Read Receipts:

Texting with Catherine Cohen

Comedian, cabaret star, writer, and general Renaissance woman Catherine Cohen has been sharing her raw, stream-of-consciousness poems on her Instagram since 2016. Now they’re gathered in God I Feel Modern Tonight — an unflinching collection that explores sex, ego, art, bodies, millennial ennui, and longing. I chatted with Cohen via text message about earnestness, comedy, and the reasons we fight to survive, in a conversation as free-flowing and unaffected as her poetry. Here's a snippet.

AR: True, living for the honesty

CC: hahaha
CC: Too honest for my own good vibes
CC: No but things are looking up I just watched the finale of Bling Empire on Netflix
CC: Sooo good
CC: How r u?

AR: Same more or less, I discovered this British show called Rosemary & Thyme and it’s about gardeners who solve murders, which I can’t recommend enough. So that’s been a real highlight.

CC: Omg sign me up
CC: I famously love British

AR: Let’s talk about the book!! How does it feel to (almost) have it out in the world?

CC: I'm so excited
CC: Love that girl
CC: (My book)
CC: She’s rly good

AR: I am, full disclosure, a big fan

CC: Eeee !
CC: Honored

AR: I suppose we should probably say what it is — God, I Feel Modern Tonight, a poetry collection. For people who might not be aware already, can you tell us about it, how it came to be, etc.?

CC: Yes! Its a collection of lil poems I wrote, some are funny some are
CC: Dare I say…earnest?
CC: Heartwarming etc
CC: I’ve always loved poetry because I’m Too Emotional For My Own Good (TM) and started writing and posting lil funny poems to insta in 2016
CC: then I started reading them on stage during my act and that evolved into me bravely thinking I should have a book

AR: Knopf agreed!

CC: LOVE Knopf
CC: Working with them has been a dream

AR: What was it like integrating something more earnest into your act/“brand” (sorry) — were you nervous about it?

CC: Hehe yes!!
CC: It's mortifying
CC: But I will be dead one day (annoying) so might as well share the things I’m proud of !

AR: True! Solid advice
AR: I’d love to hear about how you approach comedy vs poetry, how they feel similar or different
AR: I know you do a lot of songwriting too, which feels sort of between the two

CC: ya sometimes I’ll have an idea that could be a poem or a song or a joke and I have to decide what feels right
CC: All of it is very stream of consciousness
CC: Writing poems and songs is easiest for me. Jokes are hard and boring lol
CC: I’ve come up with most of my standup bits from just being on stage every night and now that we famously can't do that, poetry has been a good outlet for whatever I'm feeling in the moment

[Keep reading.]

This week in virtual book events: Feb. 8–12

Monday, Feb. 8

Robbie Arnott discusses The Rain Heron with Jeff VanderMeer — hosted by Books & Books, 7 p.m. ET. More info.
Kevin Barry discusses That Old Country Music with Susan Orlean — hosted by Prairie Lights, 6 p.m. CT. More info.

Tuesday, Feb. 9

Suleika Jaouad discusses Between Two Kingdoms with Elizabeth Gilbert — hosted by Book Passage, 5:30 p.m. PT. More info.
Lauren Oyler discusses Fake Accounts with Naomi Fry — hosted by Skylight Books, 6:30 p.m. PT. More info.
Namina Forna discusses The Gilded Ones with Kym Whitley — hosted by Mysterious Galaxy, 6 p.m. PT. More info.

Wednesday, Feb. 10

Brandon Hobson discusses The Removed with David Heska Wanbli Weiden — hosted by Elliott Bay Book Company, 6 p.m. PT. More info.
Randa Jarrar (Love Is an Ex-Country) and Brontez Purnell (100 Boyfriends) discuss their new books with Victor I. Cazares — hosted by Books Are Magic, 7 p.m. ET. More info.
Melissa Broder discusses Milk Fed with Ryan O'Connell — hosted by Skylight Books, 6:30 p.m. PT. More info.

Thursday, Feb. 11

Ethan Hawke discusses A Bright Ray of Darkness with Isaac Fitzgerald — hosted by Books Are Magic, 7 p.m. ET. More info.
Robert Jones, Jr. discusses The Prophets with Maurice Carlos Ruffin — hosted by Politics & Prose, 6 p.m. ET. More info.

Friday, Feb. 12

R.O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell, co-editors of the short story anthology Kink, discuss the book with contributors Carmen Maria Machado and Alexander Chee — hosted by Politics & Prose, 6 p.m. ET. More info.
Maisy Card discusses These Ghosts Are Family — hosted by Book Soup, 6 p.m. PT. More info.