Long nights

Hello Friends,

The winter solstice is my favorite day of the year not just because it signals the lengthening of days but also (and especially) because it is Michaela’s birthday. So consider this the special solstice edition of Mushroom Head. In lieu of the regular comic chronicling some episode or other from my life, I’m bringing you a special strip, a version of a thing you may recognize from a few weeks ago: “Cat Person.” I have no idea what is happening here, and that’s OK. I’m learning that things usually work out better for me when I don’t try to control the outcome. In art, and in life. Go figure.

Since it is the end of the year, and a time when pretty much everyone is making some kind of list, I made a few lists of my own.

Some books I read (in the order in which I read them, not ranked):

1. Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
2. Dinosaur by Lydia Millet
3. No-one is talking about this by Patricia Lockwood
4. Also a Poet by Ada Calhoun
5. Ducks by Kate Beaton
6. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
7. Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe
8. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
9. Matrix by Lauren Groff
10. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
11. Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park

Some music I listened to:

According to Spotify, my top two artists were Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, and while I enjoy the music of both I can assure you that these were Michaela’s choices, not mine. But the last musician on the list of my top five surprised me: Rubblebucket. I don’t even remember how I first learned about Rubblebucket, and I’m not sure I even like all their music, but I must say that “Came Out of a Lady” is a real banger.

Some stuff I did in 2023:

1. Moved.

2. Published a review of the Remedios Varo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in Apollo Magazine.

   

3. Started this newsletter. If you haven’t yet subscribed, why not do so now?

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4. Let my hair grow out. (Not sure if this is something I accomplished or something that just happened naturally as a result of being too lazy to get my hair cut.)

5. Planted a white oak tree (and a few others too).

Some people I lost in 2023:

1. Laura
2. My cousin Don Barliant, who founded Barbara’s Bookstore. (Here’s a blog post he wrote in June 2021 about the original Barbara’s.) I always loved listening to Don talk. He had a commanding presence and a wild mane of hair, like a lion. When Don was young he worked at the lamp store that my grandfather owned and his stories about my grandfather meant so much to me. Don thought my grandfather was a true bohemian who would have been more at home living in Greenwich Village than he was living on Chicago’s North Side. Did Don learn a thing or two about how to run a shop from my grandfather? He never said as much (in fact, he pretty much said the opposite) but I’d like to believe that his experience working at Austin Lamps is what planted the spark which led to Barbara’s.

Some things I’ve been especially grateful for in 2023:

1. Libraries.
2. Seasons.
3. This essay by Lynnise Phillips Pantin. She connects cryptocurrency to Afrofuturism and in the process exposes the racism embedded in all financial systems. “Afrofuturism demands that the future being built is not merely an improvement over the status quo,” she writes, “but also that it avoids replicating and deepening existing inequality.”
4. My aunts. I have six (Anna, Martha, Mary, Ruth, Ruth Elaine, and Susie) and wow are they amazing. In particular Anna, Martha, Mary, and Susie, who have influenced who I am today. They have terrific style and are wise and generous. A special shout-out to Mary, for being my godmother and as close to a fairy version of that as they come, and to Susie, who is a rock.
5. My niece and nephew. As much as I love being a mom, sometimes it is really annoying, and I confess that I never feel like that way about being an aunt. I hope I can be the aunt to my niece and nephew that my own aunts have been to me.
6. My whole family (I didn’t forget you!).
7. YOU. Thank you for reading through to the end. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. Your support makes such a difference. Thank you.

Love,

Claire

ps, Mushroom Head is taking next week off. See you in the new year and have a lovely holiday!