415. Locker rooms for the ashes of martyrs
January 22nd, 2012 § 17 Comments
Please forgive me for the months of silence, for not responding to your emails even though they were all long and beautiful and deserving of clarity and order and adventure, for being a weird friend and a weary friend, a reluctant stranger and someone who doesn’t know what to do with what she knows she wants to do, for being someone and also for being anyone and also for being the no one that no one is. This blog may be long overripe, and it may be time to move on, but I’m not sure yet.
If anyone who lives in New York City or the surrounding neighborhoods is interested in taking an advanced fiction writing workshop with this totally organized and totally inspired lady who e-sits before you now, typing with great conviction and meaning, please sign up for the fiction workshop I am teaching through the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop. It starts the week of February 13th, and I will be teaching it in my living room in Williamsburg, Brooklyn! And I have cute teenage writers and equally cute college and college grad-age writers who can vouch for my dedication and weirdness as a teacher.
Holding pommelos in Shanghai. It is winter.
How Shanghai looks in my dreams is how it looks in my waking life or reverse.
Chinese New Year fart fest underway
Wearing a unicorn dress on the eve of the year of the dragon
See? Unicorns
I went to Shanghai last month and visited my grandfather’s ashes in a giant locker room full of the ashes of famous martyrs. Was my grandfather a martyr? I saw my friend Sam, and for two short days I felt as creative as I’ve felt this entire year. That either speaks of a very fucked up year or my friend Sam is not a real person with the usual constraints of mortality and mediocrity, but a vertically-victorious person sent down by a tremendous deity to teach me valuable lessons that I then squander.
I found the tiny, tiny baby ring that once belonged to a boy I loved the most in the world but we don’t speak to each other anymore, and I’m so afraid I will lose the ring somehow, and one day when we talk again, if that happens, I will know that I lost his baby ring with his initials on it, and I will feel sad and pathetic and useless and incorrigible. My book of poetry is coming out very soon, and next month, I will be doing some readings for it in New York and Chicago, and instead of disappearing, I will be HERE, telling you about all things ME ME ME.
Speaking of ME, if you want to see photos of the food that makes me happy and gassy and the occasional pointless, sulky, GPOY(M?) you can follow me on instagram at jennybagel. Also, I recently wrote a few things for Rookie: a story about loving your (my) sibling too much, an essay about the brown and black and yellow girls on Of Another Fashion and why their pompadours and poodle skirts mean so much, and a little essay about being bullied and bullying others in high school. And oh, I made a playlist of my favorite 50′s and 60′s girl groups singing my favorite sassy songs that were about boys and also not about boys. It was for Rookie and also, of course, for you.
Love,
Jenny
to vouch for the aforementioned teacherly weirdness and dedication, i still find myself thinking about that r. crumb documentary that you showed our class all the time. p.s. congrats on your book coming out, that’s so exciting. -sam
Thank you, Sam! I loved (and love) everything about that class. So many great writers–you, included.
oh yay congrats on your poetry book! will you be reading in philly? xo
Hi Madeleine! I’m not sure yet, but if I do, I will definitely make an announcement of some sort here or on the other 4 social networking platforms that I am not very good at.
hurray for your poetry book (thrilled to read) and hurray for another post from you! if you do decide to let this blog go, I hope we can still read your thoughts and brilliances somewhere. xox
Oh, thank you so much for your kind words! I will try to keep writing and and will try to show at least a tiny bit of my writing somewhere where people can find it and hate it or like or not care about it or whatever.
I wish I lived in NYC so I could take that class! I could definitely use some weird/brilliant instruction
“The Evolution of My Brother” totally slayed me…I can relate to it, a lot.
I hope I can get my hands on a copy of your poetry collection! Congrats.
Thank you SO much! That story was one of the first stories I ever wrote. It’s hard to read it because I do cringe a little, but I’m also happy that it exists.
I can’t wait for your poetry book, hope you post a link where I can purchase it here! I’m so happy you’ve posted… I hope we can still read you somewhere because I love everything you write. It’s awesome to see you on rookie. I wish I could take the class but I unfortunately do not live in NYC… =/ Sad day. Missed you!
I will definitely post about it here when it officially becomes available. Oh, thank you so much for your comment. I will try to keep writing and posting things, if not here then somewhere else.
Let me know when your book comes out and is ready for buying, I WANT TO BUY IT! And I want it signed
I was super excited to see that you posted! I have missed your posts! I wish so badly that I could attend the writing class that you’re teaching (I bet you’re amazing at it too!), but alas a country is in between us 
You should tour your poetry book here in CA and just use that as an excuse to visit me! I miss you! You’re looking as gorgeous as ever and I love that unicorn dress!
Jasmine! I am steadily keeping up with your posts and am amazed that we have had our blogs for as long as we have. And amazed that I have known you for two years! I am planning a California trip this summer. I hope you will be there so we can HANG.
you’re such a busy lady! i love your unicorn dress, love hearing your stories, and happy for the music you want to put in our ears.
Thank you, Julia! I feel the exact same way about you. I am always happy when you give us a peek into your brilliant mind.
Beautiful photos, love the boots that you are wearing in the first one!
congrats on your poetry book! sorry to hear about the baby ring. did it by any chance belong to an ex-boyfriend?
Thanks Sierra! And yes, it did <3