Maybe I will not crawl into a hole into the ground and live there after all

Chunks O' Goodness #2

This is my second graphic essay about small (and not so small) good things in the world, because I think we could all use a bit of that now. Check out the first about the public swimming pool.

The first dive is the hardest

Seriously, I was more than a little nervous to be going back into the classroom on Tuesday. I love my students, but in those nine months, a lot had changed. Had they changed? Was I going to be stepping into some dystopian hellscape where we’d all be afraid to say the wrong thing for fear ICE or some other thugs would show up at the door and take us away?

So far (fingers crossed), that’s not the case. They’re still basically the same kids. The first-years are still terrified. The seniors are still jaded and a little over it. They’re polite and doing their best and have interesting things to say. More than that, they are kind and thoughtful and, for many of them, so fucking tired of the mess the grown-ups have made of the world. They give me hope in what feels like a hopeless world.

I don’t know if you’re aware, but my novel-in-stories, SEX OF THE MIDWEST, got a Kirkus starred review. I’m working on a schedule of book events, so if you have a bookstore in mind you’d like me to visit, let me know.

Also, go subscribe to

Kelcey Ervick

’s new project,

Letters to Dead Authors & Artists

if you haven’t already. I’ll be making a contribution soon. Any guesses who my letter might be to?

Thanks to

Elizabeth Marro

and

Christine Sneed

for the SEX OF THE MIDWEST shout-outs in their newsletters! Interviews coming in October!