44 Comments
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Ian McCausland's avatar

Excited to support you with this new book!

Lilith Speaks's avatar

PS: I have them all and impatiently await the next.

Pam's avatar

Congratulations on the new book - wonderful news. :-)

Jane Somers's avatar

Can't wait to buy and read your new book. Congratulations!

I think you might like the new Robert Longo exhibition, "The Acceleration of History" at the Milwaukee Art Museum. His stunning, monumental charcoal drawings pair well with the other new exhibition, LaToya M. Hobbs, "Carving Out Time." Her woodcut prints are 8 X 12 feet (!) and the actual woodcuts are part of the exhibition. This morning I listened to Robert Longo on the podcast "A Brush With..." and I thought you would like it. (The podcast also has a William Kentridge episode.)

Kevin Slick's avatar

As a super fan of classic era horror films (Anything up to Night of the Living Dead) I applaud your choice of Cat People. Lewton films are beautiful indeed. The director Jacques Tourneur is the principle reason why. Another of Tourneur's films that I love is Night of the Demon (Kate Bush fans will recognize a famous line in the film) it's not quite as shadow laden as Cat People or Walked with a Zombie but like Cat People in particular builds the tension beautifully.

Austin Kleon's avatar

Feel free to hit us with more of your favorites!

Mitchell Volk's avatar

Congrats on the new book! I’m so happy you’ve had the space and time. Can’t wait to crack it open someday.

Justine Beaudoin's avatar

Pretty humble way to tell us about your new book. Creating with kids is possibly the most soul feeding activity there is. Congratulations. I know you’ll let us know when it’s time to preorder.

Shawn Overos's avatar

Love today’s letter…so much to glean ❤️❤️❤️

Geri Diorio's avatar

Yay!!!! Congratulations!!!!

James's avatar

I was thinking about your October 'vibe' mixtape, and I'm not sure there's a better candidate for this than Radiohead. About a third of their catalogue could hit the October vibe through atmosphere (All of Kid A, Amnesiac) to the straight up spooky (We Suck Young Blood, Wolf at the Door, Spinning Plates)...It just got me thinking about the time each year I usually start listening to them again and it tends to be around the time the colors turn. Interesting.

Congrats on the book! Can't wait!

Austin Kleon's avatar

KID A is a winter record for me because I drove to a Sam Goody in Chillicothe Ohio in the snow to buy it on CD the day it came out LOL

James's avatar

Ha! Love that. That’s actually a good point that it does feel more like a winter record as a whole. The artwork aesthetic and cold production definitely supports that. There’s an eerie mood on How To Disappear and In Limbo that feels very October still.

Cindy's avatar

Congrats on the new book!!!

You Are The Art's avatar

Congratulations on your new book. BTW, I’m reading this newsletter from Paris, France!

Steve Cardoso's avatar

Congratulations on the new book, Austin!

Mary Anne Shew's avatar

I don't read them every week, but I do love a well-written obituary. I've collected some wonderful ones as inspiration for the draft obits I've prepared for my husband and me. (We don't have much family left to take care of such things after we're gone, so we're doing this stuff ourselves.) The best obits manage to convey the personality and interests of the deceased and even have a bit of humor in them. We'll probably have a short one published in our local paper (if it's still operating) and the full version on the funeral home's website (it's part of their service).

A useful book: "Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer's Guide to Telling Your Story" by James R. Haggerty. https://a.co/d/6j454bB

Lastly, this reminds me of the adage that was still followed when I was a girl but has thankfully died off in recent decades: The only times a woman was to have her name in the paper were when she was born, got married, or died. I miss the wedding announcements complete with bridal party names, description of the wedding gown, and the honeymoon destination.