28 Comments
Nov 29, 2023Liked by Brandon

Not to do too much in the comments, but I am sincerely grateful for your writing, especially here. Thank you again for this language!

How did you get “that language thing under control”?

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wow this piece is so stunning!! I’ve never had my way of looking at things articulated in this way, so thank you for this! so so so we’ll done, looking forward to my second read of this :)

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I went on a period of figurative language restriction, lol, and focused on clarity. That really helped me develop a feel for when the language needs to run loose and free and where it needs to be more lucid.

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"I suppose I also don’t have the arrogance to assume that I can exhaust something totally in just one go. Who am I to say that I’ve gotten everything out of it the first time around." Finally someone said it!!

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Nov 28, 2023·edited Nov 28, 2023Liked by Brandon

Repetition and habit are soothing, and I hadn't really thought of them as that until I read this essay, believe it or not. Also, thank you for introducing me to the work of Dana Piazza. Lines 58 is so gorgeous to me.

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You write so beautifully.

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Nov 29, 2023Liked by Brandon

I love the idea that a work isn't exhausted in a single pass, a single effort.

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This is very helpful. I'm gathering myself to apply for a CW MFA at age sixty-something, and you articulate matters I need very much to examine.

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Inspiring. I’m excited to hear more about the Zola.

Also that first photo makes me want to go shopping!

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I love this piece. As an observer of repetition, do you have any love for PT Anderson's Magnolia?

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I've actually never seen it!

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Profound, authentic, intensely relatable. (Oh, the Moleskines!) Thank you, B.

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Nov 28, 2023Liked by Brandon

As usual, you make me laugh and hit me in the heart within the same essay, sometimes within the same sentence. The visual aspect of your creative process is so interesting. With respect to repetition, do you enjoy the fact that endless remixes and parodies of songs now proliferate on YouTube and Spotify, or is that too much novelty when you want to engage with the same song in the same way?

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Gorgeous. Thank you.

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Nov 30, 2023Liked by Brandon

I'd really prefer that the authors I read and admire focus on one thing, get to the point where they can really dig in on that thing (whether it's a style, a theme/question, etc) until they get to the core of it and make it sing. That makes for more interesting reading than the author who gets good at mimicking a bunch of different genres.

Obviously, authors don't need to listen to me tell them what to do. But all that's to say I really appreciate the approach you describe here!

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I just adore this piece

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really looking forward to what you end up writing about the Rougon-Macquart series! i’m about to finish The Ladies’ Paradise and have loved it so much i’d like to read all the rest of the novels in order

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