We are back from the holiday weekend and well-fed. Here’s what we enjoyed reading in the quiet moments.
Last week, on Trans Day of Remembrance, we were grateful for Autostraddle’s highlighting of 30 lesbian, bisexual, and queer trans women who are doing great and beautiful things.
In an essay aptly titled, “Now More than Ever, We Wish We Had These Lost Octavia Butler Novels,” we learn more about the Earthseed novel she never finished, Parable of the Trickster. The alarmingly prescient, realistic dystopia depicted in The Parable of the Sower and The Parable of the Talents was going to be followed up by a story in which humans attempt to build a better society on a new planet.
From there Butler became hopelessly blocked — though not exactly in the commonly-held image of writers’ block, of staring day after day at a blank page, lacking inspiration and confidence. In fact, as Canavan describes, her “dozens upon dozens” of drafts represent a wide range of ambitious ideas.
Tillie Walden blessed the timeline with this short, poignant comic.
The weather woman. pic.twitter.com/IIABqVujdt
— Tillie Walden (@TillieWalden) November 20, 2018
Here is some very thoughtful and insightful criticism of wholesome queer erotica by Tony Wei Ling, who investigates the challenges of representing such a broad human experience as sexual desire. (NSFW images after the link.)
Seven Seas, publisher of many of our favorite manga translated into English, is holding a survey on their upcoming licenses, and you can win a book by participating!
The Kickstarter for Shout Out, a queer YA comics anthology, got a shout out (sorry) in The Hollywood Reporter! We’re super excited to support this amazing-looking book, as well the POMEs who contributed to the anthology!
This article profiling the illustrator of the gorgeous desserts on The Great British Bake-Off is a surprisingly wild ride.
“It’s a real case of being at the right place at the time right time,” Hovey told Vulture about landing the gig. “My best mate worked in television and suggested that I apply for a job in ‘the edit’ at this new cookery show. With no TV experience or idea about how edits worked, I blagged my way in and started two days later.”
We hope everyone successfully avoided E. coli-poisoned romaine lettuce this week. Who knew the humble salad green could become both a surprising public health crisis and a funny meme??
fool me once bitch pic.twitter.com/iQPhQO0B4Z
— mars ???? (@catboiardee) November 20, 2018
If you still can’t get enough of thinking about food, Caroline Framke has a charming essay up on why Salt Fat Acid Heat is the new cooking documentary of your foodiest dreams.
A common sight on “Places Unknown” was Bourdain and company eating an elaborate home meal prepared by a nearby matriarch, who would accept their praise with quiet satisfaction before disappearing again into the background. “Salt Fat Acid Heat” gives those matriarchs the spotlight and the space to express themselves and their traditions.
More Matriarchs 2018 and beyond!!!!!
