I love the deftness of this, the way she zooms in and out. She weaves stories of her own life and her family’s life with broader stories about American imperialism, disaster tourism, the legacies of war, queer culture, how we talk about sickness, making art. Sirisena writes about her Sri Lankan heritage, her childhood in North Carolina, and her complicated relationships to these places, her family, her culture. This is a wonderful, rigorous collection of essays about place, illness, disability, change, art. These are just three of the many amazing university press books I’ve read this year. Like other independent presses, university presses are out here publishing so much innovative, unusual, challenging queer work. I also love university presses! I didn’t even realize how many amazing books these presses publish until I started tracking publishers on my reading spreadsheet. I went back several more times and got a good look at the two adults and the juveniles. I whipped out Merlin and it immediately identified the bird: a merlin ! It turns out there was a nest nearby, which my dad found the next day. I was walking on a favorite loop when a small raptor I didn’t recognize flew directly over my head, calling loudly. The best bird moment of the summer so far happened a few weeks ago while I was on Nantucket. Birdsong, bird chatter, bird calls, the loudness of the forest all around me-it’s been a highlight of the summer. It is miraculous, sitting on my porch, listening to the music of these creatures with whom I share this land, knowing their names. Many of these are birds I hear almost every day. I’ve been using it daily ever since, and I’ve learned so many new bird calls- tufted titmice, red-eyed vireos, gray catbirds, ovenbrids, eastern wood-pewees, ravens. It’s been a while since I’ve done a bird update! Earlier this summer a subscriber reminded me that the Merlin Bird ID app has an incredible sound ID function. I baked, I took a long walk, I put on a long sleeved shirt. Greetings, book and treat people! It cooled down over the weekend, and while I’m sure it’ll get hot again soon, the reprieve gave me life.
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