Of the Week: Desert Pookas Zine Announcement

And what I'm reading, writing, and cooking

I’m so happy to share with you that my new zine is available for preorder! DESERT POOKAS is a zine of illustrated Irish fairy tales re-imagined in modern-day Piipaash & O’Odham Territory, also known as Phoenix, AZ, where I live. Yes, food will feature in some of the stories (of course!) The first 15 preorders will receive a special linocut print (tentatively shipping in July.) I’d be so grateful if you preordered and/or shared this with someone who might want to read it.

This zine’s origins go back to 2020 when I began revisiting Irish fairy tales for the novel I was writing. The novel is in the drawer, but I kept reading fairy tales and when I took a linocut workshop last year, this zine started to take more definite shape. With the support of a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts I was able to invest in learning how to carve prints and bind books from local artists (Shut Eye Press and Serpentine Hearts, respectively), as well as pay for printing from Paper Jam + Print and some project management from Wasted Ink Zine Distro. This project is both DIY and DIT (Do It Together). In addition to diving into my Irish-American heritage, this project is an experiment in preparing myself for the collapse of the industrial publishing system (not to sound dire…). I’ll share more about the process and other thoughts/research that won’t make it into the zine here as it gets closer to being published. Thanks so much for your support!

“The spirit of the age laughs in vain, and is itself only a ripple to pass, or already passing away.” —Fairy & Folk Tales of Ireland edited by WB Yeats

Reading

Cascade by Julia Hannafin which is coming out from Great Place Books on April 16 (consider preordering!) I got to talk with Julia this week about how the novel took shape, craft decisions, research strategies, and our shared love for ambiguity in sobriety/addiction writing (interview coming later in Write Or Die Magazine.)

Writing

Continuing working on fairy tale adaptation, some interviews, and putting together an essay about the zine. Strengthening my “writing essays to promote things” muscle.

Cooking

I bought some beautiful tomatoes from the farm stand and a few were starting to go mushy. Horrified to think I might waste a tomato, I quartered them and roasted them with olive oil and fresh rosemary until they were the good kind of soft. Later, when it was lunch time, I put all the tomatoes in a pan and squished them up a bit to make a sauce. After simmering, I made two indentations in the sauce and cracked an egg into each. Put the lid on to steam the top of the eggs and when they were cooked enough, I put the egg and plenty of tomato on top of a slice of toast.

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The Good Enough Weekly comes out every Friday, alternating an essay with Of the Week (like today.) This time last year I wrote: “The late, late edition.” I also take on freelance editing and writing projects. Reach out if you’re looking for help in those departments — I’ve worked on everything from zines to textbooks. More info here.