Notes on a carer, sitting for Alice Neel, and poached rhubarb in seasonElif Shafak selects her top Substack reads this weekThis week’s digest was guest edited by award-winning British-Turkish novelist and storyteller Elif Shafak, who writes Unmapped Storylands with Elif Shafak on Substack, where she shares stories, thoughts, and anecdotes deriving from her personal, unpublished notebooks. Some of her most popular posts to date include “Write What You Don’t Know,” Amateur Writers vs. Professional Authors, and Separate Taps, Vinegar on Chips, British Things…. If you enjoy her selection here, be sure to head over to Unmapped Storylands and subscribe. Editor’s note: Substack Reads will be on a break next week. Dear Substack Community, I am excited to share with you some of the best writings I have read on Substack recently. I am relatively new to this platform and there are many brilliant accounts out there that I am yet to discover, but among the ones I have discovered so far, the following have stood out for me. Yet before mentioning them, perhaps I should tell you that I have always loved and appreciated interdisciplinary journeys. Writers are learners at heart. We must keep learning our entire lives. But what does a novelist read? The answer is everything, really. That is because writers need to be two things: good readers and good listeners. I passionately believe in this. We cannot stay inside cognitive comfort zones where everything is familiar. Instead, we have to venture into new territories, reading extensively across the board, both fiction and nonfiction. Our reading lists need to be eclectic—from East, West, North, and South, not just Eurocentric literature. As for the things we read, I have never liked the arrogant duality of “highbrow literature” versus “lowbrow literature.” Who makes these distinctions, anyway? Who gets to decide? Let’s dismantle the old, hackneyed dualities. Let’s keep that childish curiosity inside alive. We can and should be reading everything and anything that speaks to us personally in this particular moment in time—from political science to philosophy to cookbooks, from international relations to song lyrics, from nature writing to graphic novels. The mind is nourished when it embarks on interdisciplinary journeys. I believe in the power and beauty of turning ourselves into intellectual nomads. So I try to approach my Substack readings with a similar attitude. Here are some of my favourite reads, from poetry to politics to feminism to food… Let’s start with poetry. POETRY“They hang in the sky like questions”“The Irish poet, conflict mediator, and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama’s Poetry Unbound is utterly brilliant. He writes from the heart and with soul. These are powerful and insightful essays from someone who is clearly a true lover of poetry and language—and also hares! Ó Tuama says, ‘To be born is to be born with the possibility of courage. Hello to courage.’Another fabulous address for poetry lovers is Andrew’s Substack: Coffee with Keats, which wonderfully focuses on both classic and modern literature. By publishing weekly in-depth and critical analyses, always with a cup of coffee in hand, he offers both original poetry and anecdotes and stories”—Pádraig Ó Tuama in Poetry Unbound
ARTSitting for Alice Neel“The art historian, broadcaster, and curator Katy Hessel’s work is profoundly inspiring. If you are interested in art, creativity, and forgotten stories in history, The Great Women Artists is a fantastic platform, ‘celebrating all things women artists’!”—Katy Hessel in The Great Women Artists
LITERATURENotes on a carer“Hanif Kureishi’s The Kureishi Chronicles are full of intelligence, wisdom, and chutzpah. These are dispatches from his hospital bed as he writes and muses on the art of storytelling, sex, drugs, music, and sometimes popular culture. This week: care”—Hanif Kureishi in THE KUREISHI CHRONICLES
TRAVEL & PHILOSOPHYSeduced in Condesa“I am always intrigued by writing that tackles the questions of home, motherland, belonging. Where do we feel at home and where do we feel like ‘the Other’? I recently read a piece on these themes by Tobi Ogunnaike, a former Silicon Valley engineer who is now pursuing a totally new career in creativity. In his Wandering the Grey, he offers ‘vulnerable reflections’ and says, ‘…home isn’t tied to a single place. It’s a perceptible, unmistakable feeling. I know when it’s absent and when it’s present, I bask in its grace and depth. I could feel at home at an Afrobeats party on the moon…’ ”—Tobi Ogunnaike in Wandering the Grey
BOOK NEWSThe first German translated book to win the International Booker Prize“The Booker Prizes’ Substack is a marvellous hub for all book lovers, literature lovers. From exclusive interviews to long reads, there is so much quality writing here, and I’d wholeheartedly recommend it. In this post, the International Booker judges, author, translator, and more share thoughts on the winning book, announced this week, ‘Kairos’ ”—The Booker Prizes in The Booker Prizes
FOODBest season pickings for May“Foodies Across the Pond is truly lovely. Cookbook authors Jane and Lisa are friends from the U.K. and USA. They share food stories and life stories from both sides of the Atlantic and, here, a great poached rhubarb recipe”—Foodies Across the Pond in Foodies Across the Pond
MUSICA message for my subscribers“Singer, performer, writer, and visual artist Patti Smith’s The Reader Is My Notebook is a gem. Patti is an amazing artist not only with her music but also through her connection with words. Her songs encompass one of the largest vocabularies in the music industry. Long before she was a rock star, she was a writer and poet, and on this platform she invites us into her brilliant mind”— Patti Smith in Patti Smith, The Reader Is My Notebook FEMINISM & DISABILITYBlue nights“The Disabled Feminist is another worthy read. The newsletter collects essays by journalist and author Lydia Wilkins, who rightly points out that ‘feminism is weaker when it leaves disability out of the conversation.’ I think feminism is weaker if and when it leaves all strands of intersectionality out of the conversation. From race to class to disability rights, there are so many glass walls, not just glass ceilings, that we need to dismantle. This platform brings us a step closer to a new level of feminism and connectivity where women’s-rights and disability-rights movements beautifully intersect”—Lydia Wilkins in The Disabled Feminist
Recently launchedComing soonCongratulations to the following writers celebrating publication. Paul Scheer shares an excerpt from his new book, Joyful Recollections of Trauma, which was published this week: Franklin O'Kanu describes his new book, An Unorthodox Truth, as “a book about you and how you came to be in this place and time”: Hanif Kureishi announces his new book, Shattered, his account of the year he spent in a hospital after an accident, in the post shared in today’s digest: Daisy Buchanan arranges a pre-order party for her new novel, Pity Party:
Notes from our guest editor
Noteworthy
Inspired by the writers featured in Substack Reads? Writing on your own Substack is just a few clicks away: Substack Reads is a weekly roundup of writing, ideas, art, and audio from the world of Substack. Posts are recommended by staff and readers. This week Reads was curated by Elif Shafak and edited from Substack’s U.K. outpost by Hannah Ray. Subscribe to Unmapped Storylands with Elif Shafak on Substack, follow Elif on Notes, visit Elif’s personal website, and follow her on Instagram. Got a Substack post to recommend? Tell us about it in the comments. |
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Notes on a carer, sitting for Alice Neel, and poached rhubarb in season
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