Last night I had the thrill of meeting Jennifer Pastiloff, author of On Being Human, live and in person. You can see from the photos that I was late — just as I was about to walk out the door, my dear friend and next door neighbor’s son fell out of a tree and broke his arm in two places. By the time I got to the reading I was shaky and teary, because in our little community, we’re all family, so when one of us is hurting, we all feel it. We huddle up. I’m sharing this because as I looked around at the faces in that standing room only crowd, I saw it. Human Family. That’s what you feel when you’re in Jen’s presence. As she spoke, I saw so many people nodding and looking across the room and exchanging teary-eyed smiles with strangers, and I could see that it was because they felt like someone got them. Jen is warm and funny and compassionate and so beautifully human. All of the magazine articles you’ve read about her are true: she listens. Really, really, really listens. And because she listens so closely, she makes you feel like everything is going to be okay. Like you’re okay. So buy the book and buy one for a friend. Love you, Jen. (And Karen — it’s going to be okay. We’ve got you.) @jenpastiloff @headhousebooks #bookrecommendations #jenpastiloff #onbeinghuman @shape @people @karenmisher
I snapped this shot last night as I was running to the incredible (very long list of gushing superlatives) Jen Pastiloff’s reading at Head House Books, and I just wanna say that I’m so Philly proud right now, because this is how we say “welcome home.” ❤️ @jenpastiloff #jenpastiloff #onbeinghuman #philly #bookshelves #wearetherestofyou
METHOD 44: MOCK FUNERALS / BRETT KAVANAUGH
I didn’t ever want to hear Brett Kavanaugh’s name again, but if it means that the FBI might grow a pair and investigate this dirtbag, bring him out. While impeaching a federal judge is rare, there is a process for it. If you want to make your voice heard on this issue, 5 Calls has a script for calling your Members of Congress.
Mock Funerals were first used in this country in 1765, just before the Stamp Act was scheduled to go into effect. On November 1, the Sons of Liberty marched through Newport, Rhode Island carrying a coffin marked “Old Freedom.” When the protestors reached the cemetery, a groan came from the coffin and a figure emerged – freedom was not dead! A battle between Freedom and the Angel of Death was played out in the graveyard to cheers and the ringing of Newport’s bells. Similar protests were staged on the same day in three other cities. The idea behind this method is to create a spectacle – one that onlookers can’t resist, and the people in power will notice. @5calls
From the early days of the Trump administration, the White House has been doing everything it can get away with to limit the role of the FBI. It’s time a coffin marked “FBI” was dragged down Pennsylvania Avenue and dropped at 1600. For updates on Kavanaugh, the climate crisis, and the other Riders of the Apocalypse, subscribe to 5 Calls for weekly updates on how to make your voice heard. Cartoon: Gary Markstein / Creators Syndicate #nonviolentaction #kavanaugh #impeachkavanaugh
METHOD 44: MOCK FUNERALS / BRETT KAVANAUGH
I didn’t ever want to hear Brett Kavanaugh’s name again, but if it means that the FBI might grow a pair and investigate this dirtbag, bring him out. While impeaching a federal judge is rare, there is a process for it. If you want to make your voice heard on this issue, 5 Calls has a script for calling your Members of Congress.
Mock Funerals were first used in this country in 1765, just before the Stamp Act was scheduled to go into effect. On November 1, the Sons of Liberty marched through Newport, Rhode Island carrying a coffin marked “Old Freedom.” When the protestors reached the cemetery, a groan came from the coffin and a figure emerged – freedom was not dead! A battle between Freedom and the Angel of Death was played out in the graveyard to cheers and the ringing of Newport’s bells. Similar protests were staged on the same day in three other cities. The idea behind this method is to create a spectacle – one that onlookers can’t resist, and the people in power will notice.
From the early days of the Trump administration, the White House has been doing everything it can get away with to limit the role of the FBI. It’s time a coffin marked “FBI” was dragged down Pennsylvania Avenue and dropped at 1600. For updates on Kavanaugh, the climate crisis, and the other Riders of the Apocalypse, subscribe to 5 Calls for weekly updates on how to make your voice heard. #nonviolentresistance #genesharp #kavanaugh #bluewave
Classic Libra / Virgo moment: we're doing a kitchen renovation and the countertops are about to go in, so we decided to make a time capsule to throw in behind the cabinets. She made a carefully written list of all of the renovations we've done since buying this old fixer-upper, and I scrawled a rambling diatribe against Donald Trump and fascism and future owners BEWARE – never take your freedom for granted!!!! I've already had two cups of coffee so maybe that's to blame but nah. Here's to balance. #timecapsule #noborderwall @chaninicholas #virgoseason #librasun #ariesmoon
WHAT’S ON MY NIGHTSTAND: AUGUST 2019
https://leighopkins.com/2019/08/31/whats-on-my-nightstand-august-2019/
Fiction
Naamah | Sarah Blake
What Belongs to You | Garth Greenwell
Nonfiction
Horace | Reverend T. Buckley
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel | Alexander Chee
American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass | Douglas S. Massey & Nancy A. Denton
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl | Harriet A Jacobs
Women | Annie Leibovitz & Susan Sontag
Maid | Stephanie Land
Short Fiction
Cougar |Maria Anderson | The Iowa Review
Madeline | Ludwig Bemelmans
Under the Wave | Lauren Groff | The New Yorker
Open Mouth | Ayla Zuraw-Friedland | Gay Mag
Poetry
The Doe | Leila Chatti| Narrative Magazine
Scylla and Charybdis | Megan Fernandes | The New Yorker
She Had Some Horses | Joy Harjo
Dog Moon | Rikki Lights
Almost Human | Ocean Vuong (listen)
The New Yorker
Essay (selected)
Elegy in Times Square | Lily Burana
Why I’m Joining the Climate Strike – and Why You Should, Too | Rio Constantino | Global Climate Strike
How I Came to Own My Name | Lauren DePino | The New York Times
Cyrus Grace Dunham on a Year Without a Name | Cyrus Grace Dunham | The New Yorker
Remembering Woodstock ’94 | Steve Edwards | Longreads
If You Jump Into my Arms I Will Catch You | Mimi Feldman | ENTROPY
The Borderland | Leigh Hopkins | The Rumpus
Gioncarlo Valentine’s Searing Portrait of the Fears of Young Black Men | Kiese Laymon
The New Yorker
The Meaning of Silence in Conversations About Death | Michael Erard and Mosaic | The Atlantic
Early Menopause Gave Me a Dating Superpower | Lisa Kirchner| Dame Magazine
The Dehumanizing Politics of Likability |Teow Lim Goh | Los Angeles Review of Books
The Gall of Ghislane Maxwell | Naomi Fry | The New Yorker
On Likeability | Lacy M. Johnson | TinHouse
Rise and Fall of the Pocket Protector | Henry Petroski | American Scientist
Interview / OpEd / Review
The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #189: Sarah Blake | GregManía | The Rumpus
Kristen Stewart Plays It Cool | Durga Chew-Bose | Vanity Fair “Next year, Stewart will embark on adapting for the screen Lidia Yuknavitch's book ... #reading
