Greetings from the Tin House Autumn Fiction Workshop in Portland, OR!
I've never felt like more of an East Coast asshole.
I arrived in Portland a day before the official start of the workshop. It’s gorgeous here and the people are disarmingly friendly. At the coffee shop, the person ahead of me and the barista had a whole ass conversation for a good 8 minutes. I started to do the usual loud breathing and looking around when I realized it’s me, I’m the asshole. Apparently, this is absolutely fine. And by “this” I mean to take genuine interest in the well-being of perfect strangers. I’m more of the traditional East Coaster “I’m acknowledging your existence as a human being and now let’s move the fuck on.”
People here will say hi to you in the street and actually pause for a response.
I’m working on chronicling living with my mother as she starts a new chapter in her life. The Boston Globe Magazine published a small excerpt.
I could try and say something poignant on the massacres occurring in Gaza but I would fail miserably. My silence is not compliance. My silence is my current state of abject terror and guilt. If you want to hear and read from someone who knows wtf she’s talking about then I urge you to start with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein. Subscribe to her newsletter and follow her on Elon’s hellscape here (she’s on other, better platforms, too!).
I’ll share more about Tin House when it’s done and I can properly absorb and process all its greatness. Because it is that great. I’d forgotten how critical the difference is when you’re not in your own home and writing. At home even if I turn everything off and focus on the page in front of me I can’t help but think about general home stuff: laundry, cleaning, errands, what’s that thing on the ceiling and will it cost me money? You know the deal.
At Tin House I have so much dedicated time and space to just write and it’s been enormously healing and productive. I’m in Kim Fu’s workshop, she leads with permission to be creative and produce and to be our own best readers and editors. She’s not on social media so I will have to make an actual effort to be her new best friend.
Finally, as great a time as I’m having, we must all admit that the biggest winner is Biggie. Which, when you think about it, is as it should be. Thanks to y’all I could come here and not break the bank and Biggie gets to live large away from home at his (and my) favorite wellness doggy day care The Mindful Mutt! I have a feeling it’s going to be a struggle bringing him back!
In eternal gratitude,
L
We're all looking forward to hearing about Tin House. Enjoy your time there!