To Perform a Task Well Is Sufficient
by Maddy Raskulinecz
My task was to induce stress in the participants. I was allowed to do it however I liked. Stress is lizardly in the brain, which can be people’s qualm with it, that the enemies it steels you against are not the ones likely stressing you, like:
In our weekend reading: thoughts on books by Marcel Schwob and Ursula K. Le Guin, exploring the Velvet Underground’s history, and more.
In our afternoon reading: a review of Tade Thompson’s new novel, an interview with Teju Cole, and much more.
In our morning reading: interviews with Patrick deWitt and Thalia Zedek, an excerpt from a newly-translated book by Esther Kinsky, and more.
In our afternoon reading: recommendations from R. O. Kwon, Bud Smith and Shy Watson in conversation, and more.
Thirty years after her death, Sara Gallardo’s literary work has been translated into English. For Anglophone readers who delight in the surreal, the counterintuitive, and the singular, this is a welcome occurrence. Gallardo’s 1977 book Land of Smoke is the first of her works to appear in translation; over the course of a host of short stories, Gallardo explores the fantastical, aspects of loss, and unexpected geography.
In our morning reading: thoughts on the new Mountain Goats EP, revisiting the 90s emo scene, Lisa Hanawalt on comics, and more.
In our afternoon reading: interviews with Jen Doll and Maris Kreizman, news on a biography of Grace Paley, and more.