Comfort podcasts, lady horses, and women writing about being women
Comfort podcasts, lady horses, and women writing about being women
What's Feeding Me 🐛 vol. 5
The Webs We Weave is a free weekly-ish newsletter on staying connected to ourselves, making connections in our creative work, and feeling more connected in the world.
Each month I share a little buffet of things that have been keeping me fed: intellectually, creatively, and emotionally. I invite you to share in the comments what's been feeding you, too! Both with me, and with each other.
Let’s jump in!
📔 Great Writing
📚 Hysterical: A Memoir by Elissa Bassist
Last month I attended a writing workshop on Traumedy (Trauma + Comedy) with editor, humor writer, and teacher Elissa Bassist. It was DELIGHTFUL. Anytime my time in a workshop is split between belly laughing and furiously taking notes, I know it was a good one. I also learned she’s the author of Hysterical, a memoir built from personal essays, which I’d purchased by the time the workshop was over and have been thoroughly enjoying so far.
📜 Intrusions by Melissa Febos
Melissa Febos has recently come onto my radar as a wildly compelling writer of personal essay, and I’m just starting to familiarize myself with her work. I was captivated by this particular essay, Intrusions about her experience being stalked while living in NYC when I read it in a class, and have no doubt I’ll be picking up her books like Girlhood or Body Work in the near future.
📜 Woman Behind a Paywall
As someone who’s been contemplating what it might look like to share increasingly tender pieces of writing on this platform, I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of the paywall. This piece from captures so much of what makes me feel queasy about being a woman whose writing is becoming both increasingly personal and visible in public spaces, and the ramifications of that. Plus it’s just beautifully written, as per usual.
🪶 How to Triumph Like a Girl by Ada Limón
Apparently we have a ‘womanhood’ theme emerging in this issue? It wasn’t necessarily intentional, but I stand by it. And on that note, How to Triumph Like a Girl by the brilliant Ada Limón might be one of my favorite poems of all time.
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🎙️ + 📺 Great Listens and Watches
🎙️ WCDHT: Glennon’s Friendship Contract with Alex Hedison
Like many other friends I’ve talked to, I feel like I’ve been in it in the last year when it comes to friendship. This beautiful conversation about creating shared expecations inside a friendship, giving each other the chance to be part of the conversation before we bail, and leaving a friendship with integrity all hit me in a tender place, and gave me a lot to think about.
🎙️ That Was Us podcast
I find the ‘re-watch’ genre of podcasts to be deeply comforting. I remember I had an awful time leaving my last job, and leaned heavily on my daily morning walks with the Office Ladies podcast in my ears to steady my nervous system. As someone who’s currently going through some big transitions at work (not bad, just Big Changes All at Once for someone who’s not historically a fan of Big Changes All at Once), the That Was Us podcast has been a balm.
Listen in to hear This Is Us stars Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, and Chris Sullivan dive back into the world of the Pearsons one episode at a time.
📺 Your Fat Friend documentary
As a die-hard fan of the Maintenance Phase podcast and both hosts as individuals, I was PUMPED to finally have a chance to watch the long-awaited documentary, Your Fat Friend from Jeanie Finlay featuring Aubrey Gordon which, in its own workds, “turns unflinching gaze towards anti-fatness.” I thoroughly enjoyed it, just as I expected to. Check out the trailer below.
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🙇🏼♀️ Current Project or Micro Obsession
Learning to Write Braided Essays
I’ve been nerding out pretty hard lately about the Braided Essay form, and had a LOT of fun writing one for my most recent post. (Thank you so much to everyone who had such kind things to say about it!)
If you’re unfamiliar with the braided essay, Lilly Dancyger’s essay, Looking at an Eclipse: A Braided Essay About Braided Essays is an excellent case study (and explicit explanation) of what makes this form so powerful:
“A braided essay is typically defined by its strands—two or more topics or narratives, woven together. But when I think about braided essays now, what defines them for me most clearly is not the shape and rhythm of the weave, but the kinds of stories that the shape and rhythm make possible.”
I just signed up for Lilly’s independent study class on writing braided essays, and I’m excited to dive even deeper into what makes them shine.
Have you ever written a braided essay? Is it something you’d want to try?
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🌻 A Human Whose Work I’m Devouring
Related! In case it wasn’t clear, I’m having a real Lilly Dancyger moment. In addition to taking her braided essay class, I also just bought her book First Love, which is a collection of essays that “treats women’s friendships as the love stories they truly are.” SWOON. I can’t wait to read it on the plane this weekend.
Also, in case it’s of interest, I just discovered she has a Substack too.
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🤣 A Meme, Just Because.
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Your turn!
What’s feeding you lately?
If you’re game, share something that’s been feeding you lately in the comments. A podcast, a book, a habit, a new favorite thing, a project that’s lighting you up, a thing that made you laugh… anything! Let’s crowdsource some good creative fodder. 👇
Until next time,
Michelle
Thanks so much!
I have First Love sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to get to it! It felt like a necessary follow up to The Other Significant Others, which I loved reading earlier this year.