Dear Friends,

I made a self-imposed sabbatical this summer. Even though I still had projects, taking a sabbatical allowed me to say no to nearly all requests to be on panels, speak, teach, or other service requests. This was a huge relief after my book year.

During this time, I had some doctor appointments and my annual eye exam & bought new glasses: frames—after the lab broke my last pair of glasses, which was upsetting (turns out broken glasses are as upsetting to me as a broken cake). The older frames I had been using during the last eight months are from 2005 & were falling apart. I have bifocal lenses now. 

I also wrote a #Midwessay (essay about Western New York as being part of the Midwest) and continued working on a collaboration with a comic artist that began earlier this year—in the winter! (More on that next newsletter.) 

Mostly what I wanted to say is: everything takes longer than you think. 

I booked fewer events for the academic year and my fall is full; the spring is nearly full. 

I started making smoothies again. Raj and I had both started to dread going to the larger grocery stores and have become regulars at our local food co-op, just over a mile away. There’s good baked tofu, salty bread, organic fruits and vegetables. I bought some good kale (and promptly used it in smoothies and lentil soup). I loved shopping at the Oneota Coop when I lived in Decorah, Iowa. It was a community center, too, and had meals (great place for lunch).

In the last two weeks of July, I took part in three StoryCorps interviews. What is StoryCorps? An organization that values storytelling and recording interviews between two or three people. Geneva, NY-based artist Kirin Makker, interviewed me; I interviewed my parents and I interviewed my dear friend Kitty, whom I’ve known for over thirty years. We met when I was 16. She’s 95 now.

It was also a way to spend time with people with whom I wanted to spend time. After 16 months of hardly seeing anyone I have realized that I don’t need or want as many interactions just for the sake of being social. Here are StoryCorps’ list of questions. Here is more about StoryCorps.

Five Things I want to Share with You:

1. A Q&A with Valeriya Kipnis, which includes me at the end (forwarded to me by my friend Nadia)
2. Podcast: Ithaca novelist & short story writer J. Robert Lennon on revision onSlate / Working
3. Koritha Mitchell on practicing self-care as a Black woman, acknowledging one’s own accomplishments & not waiting for outside validation.   
4. Naples, New York artist Darryl Abraham, whom I met in July (that’s his beautiful painting at the top of this newsletter).
5. From the Archives: my Electric Literature reading list about women and mental health.

Thanks for reading my newsletter. If you enjoyed it, you can help keep it going by forwarding it to someone who might like it, hiring me to speak, or buying my book for yourself or for a friend. Or, buy another independent-press book from an independent bookstore. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can read previous issues and subscribe here.

Warmly,
Sejal

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This newsletter was originally sent out on August 19, 2021. you can read previous issues and subscribe here.