"First Word" #6
first sentences, exclusive fiction + events to get you out of the house.
One in a thousand people has six toes or fingers. Twenty-six percent of young people lack a gag reflex. And about two in seven dudes, according to my own research as a participant observer, will say something skeevy about women in exclusively male company.
Bang the World // Adrian Nathan West // The Baffler
One of the stranger effects of Brexit was that, after the United Kingdom left the European Union, in 2020, it no longer recognized animals as “sentient beings.”
Do Insects Feel Pain? // Shayla Love // The New Yorker
From LZ
The morning of December 16, Hamid Ali prepared to tell the story of his wife’s death.
The IDF Killed an American Peace Activist. Her Husband Is Still Looking for Answers // Sophie Hurwitz // Mother Jones
If you’ve paid attention to the media in the last couple of years, you’ve probably read an article that begins a lot like this one. It probably went on to inform you that San Francisco is dying horribly, the once-great metropolis destroyed by progressive policy madness. Tent encampments fruit like mushrooms upon its rotting corpse, and the addicts who crouch within them purchase fentanyl at what the Hoover Institution described as “an opioid version of Costco.” The streets are paved with needles and human excrement, while roving gangs of criminals steal everything in sight.
The Shadowy Millions Behind San Francisco’s “Moderate” Politics // Laura Jedeed // The New Republic
I’ve cheated a bit here and jumped down to paragraph three… the actual first sentence is setting up a scene that’s a bit confusing tbh. I still wanted to share because it’s a great descriptive retelling of the SFers are who scared of their own city and the reactionary movement behind that fear.
Over the last decade Sean Baker has produced four sex worker centered films while at the same time sex workers in America have experienced a series of major political losses.
Romance Labor: on Sean Baker’s Anora // Marla Cruz // Angel Food
+ another critical essay from LARB on the film.
I felt it birth in my core and sneak its way up my windpipe.
Our Future Generations Deserve Abundance, Not “State of the Art” Prisons // I.B. PEACEFUL // Stateville Speaks
ₐₙd ₐ fᵢᵣₛₜ wₒᵣd ₑₓcₗᵤₛᵢᵥₑ...
That summer, a not insignificant number of my new clients wanted tattoos in honor of their dead or dying mothers.
Novel TK // Steven Duong
My wonderful friend Steven’s book of poetry comes out Jan 14th. I’ll be celebrating at his reading at PT Knitwear on Jan 16th. This graciously gifted potential first sentence is from Steven’s forthcoming novel.
Don’t want to leave your house because its too cold? Too bad, you have to!
Here some events for the first half of the month…
Again, come to Steven’s reading/book launch at PT Knitwear on Jan 16th.
Or if you can be at two places at once that night, come to this talk featuring NYRA and the Strother School of Radical Attention (feat. Jael).
I’m trying to see these gingerbread houses before they close on Jan 12th — lmk if you want to come.
Mike Davis book club meets Sunday Jan 12th… hmu…
There’s the cryptoball in DC — tickets start at $2,500.
DJ sets and live music from (friend of the show) Horsepower and Bloomsday on Jan 18th. Doubles as a fundraiser for the NY immigration coalition.
Free Malcolm Harris talk at Moma PS1 on Jan 23rd… I accidently reserved too many tix so again invite open (and see you at the Drift party after).
The lovely Hemlock will be at Baby’s the following day Jan 24th.
And lastly to get it on your calendar… I’ll be hosting “Baggage with Jerry Springer with Paige” once again on Feb 12th at Starr Bar! It’s a FREE comedy dating game performance based on 2000s tv show—perfect v-day date.
Thanks for reading! Remember to send me favorite first lines for next week’s issue.