not a part of this conversation (read very little steinbeck), but i'm reposting to highlight '"finding your voice" is the moment you go dead as a writer' — true and very well put.

...sound of the water falling in the blue plastic basin was like silences of memory further quietened by the rust and wrack and ruin of chain-link fences swallowing up disintegrating full-service stations mulberry swelling up through cracks in the concrete tufts of dry grass...

chatting with Kiik tomorrow via Writers & Books! come join us (virtual, free): wab.org/event/kiik-ara…

"...I’m trying to say culture, literature, and value are imaginary..."

Reading a lot of writing submissions lately is reminding me that literature isn't broken, only the current system of sharing surrounding it is—which was always the case. Smart people are still making wild innovative work, & those who want to eat shit now will eat shit later

Signos, the latest volume of Filipino fiction I edited/translated with zerotonin, John Bengan, Daryll Delgado, and Arlo Mendoza, will be released in October by Radix Printing & Publishing Cooperative Art by Dennis Madamba radix.coop/product/signos

Last four reads Under the Volano by Malcolm Lowry Thirst For Salt by Madelaine Lucas Daydreamers by Alvin Lu Fiction Collective 2 The Amnesiac in the Maze by Michael Czyzniejewski BraddockAvenueBooks

Unseen: sturdy frames of old-growth lumber; long flat backyards where we grew green onion, bok choy, and spinach; walking distance to daycare, shops, and bus/BART; underrated park with reservoir and forested trails I hiked with my kids and mom-in-law; city's best farmers market.

This week, Noah Fredstrom reviews After Sunstone by Dustin Cole expatpress.com/after-sunstone…

Me until 11/1/25

We’ve been resisting slop for a while