May is the month of new beginnings. Not just because it marks the anniversary of this newsletter – TWO YEARS! – can you believe it? 100 Muse Letters!
Intuitively I have chosen May for many other new beginnings in the past, too. 3 years ago I moved to Edinburgh, in Mid-May, 5 years ago I published my first graphic novel at the beginning of May. I got my dog Filou 4 years ago also in May. It is the month when I like to have things happen.
So it comes as no surprise that this year will be no different and this time it is with three new beginnings I am so excited to finally let you know:
I am publishing a new and improved 2nd edition of Things I Have Noticed – Essays on leaving / searching / finding with a foreword by the ever so inspiring author and journalist Lin Hierse (TAZ Kolumnistin, Wovon wir Träumen, Piper 2022) and a new extra essay about art/self-publishing/validation, you can pre-order it here
And because I miss writing in German and I feel there is a huge hole in the German literary scene when it comes to essays/hybrid forms: I am starting a quarterly German literary essay publication called: Kunst & Krawall, the first essay will be published in June, if you don’t want to miss it subscribe here
And in the spirit of new beginnings: The Muse Letter is getting a make-over
This make-over has been a long time coming, the idea of tweaking and changing the concept a little bit, something I would have liked to do from the start but somehow never really implemented: Monthly Themes.
I always loved the idea to run with a monthly theme, diving deep into a certain topic, making associations, tieing it up in a tight bundle of thoughts.
May will start with the theme of: Autobiography.
What are the stories we tell others about ourselves? How can we take ownership? I am thinking: the personal is political, écriture féminine and the living autobiography.
Who are we writing for, when we write about ourselves? What are we leaving out, what is at the centre? Where is the line between self-indulgence and being personal?
During an interview in 1976 about his songwriting process, Leonard Cohen said:
“I’ve always felt that the more personal you get, the more universal the application, rather than the other way around. If you begin to address yourself to the masses like that, then I suppose you could have a hit, but to me the more accurate you get about your situation, then the more accessible it is to other people.”
In my book of essays, I wrote at the end: I hope you feel less alone now. And every time I got a message answering my call, telling me how they do in fact, feel less alone, it made my day. This plays into something that John Berger once said: “Autobiography begins with a sense of being alone. It is an orphan form.”
I do believe that in the end, it is about trying to make a connection. To attach yourself to your life and to others, as Mary Oliver writes in her introduction to Long Life: Essays and Other Writings: “That's the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning. 'Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?'”
– Yes. Yes, I do.
To celebrate the last two years, I have collected my all-time favourite Muse Letters. Which one is yours?
ALL-TIME FAVOURITE MUSE LETTERS
On male fragility: I want to see it
The Muse Letter No. 55
On Apathy: The Rot Girl Summer
The Muse Letter No. 56
Apparently This One Is About Horses
The Muse Letter No. 86
In Case You Feel Like Your Life Amounts To Nothing – Letter in an Emergency
The Muse Letter No. 98
Losing Agency In Romantic Relationships Or: The Subconscious Is A Mother****
The Muse Letter No. 75
Are you giving up space or are you channeling female shark energy?
Women talking to little, Gender Bias & all that other shit | The Muse Letter No. 94
The Loss Connection
The Muse Letter No. 43
SHOP
PRE–ORDER THE SECOND EDITION OF "Things I Have Noticed - Essays on leaving / searching / finding”. A poetic memoir I wrote in these weird pandemic times, about the process of finding one’s own voice.
IN CASE YOU MISSED LAST WEEK’S MUSE LETTER
“I know there is something about quietness that is within me, that runs through me. That isn’t about categorising myself into neat little boxes: shy/introvert/quiet. It’s a need. A real need to have space, to own it, to expand it, and have it be just that.”
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Hey. What happend to Kunst und Krawall? :)