From the Road

Hi All,

Writing from New York – had a jam-packed few days here and am about to do two more interviews this morning, then take the train to Philadelphia for an event there tonight. Much to tell (and I’ve included some photos at the end of the post) but will just say that I am having the time of my life, absorbing praise and criticism with equal aplomb (or at least trying to, ha ha), enjoying every moment, meeting so many generous people, including a bounty of Story Clubbers. Then on Thursday it’s off to Boston, then Nashville, then a day at home, and back out on the road after that.

Special and heartfelt thanks to Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Suleika Jaouad, and Samantha Bee, who joined me onstage in Brooklyn (Nana) and at Symphony Space (Suleika and Samantha) and, with their boundless generosity, made those events so memorable and magical. And thanks to Stephen Colbert and his incredible team, for having me on last night.

I highly recommend Nana’s WISLY and Suleika’s The Isolation Journals for anyone interested in expanding their artistic horizons and being in touch with two truly remarkable souls.

Oh, and I also got to meet our beloved Story Club editor Samantha Storey in person, at the Symphony Space event, and I think we both got a little emotional – Samantha has read and edited every post here for the last four years. She is vital to the beautiful thing we have going here and I couldn’t do it without her. Thank you, Samantha.

Now for our question of the week…

Q.

Hi George,

Before anything, thank you for sharing your work. As a writer, I sometimes encounter art that makes me think, “I didn’t know you were allowed to do that.” These works widen my sense of what’s possible and make me feel like more of my own strangeness might be allowed onto the page. Your art continuously does that for me, so thank you.

I’m a relatively new reader of yours. I found you through A Swim in the Pond in the Rain after my third failed attempt at reading War and Peace. As a current MFA applicant (though sadly not at Syracuse, I fear I lack the constitution for the climate), I