Duke University Press has kindly agreed to make freely available a story I wrote for the book, Red Hangover. I wrote this blog post to accompany it.
Writing anthropology: Essays on Craft and Commitment
So happy to be a part of this excellent and valuable collection of essays on writing in the field of anthropology, just out from Duke University Press. Huge shout out to Carole McGranahan for pulling it all together.
My first column in a German newspaper →
It appeared in print in today’s TAZ, and is available in their archive. Thanks so much to my German editor, Christian Heilbronn, for translating!
New article in Ms. Magazine →
My latest column in Ms. Magazine about my daughter’s cancelled prom and graduation.
A thoughtful quote from George Packer's acceptance speech
The full speech can be read here: The Enemies of Writing: A writer who’s afraid to tell people what they don’t want to hear has chosen the wrong trade.
“[I]f writers are afraid of the sound of their own voice, then honest, clear, original work is not going to flourish, and without it, the politicians and tech moguls and TV demagogues have less to worry about. It doesn’t matter if you hold impeccable views, or which side of the political divide you’re on: Fear breeds self-censorship, and self-censorship is more insidious than the state-imposed kind, because it’s a surer way of killing the impulse to think, which requires an unfettered mind. A writer can still write while hiding from the thought police. But a writer who carries the thought police around in his head, who always feels compelled to ask: Can I say this? Do I have a right? Is my terminology correct? Will my allies get angry? Will it help my enemies? Could it get me ratioed on Twitter?—that writer’s words will soon become lifeless. A writer who’s afraid to tell people what they don’t want to hear has chosen the wrong trade.”
Something just better about print
The print copy of this month’s issue of The New Republic arrived with my new Op-Ed. I love the feel of pages, and digital will never measure up for me. I am a deeply analogue person.
Advanced galleys are here!
These arrived in the post yesterday. These are the bound galleys that will go out for long-lead media and potential blurbers. After months of slaving away on this, it's so satisfying to see my words manifest in print.
At my workstation...
I spend so many hours each day in front of my workstation that I have endeavored to make it as user friendly as possible. I am especially a fan of my Qwerkywriter mechanical keyboard.
