“Memoir’s not an easy form. It’s not for beginners, which is unfortunate, as it is where many people do begin. It’s hard for beginners to accept that unmediated truth often sounds unlikely and unconvincing. If other people are to care about your life, art must intervene. The writer has to negotiate with her memories,Continue reading “Hilary Mantel on memoir”
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a catalog of the things above my desk
postcard of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s typewriter birthday card from my father “Don’t forget to show the grace and humanity.” — advice Dorothy Allison gave Justin Torres at the Lambda Emerging Writers Retreat a gold mask from my brother’s wedding a sticker of a dinosaur that says “Fuck!” “…and with a tiny prayer I sayContinue reading “a catalog of the things above my desk”
that’s my cat
If you enter the phrase “when to put” into Google, the first suggestion that appears is When To Put Your Cat to Sleep. The suggestion is followed by: When To Put Your Dog To Sleep, When To Put A Child In A Booster Seat, and When To Put In A Baby In A Toddler Bed.Continue reading “that’s my cat”
Sweets Did It: $350 raised for hurricane relief effort
It all happened out of my tiny Bed Stuy kitchen, with the love, support and sweet tooths (sweet teeth?) of so many awesome friends and family! Two apple pies, two pumpkin pies, two flourless chocolate cakes, 45 salted fudge brownies, and 96 dark chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies. My kitchen aid stand mixer got a realContinue reading “Sweets Did It: $350 raised for hurricane relief effort”
sweets for a cause
I’m baking sweets and sending the cash to Occupy Sandy! Spread the word, friends! xo c Sweets Gillette’s Sweet Relief
30 and a day: wrapping up Thirty Things Every Woman Should Know by Thirty
Yesterday morning I woke up, thirty years old, and couldn’t be happier. Birthday messages have been peppered with things like “Don’t worry!”, and the real truth is, worry is the furthest thing from my life right now. This age is like a novelty–I kept asking people yesterday, “Ask me how old I am! …Thirty!” It’sContinue reading “30 and a day: wrapping up Thirty Things Every Woman Should Know by Thirty”
8 days til 30: on power tools, underwear, and abundance
Sometimes your life is so awesome in the weeks before you turn 30 that you forget to continue the revamped list of things every woman should maybe but totally doesn’t have to know & have by the time she’s 30. For the uninitiated: in 1997, Glamour magazine published its now-well-loved list of Thirty Things EveryContinue reading “8 days til 30: on power tools, underwear, and abundance”
30 Days Til 30: Revising Glamour’s 30 Things list
In 1997, Glamour magazine published its now-well-loved list of Thirty Things Every Woman Should Have & Should Know By The Time She’s Thirty. As you might imagine, it’s chock full of materialism, sexism, stereotypes, beauty myths, and other eye-roll-worthy tidbits. This year, the entire list was expanded into a book (Maya Angelou: “Every woman shouldContinue reading “30 Days Til 30: Revising Glamour’s 30 Things list”
letters to our younger selves
Recently, a friend came across Eileen Myles’ letter to her young, queer self, part of the anthology The Letter Q: Queer Writers’ Notes to Their Younger Selves . My friend was so moved by the gesture of Eileen’s letter that she decided to invite some friends to write their own letters, and come together to shareContinue reading “letters to our younger selves”
welcome back
Oh, hey, internet. It’s been awhile. I was a little reluctant to plug back in today, after a pretty awesome month without. On the technical side, I was able to get through August with minimal e-mail checking (I had to do so more than once a week as I’d planned), no facebook, no googling (exceptContinue reading “welcome back”
Courtney Gillette 