Chee, Alexander, ed. The Best American Essays 2022. Boston: Mariner, 2022.
I always buy The Best American Essays, and saw that this year’s editor, Alexander Chee (whose work I love), was celebrating its release with a reading alongside some contributors at Book Culture the other night. So I bought my copy there and got it signed by Chee and the other readers.
Myles, Eileen, ed. Pathetic Literature: An Anthology. New York: Grove Press, 2022.
The above-mentioned reading was my first time at Book Culture, so I did some browsing while I was there (always a dangerous activity for my wallet!). This 600-page anthology initially caught my eye because I love Myles’s work, and then because of its intriguing title. Sure enough, the table of contents revealed many of my favorite writers (Samuel R. Delany, Dodie Bellamy, Kathy Acker, and Lucille Clifton, for starters), so I bought it!
Tea, Michelle. The Chelsea Whistle: A Memoir. 2002. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press, 2022.
I enjoy Tea’s work but haven’t read much of her older writing. I was revising some writing that discusses Casey Plett’s short story collection A Safe Girl to Love, which takes its title from The Chelsea Whistle. I thought to myself, “hmm, maybe I should get around to reading that.” I found a used copy in good shape for a good price online, and it arrived a few days ago.
Daniel Shank Cruz 