A few weeks ago, I built tall piles of my many essay collections (old and new) and began to ponder. Rediscovered favorite pieces by Annie Dillard, Patricia Hampl, Ander Monson, Rebecca Solnit, the World War II pilot memoirist Samuel Hynes, Elif Batuman, Megan Stielstra, Stephanie LaCava, Joanne Beard, others. Looked for insights into the empathetic imagination—how it has been managed over time, how essayists, historically, have gotten to the heart of hearts that aren't their own. I read, took notes, looked for patterns, began to write. It was a three-week process that produced just over 1,000 words.
I am blessed that the
Chicago Tribune took interest in this piece. I am blessed, too, that I was able to share these thoughts at Bryn Mawr College this past Thursday, in the classroom of the very exquisite Professor Cynthia Reeves.
The essay will appear in this weekend's
Printers Row. The online link is
here.
I love it when I love the books the
Chicago Tribune sends me to read.
Recently I had the pleasure of a
Tribune-initiated introduction to Megan Stielstra, by way of her new essay collection,
Once I Was Cool.My review, which runs in this weekend's
Printers Row, begins like this, below....
The world is a mess. Noisy. Prickly. Guilty. Fidgety. Hot. A case of psoriasis, holes in the ozone layer, rivers running this way and that. Who has time to make room for 29 new personal essays by Megan Stielstra, a Chicagoan whose life — as a storyteller, teacher, writer, wife, mother — is kind of messy too.
and can be read in its entirety
here.
