Dearest Readers,
The last of my lilacs are starting to wilt. The plants desperately need pruning—have needed pruning for at least a year, the word used to describe them is "leggy"—but it turns out that it actually matters when you do various gardening tasks. The plants drape over my back porch, and the whole space is obnoxiously fragrant and gorgeous.
The internet is so weird. In the process of looking up when/how to prune lilacs, I learned that their blossoms are edible. Lilac wine? Lilac sugar? Lilac honey? Lilac jam?
One minute I'm holding a pair of gardening shears and the next I'm Googling enfleurage techniques. (I read no less than 5 books at a time, unsurprisingly.)
Yesterday's interview with Chloe Caldwell included a quote that made me feel particularly seen: "Whenever you make one decision, there’s grief, because you mourn all of the other things that could have been. " Or, as my former student once said, "I want to ride all the rides at the fair." If I wasn't an editor and teacher would I be a gardener? A perfumer? A printmaker? A lawyer? A baker? (I do like to make things.)
Are you also pulled? Do we read and write because it allows us to play at living other lives, imagine our roads-not-taken? A Robert Frost reference? Time to wrap this baby up.
Till next week darlings,
AS |
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| | | << me, waiting for my peonies to bloom |
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| T-minus 72-hours. Click on the book of your choice below to join our club by midnight on May 15th :)
Receive your own copy of our pick in the mail and join us for an exculsive chat with the author. |
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Have you been following along with our Mental Health Awareness themed month? We've got two essays out so far and more to come, along with some special interviews:
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Thursday, May 12- Soon Wiley, one of our Letters in the Mail contributors, is launching his debut novel, WHEN WE FELL APART
- Adrienne Celt launches END OF THE WORLD HOUSE with Kristen Arnett
Friday, May 13- Signing for DIFFERENT KINDS OF FRUIT (a book for kids about gender identities)
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Your support keeps The Rumpus going! |
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257 Haywood Rd Unit 201
Asheville
28806
United States of America |
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