An extremely chaotic little flash essay

And a class on writing monsters

Behold! It is I, girl who never uses her newsletter!

Well, here we are at just over half-way through the year and I’m back, with the most unhinged thing I’ve placed in a literary magazine (so far - just you wait).

First, some stats, as I like to be transparent about the difficulty of this whole doing-art business (and why you should stick with it even when it seems like it has gone on far too long to work out). The piece I’m about to link was originally written… well, years ago. Since then, it has gone through three different titles, a few wider edits, and been passed over by lit mags… 26 times.

But not this time. In fact, this time, I threw it at a flash essay contest and it emerged a semi-finalist. Go figure.

So here you are, fresh from the 2024 flash essay contest of Sweet: a literary confection (and yes, the 2024 essay contest winners are being published in July of 2025) — ”clout chaser”, the most delightfully chaotic piece I’ve had a pleasure to have in print. I hope you enjoy it or at least find it to be surprising in some way.

That’s one that goes along with something I’ve told a few classes recently, what with the meteoric and widespread rise of generative AI, which is filling up the inboxes of lit mags everywhere and making it harder and harder to get seen… in a world where the tech is able to imitate and re-make so much of what has been published (though without a drip of the soul and heart!), we are in a strange + perfect time to reach for the strangest, most experimental parts of your artist self you can find.

So if there’s something unhinged that you have in your back pocket/old Livejournal/ some crumpled napkin/some “final_noreally_nobodyshouldeverreadthis.docx” file somewhere… consider seeking out the kind of publications that are looking for exactly that sort of art. Because it is art, even the weirdest of it. (Especially the weirdest of it.) And we could all use a little bit more wild delight in our lives.

In other news (mine and yours)…

Speaking of wild/chaotic/insert adjective here, I’ve got two Redbud classes starting next week for our four-week summer session. If you are able to come out to Durham and are so inclined, there are presently just TWO (!) spots left in Deep-Dive Into Voice, which starts Monday the 7th, and a few more spots in Writing Monsters, which starts Wednesday, July 9 — and is brand spankin’ new, and currently has 104 possible-reading-material tabs open between my various devices. (It’s only four weeks, two of which are likely largely workshop, so I’ve got a bit of a job ahead of me in narrowing those down, heh.)

And the BIGGEST OF CONGRATS to Jonathan Broun—who some of you know because you've been classmates—for his acceptance to go take part in the NC Writers’ Squire Summer Workshops at the end of July!

I always say this (in my ever-so-rare appearances in your inboxes), but please do let me know about your successes. I love to hear what you are up to and cheer you on!

And just a few recommendations…

If you’re looking for something to read this summer, why not support a debut author? Girls with Long Shadows by Tennessee Hill is a new novel that’s been described as being a cross between The Virgin Suicides and Where the Crawdads Sing. Tennessee was in the NCSU Poetry MFA at the same time that I was in the Fiction side, and I had the pleasure of getting to workshop a few early chapters of what ultimately became this novel. But I’d recommend it even if I didn’t know it’s author - she writes with such a lovely, moody atmospheric voice, and it’s a wonderful summer pick.

As for other summer picks, or recommendations in general… my recommendation is that you don’t ask me and instead, go ask a librarian! (Particularly if you’re in Durham, as the Durham Libraries are especially wonderful — but all libraries provide truly essential services to their communities and deserve your support, these days in particular.) That’s what I’ll be doing next week, ahead of my annual “go to the beach for four days and speak to nobody and do nothing but read an entire tote bag full of library books” trip next week.

Because look, writing isn’t a job that makes a lot of people rich. Neither is… well, being disabled. I’ve got both checkmarks ticked, and I’m not shy about saying it. My life is rich in plenty of other ways, but my wallet most certainly cannot keep up with even half of my reading habit. Thank Gd for libraries!

So many artists (and other humans) out there right now are struggling and with the trillion demands on our time that modern life throws at us, it’s so easy to say “oh, you know, books are expensive. Social media, after all, is free (not to mention that it has been proven to make us all feel worse about ourselves in a whole variety of ways)! And I never have any time to read anymore anyway.” I hear it in classes constantly, more and more as of late.

Well, I can’t help you with the time part besides to say that: the time will be there if you make it be. Nobody will do that for you but you.

But the affordability part… the libraries, little pieces of heaven that they are, are still out there trying to make sure that each and every one of us can read every single word that we want to. And we DO want to, right? You wouldn't be on a mailing list like this if not.

So it's just a matter of making it happen. Ask your librarian. If they don’t have the book you’re looking for, click around their website, or simply show up and ask how to request a book — I’ve found that they’ll often buy it off of just one request, and then you can check it out for free!! And I promise you: the writers of this world would LOVE you to read their words, whether that’s been paid for by you or by your local library.

Support your libraries. Support authors. Support causes you care about, whatever they might be. I don't care if they're the ones I personally care about or not: use your voice for something, because speaking up is what keeps this world one that's rich in culture and thought and word.

And that brings me to my last rec: 5calls.org, or their fabulous app by the same name. Calls are the quickest way to have your voice heard by your representative, and these folks make it as easy as possible. They'll give you the numbers to call (and a button to push to do it, if you download the app). They'll help you find the info about what causes of yours might currently be threatened. And they even give you a script, if you're not sure what to say.

Thanks for taking a few minutes out of the other demands on your inbox to read something. Go read some more. You deserve it.

Be kind. Be general. Be specific.

yrs,

Allison Darcy 🖤