411. Some (good) news (& not just for the boys with the boomin’ system)
September 9th, 2011 § 14 Comments
Good morning, lil mamas. I’m surrounded by beetles and rose petals I saved from when I was in high school. Speaking of high school, my secret summer project has finally launched, and it’s a magazine for teen girls edited by the super amazing brain pot-au-feu, petite tarte Tavi (I feel embarrassed telling you what you already know, which is that she keeps an amazing blog at Style Rookie, and was profiled by The New Yorker last year, and more recently by the New York Times magazine.) The magazine is called Rookie, and our theme for September is “firsts” and all kinds of back to school stuff, and even though I said it was for teen girls, it’s kind of also for anyone, because when I was a teen girl, I only wanted to watch movies about old people who were scared of dying, and now that I’m getting older, I only want to watch movies about children who are scared of dying and other things. I wrote a little piece about my first day of high school here, along with four other rad ladies. Other contributions from me will include an interview with my first kiss and a short story about family and sex and non scary firsts. So come on all you teens and tweens and weens and peens.
I will be contributing regularly to the magazine, but if we’re getting f’realz here, I’m just a small fry among bigger, greasier, tastier fries. Joss Whedon, Anna Faris, Zooey Deschanel, Jack Black, & JD Samson gave advice on how to survive high school. Miranda July, Fred Armisen, Dan Savage and other sassysissies will be contributing pieces as well. Tavi wrote a great piece about girl on girl hatin’, Jamie wrote a fun article about sticker-love (I have it in spades and my spades have it in hearts and my hearts have it in diamonds and my diamonds have it in clovers!) Petra did an amazing back-to-school photo shoot with knee socks and plaid, and there’s so much more that I can’t possibly tell you everything right now and right here. Please take a look at Rookie mag for yourself and spread the word if you like what you see/hear/feel.
From Petra’s “School Spirit” photo shoot.
This month I also have a story (“We Love You Crispina”) out in Glimmertrain, and another story (“You Fell Into the River and I Saved You!”) out in The Iowa Review. I know that buying literary journals can be as rare as finding dinosaur bones underneath couch cushions, but they are both superb magazines (like the literary equivalent of Sriracha–always always good,) and I feel so lucky to have stories in these two lit journals that I have been reading for years.
Someone recently asked me on my Formspring (I so apologize for taking so long to answer questions on there!) where he/she can read my fiction online. I have a short story, “The Empty The Empty The Empty” up at Diagram magazine. I linked to this year last year already, but when my story was accepted for publication in Glimmertrain, the editors invited me to write a little essay, and I wrote one on “The Truth” in fiction. You can always visit my personal website: Jennybagel & click on “Publications” for more links to my fiction & poetry & non-fiction online.
Okay, I’m sorry to do so much stroking of my brain-peen. It ends now.
I’ve been wearing my Believer tote everywhere. I’m the kind of person who walks into telephone poles at least once a week, so maybe a thin tote with illustrated portraits of Salman Rushdie & Joan Didion is not the best protection for the hardware I’m totin’, but for now whatevs. I have two of these. One has a hole and was given to me as a present, and the other I received via unlawful means, but I can’t say more than that. This little denim jumpie is from Topshop. I got it the day after what I thought was the saddest day of my life, which was also the day when I met Julia in Manhattan and she changed my life but I still have not yet been able to tell her how so. We went to Top shop and she tried on wispy dresses and I tried on this denim romper and wore it all last summer and now I’m just pulling it out in time to get all dramatic and gaspy about the changing of seasons.
I stopped by a Salvadorean restaurant on my way home from running errands and picked up two pupusas. I started reading The Boston Review’s issue on 9/11, but was distracted by intrusively shallow thoughts. Like how I would love for someone to tell me, “I mean my, my, my, my you’re like pelican fly.” And like how I can’t stop crushing on Drake. Since Biggie, has there ever been a mainstream rapper who wears sweaters as often as Drizzy? Drake, I love you infinitely and inexplicably! Also I keep looking at pictures of Birdman and Lil Wayne kissing and thinking how that was a great moment to talk about hip-hop and fear of a black planet and fear of black men and homophobia and sexism and and the myth of Wayne & what is happening to “underground hip-hop” (is Tyler the Creator our only savior? no!) but instead the hip-hop media sensationalized it and um, just to generalize, white people kinda ignored it. So that’s what I’m thinking about tonight. Hope you weren’t struck dead with boredom.
Love, Jenny
I can’t wait to read your stories!
Thanks, darling!
Hey Jenny. You are the raddest, did you know that? I am so proud of you for doing all of these awesome things and also for being you. I am reading a sexy book about Paris right now, and it makes me wonder if Paris is really like that, even though I went to Paris once. I got sick.
Miss you lots and lots
xoxo
Essie
Hi Essie,
What! Sexy book about Paris–I want to read this same book. I think about Paris a lot and I think about you a lot. I am lucky to know you and the world is lucky for your presence.
Love, JZ
I don’t know if I will ever stop feeling like a fox before a hunt when I read ‘school anxieties’ stories, but sometimes (now!) it is worth it.
Claire, that was a magnificent sentence!
From you, this is such a compliment!
He just gotta give me that look when he give me that look yeah the panties comin’ off, off! OMG I love this post and I love how you wear the shit out of the romper that you bought when I was with you and I love that I changed your life but I don’t know how yet, because YOU changed my life, a lot and often, and I mean really you did because now I am living where you used to live, almost exactly! And I feel you here sometimes! And I told Butters you might visit and stay with me and he asked if we would sleep in the same bed! Beautiful. Just…beautiful.
Ha ha ha. That’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard. It’s so lovely to think of you in that little overheated house on Davenport. I hope you are spending it the way I spent it–naked and as sensitive as a nerve.
love,
Jenny
aw super nice to meet you too!! Thanks so much!
xo
Kristina
Lovely!
♡http://www.juliphotodiary.com♡
It was fabulous to meet you in NY now I find out you have stories in the Iowa Review!! Fantastic!! I can’t wait to read more from you:)
Aw, thanks Emily! You’re a sweetheart! I wish we had more of a chance to chat. You looked so adorable at the picnic! xx
i commented on the rookie post but i wanted to tell you here again: i love what you wrote!