Worms Weekly
Nothing will prepare you for this unhinged interview with Ottessa Moshfegh.
Archer Asks: Tilly Lawless on sex work, friendship and her new book ‘Nothing But My Body’
Was v inspired after finishing Nothing But My Body and was reading around the book and came across this moment which encapsulated the essence of her story for me:
“In the book, I have the courage to say that it is a love letter to friendship. [...]
That’s partly why I wrote about friendship – because I want to hold it up in high esteem. The other reason is political. I feel so much content that’s created focuses on either familial or romantic connection. That does a disservice to friendship.”
If you’re looking to get published, track submissions or connect with other writers, try this website called Chill Subs. Been browsing through and it provides a very effective service with a very no-frills approach.
“Get published, promote your work, connect with other creatives and grow as a writer
(all without having a mental breakdown)”
Something to let your peepers feast on at BFI: Jacquelyn Mills’s Geographies of Solitude. Review by Esmé Hogeveen.
Hettie Judah on the Place of Motherhood in the Art World
Last night I had a few friends round and we together filled little wonton sheets with a gingery, mushroom, kale stuffing; making dumplings – and I got to talking about this article I had read the night before about motherhood and the strange echo-chamber artist-mothers work within, oftentimes too ashamed to directly reflect on motherhood as its not deemed ‘contemporary’. Hettie Judah really outlines this complicated landscape with reference to Caroline Walker, Martina Mullaney, and Camille Henrot who specifically explores the maternal body as a site of productivity.
Lynne Tillman “Weird Fucks”
Her use of language is snarky, no bullshit, like the world she builds. To me, her 'weird' fucks rest more on the detached attitude of the participants, or the floating nature of her life that bounces her from lover to lover, more than the fucks themselves being weird. Her partners act as the different anchors, pin points on a map in her strange life.
Tilly Lawless “Nothing But My Body”
I was reading the second chapter where the narrator goes out clubbing with her friends and then I went clubbing with my friends (which I very rarely do) and then talked about this book at the club with my friends.
Carolee Schneeman “Uncollected Texts”
Highly recommend reading this in conjunction with going to the show. Her writing and performance are so effectively intertwined.
Olivia Laing “Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency”
Got oddly emotional while watching this short video about Agnes Martin’s work as featured in the second chapter of Laing’s book. Maybe I’m too sensitive and easily affected but something about watching people make art and care so deeply gets me going.
Riding with Death (1988) - Jean-Michel Basquiat
“[Riding with Death was] painted in the heroin wasteland of 1988, Basquiat’s last year, in which a black man rides a four-legged white skeleton, against an awesomely reduced background, a burlap-coloured scrim, of absolutely nothing at all.” Olivia Laing
Loved her description of this Basquiat painting.
Sterling Karat Gold, Isabel Waidner
Loved this – surreal, cartoonish, absurdist, but still manages to be a totally engaging narrative and defiant as well very funny. Its an attack on queer-phobic, state-sanctioned violence and the corrupt justice system that takes the form of a high energy, dream-logic adventure, complete with bull-fights, time travel and my new all-time-favourite literary villains: government henchmen Pinky Authority and Soft-O Authorito.
Normal People, Sally Rooney
Seriously late to the party with this one, but I wanted an easy holiday read and Normal People definitely ticked all the boxes. Read it on a train from Marseille to Bordeaux and got the same kind of satisfaction I got from watching the TV show a couple of years ago (which I think did do the book justice). It was interesting to get more of both of the characters' internal dialogues in the book, though I found it mildly triggering - as might anyone who has been through a break-up or struggled through their first year of uni.
Chelsea Girls, Eileen Myles
Also read Chelsea Girls by Eileen Myles – obviously amazing. Went on to listen to as many interviews with them as I could find, including this episode of Between the Covers in which they discuss Afterglow and this episode of Great Women Artists where they talk about abstract-expressionist artist Joan Mitchell.
The Buddhist, Dodie Bellamy
This is a collection of blog posts Dodie Bellamy wrote whilst engaging in/ending an affair with a Buddhist teacher. Still reading, but loving so far
Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami
Fell in love about 5 pages in as soon as it started talking about sandstorms as something inside us. (For those that have read, ahhh right!). Read that lil-section outloud to my housemate and made her cry too. We sobbed at the idea of embracing the chaos, and then embraced the chaos. What a twisting, wavy, story. If you like mystery, talking cats, and secluded libraries this is one for you.
Not a watch but I went to the Carolee Schneeman exhibition at the Barbican on Monday and it was incred. I was in a bit of a creative slump earlier this week and going solo to see Carolee’s work truly turned things around for me. I’ve had her ‘uncollected texts’ on my tbr pile for too long, and I spent the week reading it. Her work and writing is confronting. It’s deffo not for the faint of heart, and I would personally suggest going alone. Her early paintings are actually really beautiful. She was inspired by Cezanne (thinking that he was a woman) but I would argue that her abstract expressionist work is far better than his. I really loved the first room of her paintings. Moving on to more sculptural/installation work, then ending up in performance, her use of the body is apparent in everything that she did. Her life appeared one truly dedicated to her art.
This video from NOWNESS’s Great Gardens series on Edward James’ garden in Mexico.
He believed that the plants were arranged around the cosmos, and that the garden was a reflection of the inner life.
Was I surprised to learn Ottessa Moshfegh is a little freak irl? No… but yes… but no…
The Armie Hammer documentary ???????? TW for absolutely everything.
Moffie
A very moving film about a young gay man who is conscripted to defend the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Great performances with brutal scenes, had me gasping and saying ‘no no no no no’. Conclusion is: war is stupid and so are stupid men that make stupid war.
