On being tender & weird

"Writing a book is a tender weird little thing to do" - Alejandra Oliva

Illustration by Missy J Williams based on the landline phone at the house where I grew up in the Ozark Mountains.

I love calling friends from the landline at home in the Ozark Mountains, where there is no cell phone service.

I like being nostalgic and out of touch.

I like the sound of my friends’ voices and their handwriting.

I want all your tender, weird little things.

Your poetry scratched into the dry earth,

That note you carved into a tree,

The tattoo you drew for me in the middle of the night.

Love and thank you to Alejandra for the reminder to stay tender & weird,

Alice

Professional News & Events

I will spend a month writing at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy in March.

In April, I will be in conversation with New Yorker contributor Eyal Press and historian Roger Horowitz at New York University’s Institute for Public Knowledge on April 9th. You can RSVP here.

I’m excited to present my book at the Unbound Book Festival on April 17-20, where the keynote speaker is Min Jin Lee.

Thanks for reading. This publication is possible thanks to the support of readers like you. If you want to help keep it going, buy my book, hire me to give a talk via the Speaker’s Bureau at Simon & Schuster, or become a paid subscriber.