A Message From Caesar
Hello comrades,
I usually pick the photos for the newsletter because, well, it’s my newsletter. But this week, Saeed insisted on using this picture he took of me when I woke him up from one of his naps on the couch. I don’t exactly see the allure, but it is what it is.
This week on the Vibe Check podcast, Saeed, Zach and Sam go all in on the Oscars because they’re gay and apparently obligated to tell us what they think about the Academy Awards. First they make their predictions for the big categories and then they do a deep-dive on “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” And Saeed recommends the book Love and Other Poems by Alex Dimitrov. You can listen to the episode here.
Also, if you’re in Seattle, Saeed is on his way there right now for the AWP conference. Here’s his schedule for events and panels:
AWP PANEL AND READING:
"Writing through Apocalypse w/ Franny Choi & Brenda Shaughnessy"
Friday, March 10th, 10:35 AM - 11:50 AM PT
Seattle Convention Center, Summit Building, Level 4, Room 447-448
OFF-SITE EVENT:
Patricia Smith's "Unshuttered" Poetry Collection Release Party (Saeed as Guest Reader)
Friday, March 10th, 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM PT
Northwest African American Museum
2300 South Massachusetts Street, Seattle, WA 98144, USA
OFF-SITE EVENT: "Commonplace" Podcast Interview
Saturday, March 11th, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM PT
Open Books: A Poem Emporium
108 Cherry Street, Seattle, WA 98104
Stay safe out there, folks.
Love, Caesar
Fun story- you sent me a few gift subscription invitations and I sent one to my friend Dusty Bryndal who lives in Brooklyn and wrote a chapbook Losing Judah about the death of her son who was riding his bicycle in Nashville and hit by a car. My mother is a midwife and delivered Judah. And so I’d sent your Werk In Progress invite to Dusty who accepted and she texted me from Seattle’s Elliott Books where she was doing a reading from her book yesterday and she said she was going to get to hear you read! Zero degrees of separation 💛♾️💛
And I LOVE your podcast. My father who lives in TN incorrectly thought the ban on Drag only applied to kids at Drag shows and I sent him a link to your Vibe Check podcast and an invite to your Substack. My brother Jude used to say- Telegraph, Telegram, Tell-Ida!