive: whether it’s an unpeeled onion or a noble lover, to want something, especially for women, can never be entirely benign. A common consequence for careless…
Weekly Geekery
The Internet hates women. Emily Gould’s e-book start up. The rich and powerful find revenge. What’s worse: Your thoughts or getting shocked? Twitter is still better for conversations than dinner…
A Golden Age for Women Essayist?
On the New York Times, Cheryl Strayed and Benjamin Moser discuss whether this is a golden age for the female essayist. Probably because I’m of the opinion that as long…
Getting a Bootleg Up
The idea of avoiding a hangover was noble and practical and, as an avid drinker, held my interest. He pointed to a passel of jars in the corner. “Now, see…
Sound and the Fury 2.0
Is Lila inspired by The Idiot and The Sounds and The Fury? I’m not sure whether Lila is a stand-in for Christ, but it is clear to me that Robinson…
Weekly Geekery
Are video games the new social commentary? Are we ready to give them the weight of other media? The Internet is fomenting another revolution. Librarians: bespectacled superheroes for your rights.…
Satan is Everywhere
Watch yourself. The intrepid investigators at Melville House discovered secret Satanic messages in John Darnielle’s Wolf in White Van: It may seem farfetched to imagine a book which actually uses…