By the time you read this it’s too late, but as of writing it’s still Samuel R. Delany’s birthday. I just finished The Einstein Intersection cos I thought a strategy for being unable to focus on reading actual books might be reading people I know & love & that maybe the comfort or familiarity would help. Sort of worked? I read Pitch Dark by Renata Adler (the best) and this, and will read Self Help by Lorrie Moore (absolute angel) next. ANYWAY - Delany gave us a little birthday treat in uploading this conversation between himself and Octavia Butler at the Smithsonian to his facebook page. I really hope the link works.
Thank you to Matt Stuart for recommending this treasure trove of Haruomi Hasano stuff for the NTS YMO day a couple years ago, which I’ve been working my way through while reading / staring into the ether.
I’ve been listening to the audiobook of Slice Harvester: A Memoir in Pizza by 100% punk legend & fellow Delany fan Colin Atrophy. It’s so good. Slice Harvester was their zine where Colin reviewed a plain slice from every pizzeria in manhattan, which is the running theme through the book - but it’s about how New York has changed over the years, about friendship, survival, being a punk. It’s beautiful & funny and this is definitely the best way to consume it - a DIY version recorded by Colin for their grandmother cos they didn’t like the person simon & schuster got to do the audiobook - so it’s peppered with little asides to Bernice, self critiques & explanations. Glorious, dive in. They also do a newsletter Life Harvester & one of my top 3 podcasts too. No cops no creeps, peace in the pizzeria.
That’ll do for now - see u tomorrow
P x