It's unreal that the attack happened on the same night our friend Nick the poet passed. So much loss in one night. Thanks for writing about this. I think about grief and the way it molds us often. I hope your heart lightens soon, but I feel the heaviness and meet you there.
Hey, Maurice, you go on my prayer list. I understand your discouragement, truly, but you and I were born for such a time as this. We are here not because we can solve all the problems we see — and MY GOD there are problems aplenty, many of them inflicted upon others by the callous, the ignorant, the racist, the sexist, the phobic, the moronic, and the plain-old selfish. But again, I say, there is no better time to be a writer than now. All art, some thinkers argue, is either establishmentarian or disestablishmentarian. One is either like Leni Riefenstahl, whose work celebrated the oppressors, or one’s work is like Louis Aragon’s, who lifted up those who fought the opporessors. I already know what you write about, unconventional uses of an oyster knife on the streets of New Orleans and all, so I KNOW you’re no Leni Riefenstahl.
This is an unhappy time, but we weren’t born to be self-centered in a selfish happiness. Rather, I say to you now what Emmeline Pankhurst said in her one NYC lecture. She was a suffragist, and not a cute one. In England, she had the manners in public of a British lady of good breeding, but her squad learned ju-jitsu to resist the cops, used those cute parasols as weapons, and they even threw Molotov cocktails in a few government buildings at night (when the buildings were empty of people) because without the vote, they were not represented in those buildings.
Pankhurst said in her Cooper Union lecture, “Gentlemen, you have deprived women of many joys. Among the greatest of these is the joy of battle.”
It is time for the joy of battle, not because we want battle, but because we want dignity for all. The alternatives before us are a deep national mourning for a dead republic and a fierce defense in the world of ideas of the human dignity of liberty and justice.
I know you already know this, already write like this, but it is EASY to get discouraged right now. Just over half the voting population preferred a candidate who fellated a microphone in the last week of the campaign and fantasized that week about putting his political critics in front of a firing squad. Their decision is a gut-punch to the sober-minded, but you and I were BORN to be resistance writers. You were placed on this planet for this very moment. So was I.
So take heart. Battle may be coming, but the joy of that battle is also available to us. I am a lady. I’m the kind of lady who knows a parasol isn’t just for a parade.
So to you, Maurice, author of a book about a resistance movement, I nod respectfully and wish you joy.
These are heartening words, Anne. Thank you for the care. I believe you that we were born for the moment. I only just learned about Pankhurst. She was incredible!💐
yeah, the last few months have been A LOT. i'm so sad. it all feels so heavy. weirdly, tho, as i carry that heaviness, all the world's sorrows have made me zoom out and away from my own puny woes. none of us are guaranteed anything, ever. it is a privilege to be alive and as you expressed so poignantly, i just want to live. and let live. may this year ascend from where it started. (on a lighter note: i enjoy listening to your podcasts while i cook dinner myself, so i was charmed by your little chef interlude.) looking forward to seeing you & kayla at baldwin.
I read your essay here and in Time with a heavy heart. At the end of a particularly bad year, I nearly lost my teenaged daughter. By the end of the following year I’d list my mother, father, and beloved grandmother. Despite the long trail of grief felt that year and for so many other reasons, I agree that we must continue celebrate life. And reach out to each other. Thank you for this important reminder.
It's unreal that the attack happened on the same night our friend Nick the poet passed. So much loss in one night. Thanks for writing about this. I think about grief and the way it molds us often. I hope your heart lightens soon, but I feel the heaviness and meet you there.
Thank you, Joannell. Nick was such a good dude. We're all dealing with so much but I know it's going to get better.
Sending lots of love Maurice. You really have a way with words and I love how this was expressed both through the letter and podcast.
Thank you, Harvey. I appreciate you.
Dear Maurice. Feel a digital hug coming your way. I, too, feel the heaviness in the air. Thank you for describing it for us with your words.
Thank you, Kim. Please stay safe.💚
Hey, Maurice, you go on my prayer list. I understand your discouragement, truly, but you and I were born for such a time as this. We are here not because we can solve all the problems we see — and MY GOD there are problems aplenty, many of them inflicted upon others by the callous, the ignorant, the racist, the sexist, the phobic, the moronic, and the plain-old selfish. But again, I say, there is no better time to be a writer than now. All art, some thinkers argue, is either establishmentarian or disestablishmentarian. One is either like Leni Riefenstahl, whose work celebrated the oppressors, or one’s work is like Louis Aragon’s, who lifted up those who fought the opporessors. I already know what you write about, unconventional uses of an oyster knife on the streets of New Orleans and all, so I KNOW you’re no Leni Riefenstahl.
This is an unhappy time, but we weren’t born to be self-centered in a selfish happiness. Rather, I say to you now what Emmeline Pankhurst said in her one NYC lecture. She was a suffragist, and not a cute one. In England, she had the manners in public of a British lady of good breeding, but her squad learned ju-jitsu to resist the cops, used those cute parasols as weapons, and they even threw Molotov cocktails in a few government buildings at night (when the buildings were empty of people) because without the vote, they were not represented in those buildings.
Pankhurst said in her Cooper Union lecture, “Gentlemen, you have deprived women of many joys. Among the greatest of these is the joy of battle.”
It is time for the joy of battle, not because we want battle, but because we want dignity for all. The alternatives before us are a deep national mourning for a dead republic and a fierce defense in the world of ideas of the human dignity of liberty and justice.
I know you already know this, already write like this, but it is EASY to get discouraged right now. Just over half the voting population preferred a candidate who fellated a microphone in the last week of the campaign and fantasized that week about putting his political critics in front of a firing squad. Their decision is a gut-punch to the sober-minded, but you and I were BORN to be resistance writers. You were placed on this planet for this very moment. So was I.
So take heart. Battle may be coming, but the joy of that battle is also available to us. I am a lady. I’m the kind of lady who knows a parasol isn’t just for a parade.
So to you, Maurice, author of a book about a resistance movement, I nod respectfully and wish you joy.
Your pal,
Anne
These are heartening words, Anne. Thank you for the care. I believe you that we were born for the moment. I only just learned about Pankhurst. She was incredible!💐
yeah, the last few months have been A LOT. i'm so sad. it all feels so heavy. weirdly, tho, as i carry that heaviness, all the world's sorrows have made me zoom out and away from my own puny woes. none of us are guaranteed anything, ever. it is a privilege to be alive and as you expressed so poignantly, i just want to live. and let live. may this year ascend from where it started. (on a lighter note: i enjoy listening to your podcasts while i cook dinner myself, so i was charmed by your little chef interlude.) looking forward to seeing you & kayla at baldwin.
I read your essay here and in Time with a heavy heart. At the end of a particularly bad year, I nearly lost my teenaged daughter. By the end of the following year I’d list my mother, father, and beloved grandmother. Despite the long trail of grief felt that year and for so many other reasons, I agree that we must continue celebrate life. And reach out to each other. Thank you for this important reminder.